basically order will the clerk please read this meeting statement adequate notice of this regular meeting was provided to the public in the Press on January 17 at the municipal building in accordance with the open public meetings Act mjsa 10 col 4- thank you you please stand with me and join with a pledge to the flag I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for [Music] all call council member busher council member D benedetto pres council member Higgins council member Sparta president council president here no way this evening we have a proclamation on uh that was suggested to us by a resident on autism and that that April be autism month and I pleased to ask Mr Sparta if he would read this thank you designation of April is autism month whereas autism spectrum disorders are a group of devel Developmental Disabilities characterized by atypical development in socialization communication Behavior generally appear before 3 years of age and continue over a lifetime and whereas an estimated one third of people with Autism are unable to communicate verbally whereas approximately two-thirds of children with autism between the ages of 6 and 15 have been victims of bullying and whereas nearly 28% of 8-year-olds with autism spectrum disorder have engaged in self-injurious Behavior such as headbanging arm biting or skin scratching and whereas almost half of those with autism have wandered or bolted from safe safety and drowning accounts for approximately 90% of deaths associated with wandering or bolting by children with autism age 14 and younger and whereas the lifetime cost of caring for a person with autism is estimated to be as great as 2.4 million and whereas although there is no known cure for autism research suggests that early diagnosis and treatment can reduce the cost of Lifetime care and improve outcomes for people with Autism and whereas according to the center of Disease Control and prevention more than 3.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder and one out of every 59 children born in American children born today with diagnosed with autism and whereas New Jersey as the highest rate of autism in the nation and the prevalence of autism in the state continues to exceed and outpace the rate of autism in other states and whereas since the 1970s National Autism Awareness Month has taken place annually in April to highlight the growing need for concern and awareness about autism and whereas given the rapidly growing rate of autism spectrum disorders in New Jersey and the pressing need for early detection it is altogether fitting and proper and within the public interest to designate April of each year as autism awar month in New Jersey and to encourage the citizens of the state to join the observation of the month and raise awareness of autism spectrum disorders now therefore be it resolved by the Vernon Township mayor and Council that April is recognized as National Autism Awareness Month in Vernon Township New Jersey thank you mayor's comments evening mayor I want to First apologize for put my back to you um I would like uh so K on April 12th Vernon lost a true hero last week uh severe Chris Christensen Chris moved to the unit to the United States from Norway in 1956 he lived in Brooklyn and settled in Vernon in 1972 Chris served in the in the US Army during the Vietnam war after his military service he began his long career as a tugboat captain Chris was a volunteer with the McAfee Fire Department for over 50 years that's longer than I've been around some of us sure about that uh he he enjoyed Friday nights at the firehouse he loved cruises trips to Atlantic City Fox News and lunch with his buddies he was also and I must I have to share this because I'm sure I I know many uh Jet fans and Met fans uh so let it be heard that he was an avid uh Jets and Mets fans so so uh I never met Chris but seeing seeing and hearing some of his stories I think I think we we would have been good friends uh I attended the the weake on Friday evening and again let I I got to know a lot about him and uh and at this time I'd asked for everyone just for a moment of silence thank you after the wake I attended the insallation dinner for the Vernon fire department uh I wanted to congratulate all the new men and women uh on their promotions and most importantly their sacrifice and dedication to serving our community since we've talking about fire P related topics I have another topic I want to share the Brotherhood we see from our men and women in the fire department is incredible it TR it truly is um our fire department has so many strong relationships with other fire departments across New Jersey and New York this being said I'm pleased to announce that marwa fire department has graciously graciously offered to lease to the High Lakes fire department a tanker at zero cost let me be clear that's a zero cost to ver they could have sold this tanker probably for a couple hundred thousand but they have chosen to help their fellow brother and sisters out this couldn't have come at a better time because we currently have a tanker I believe on order and another tanker that has a leak in it which I'm currently working on sending it to Chicago for repairs but that's another topic for another day but uh I I will personally be taking a ride with with our fire commissioner John K and uh and possibly another member of the and another member of the High Lakes fire departments pick up the tanker hopefully tomorrow Wednesday evening so um again I would like to personally thank the fire department for thinking of us and how appreciative Vernon is I'll also be sending uh a thank you letter to the mayor and Council for approving this deal speaking of Heroes council president you may or may not know the following people Kathy South sou Laura Krauss David Smith Tyler meller Stephanie ferson Kevin Duffy and Deborah ER they are among our nation's First Responders rarely seen but always heard and appreciated their calm voices transmitted over the radio Airwaves are the heroes behind the scenes who ensure an ambulance fire truck or police Crews to every 9911 request for emergencies last week as part of the New Jersey tree recovery Campaign which is part of the earth dat recognition uh Michelle from our rec department initiated the application for 300 free trees to be given out to our residents the rec department worked with our environmental Commission on handing out these seedlings um so thank you to Stephanie cathina and an and Michelle for all of your hard work in making this a success okay Vernon Township has one for a second year in a row a u healthy Town award which is right here uh this Reed this they received this healthy town uh presentation because access to outdoor space and trails is a Cornerstone of the NWC program NWC means higher Wellness campaign incorporating physical activity into community building events uh is such is is such one of the ways that our Township has created a culture uh of Health in the community so again I want thank uh Michelle also uh mayor Howard barell because this really started on on his uh on his watch so uh we will pres have this hung up in in our office somewhere we'll find a location but I'll just pass this on to you guys to see thank you on going forward this uh this Saturday April 27th at 11 am we'll be having a blue star Memorial this blue star Memorial is the third of all Sussex County to be given this honor uh I want to thank again our rect Depon Michelle Danon for for and former mayor barell who initiated this blue star Memorial um I invited all of our elected official County uh from the county and our local Council this is an opportunity to honor our past present and future Armed Forces I will be speaking followed by Senator space and former mayor Howard barell and finally I am very pleased to announce that on May 1st 12 noon should be 12:00 noon we're still working out that I just just had the phone call a little while ago that we'll be having our groundbreaking ceremony for the 55 unit building um there's still plenty of work to be done behind the scenes as we continue to work with the developers and our building department on areas of the construction project but it is ongoing and uh we are going to be breaking ground uh on May 1 so uh um and that's that's all my comments for today so thank you very much thank you mayor I'd like to excuse me open the meeting to the public for discussion of current agenda items May I have a motion to open the meeting to the public moved moved by Mrs de benedetto is there a second second second of by Mr Higgins all in favor signify by saying I I I oos motion carries before Mrs uh Mrs bueri is was unable to attend she sends her regrets and hope everyone as well uh anybody has any comments to the council please come forward to the podium is there anybody online don't have any hands up okay with that may I have a motion to close the meeting to the public moved moved by Mr Sparta is there a second second seconded by Mr Higgins all in favor signify by saying I I opposed motion carries all members of the council have received copies of the bills list you got any Bill group of bills that you'd like to discuss have any clarification uh I have a question yeah on check 61572 61572 soil characterization yes what uh 61572 yeah okay that was a grant um it was the duberry engineers that was the Wallace property that was okay the drilling okay thank you thank you um I have two check number 61637 uh check to Josh's firm that the last of the retainers because I think last month I asked this question I was told that last month was the last gers I'm looking fine take your time we could follow up with an answer yeah um even if it is in here um I it is yeah I don't know if um if that would be the last so I'll find out from d and I'll let you know tomorrow okay that that's fine I just we're we're in April now I understand things run right a little past but we're not using no I I I know but I just I hear you I think we're have been paid by now no no that's that's okay I mean and you know I will say that like I don't think um we probably you probably seen any bills from us yet uh because notoriously uh they typically do run two or three months behind it's not great practice but it's it's common place so okay but you know I'm sure if there's any questions though I'll also follow up with Josh's office I can just okay ping them and just say hey make sure you get everything in the the other one uh Tina I know you you won't have an answer for this one check number 61 624a for the purchase of a new Toro uh it's an infield groomer for $335,000 and I believe was last month we approved a list of equipment to be sold on municibids for um who I can't remember the term but unusable equipment or um whatever it was and since I I enjoy looking at that stuff I went on and I looked and on it was a 2018 infield groomer that was for sale and it had a blowing engine on it and that was the only thing that was wrong with it so I'm just wondering why we just didn't spend the $1,500 to fix the blowing engine put a new engine in it rather than spend $ 35,6 on a new machine these are you know our I know I know you're not the person to answer this but you know I would hope there's some questions that are being asked when POS and requisitions come through and when you have a new thing come through the first thing I would ask is what's wrong with our old one and can it be fixed and so on because I look at we just wasted $31,000 on a piece of equipment uh on a new piece of equipment for something that could have been fixed it's again it's a 2018 it says it R on munici bits it's a 2018 and it says that was a blowing engine and that piece of equipment is something I'm very familiar with from my time working on golf courses and I know the engine is not more than $1,500 so I I I we' like to just have more scrutiny involved uh when it comes to things like this so they're the only questions I have thank you thank you Mr Sparta that's those are very good questions the one we're looking at on o tool is 6167 possibility if there's wasn't something else wrong of getting a a return I'd have to look into it I have please I I think I have details on it oh uh but not not on me um I and I I would tend this this I would tend to think that this purchase originated quite some time ago because I know for a fact that Toro is have an extreme problem getting equipment out to tune of like 18 to 24 months so it's not something that I'm sure happened recently that it's been in the work yeah oh yeah long before my time um I did question stuff that was going to auction um and he did provide me a list of again all the issues um with those uh machines the current bid on that machine right now is $23 for somebody to buy I'm going in for 24 thank you all members of the council have received copies of minutes to the executive session of April 8th 2024 may have a motion to place those minutes on the floor for consideration moved move by Mr Spark is there a second second seconded by Mr Higgins are there any any concerns or uh changes deletions additions if not may I have a roll call R please council member D benedetto yes council member Higgins yes council member Sparta yes council president Ruda yes motion carries all members have also received the minutes of our regular meeting of April 8th excuse me uh may I have a motion to place those minutes on the floor for consideration mve moved by Mrs Le benedetto is there a second second seconded by Mr Higgins uh are there any uh changes deletions additions corrections to be made not may I have a roll call please council member D benedetto yes council member Higgins yes council member Sparta yes council president rudo yes carries thank you consent agenda if anybody wishes to have any resolution and I believe this evening we only have resolutions if you'd like to have them separated for discussion please let me know and I will do so uh otherwi but I would like to discuss resolution 24-15 so may I have a motion to place that resolution on the floor for consideration Mo moved by Mr spart is there a second second second by Mrs de benedetto this is a resolution that uh has to be placed on the agenda for consideration and so that we may once it's passed send it to uh local League of um uh Council uh municipalities municipalities thank you it's uh it's because of the fact that the this particular issue came from Trenton as a unfunded mandate recently I had the occasion to attend a meeting of uh members of the council Mayors business administrators uh and uh with the state senator Mr space and Mrs Fantasia and also um Mr inamorta inore Mike ganore I'm sorry um and this was an issue that came up that was raised by many of the uh people from various administrations and townships including myself because this is typical of a situation where we get a requirement from Trenton with no consideration as to the absolute cost of what this particular item is I know that Mr sparter and Mr Higgins are well aware of this having served on the board you know you get the request you get the order you get the Mandate and who pays for it well you figure that out I just tell you what to do you know that type of thing so I thought I would bring this to the attention of the community via this resolution because it is costing us money overall this particular resolution solution will stand to uh require us to purchase a another street sweeper it will require us an an Evac because with this requirement we are being moved from a tier B to a tier a uh for the treatment of storm water runoff uh and so forth it'll require us to clean the uh catch bases within the community uh and that means every one of them it'll require us to annotate each of those catch basins by a particular uh form of uh uh annotation which would be using our uh computers getting tablet computers and the we have to add certain softw to the to the computer and the sum total of this plus some of the other situations that were going to be required to do we get a some big total of $75,000 and I I think correct me if I'm wrong yes the cost of the back is what about seven or 40 440,000 right and then there are some of the other issues that are that replace top of the patch basins too them yep and then the the Personnel necessary to administer the program will require a minimum of four one for you know Traffic Safety so you're looking at both sides one to be there and you know doing the job and certainly you don't have catch basins you know by yourself so it's uh it's an it's an expensive proposition within enrolling stock as well as in commitment to Personnel if anybody has any questions I know there was an extensive uh backup to this provided and uh how many out pads have to be purchased how many iPads have to be purchased they purchased them I believe there was one for each supervisor um that was on the road so we have three supervisors on the road Plus um our DPW director and the assistant director five of them so yes I was wondering because it's $3500 was hoping it just wasn't one after my last no it wasn't and we received a $75,000 Grant because we were um forced to change from one tier to the other but if you look at the items that we've actually uh 75,000 didn't do much for us may I have a motion to place this can I ask one more question absolutely um so if if this if we end up having to do this right what's the chances of possibly um having some shared service agreements with towns around us since you know I can't imagine towns like Hamburg or you know smaller towns would would be purchasing V trucks that were for $440,000 so is there a potential opportunity there as I see the mayor writing a note that he's going to make some tomorrow yes sir okay we'll look into that and I don't know if every town in the state was you know was mandated to change from a tier B to a tier a so CH what what would what would make that mandate change yeah why were we size yeah yeah population size ex of everything the population plus the size of our you know our Township but it makes you laugh because right here it says whereas tier a meant for densely populated municipalities I wouldn't consider us densely populated no than it's not like we're not like Newark where they're all stacked on top of each other when I told the people the the other administrators what was happening in Vernon they they were surprised because that we only that we received yeah 75,000 because many of them only receive 25,000 so is this likely that we're going to have to pay this and it's we're going to be moved to tr oh we are already moved to tr we don't have a choice in the matter we were moved so all these um the actual stuff that that was attached to this yeah we have to make sure that we're following through with every one of those steps and each step is given a certain amount of time frame that need to have it completed you're you're supposed to have it completed within I think it's five years but there's certain things that need to be completed at earlier times and others and that's what this whole breakdown is if you look through it it'll tell you okay you have to get this done in like six months then you you know so there's different steps that we have to complete the reason why I'm bringing it up is because the work organization that that I cited will have standing and they can go to the New Jersey League of municipalities on our behalf and on behalf of the other community and make their make their voice known and in that case they can begin to uh ask for consideration of reversal uh in Trenton whether or not that happens I I don't know I really don't think but I think it's necessary NE that when these things come up we voice our opinion and and voice it in a way where we get some type of hearing so to speak and uh just want may I ask um hey Matt sorry I mean to put but do you um your your area is you know pretty populated um could you share any shedding light on on what those requirements are that moves us to tears I don't I me that no you know I'd have to get back I don't I don't recall having dealt with this specific issue you know before either in in my capacity as a a lawyer for other municipalities or in my other you know in my in my uh my side gig um I have not uh I haven't seen it come up but I can take a look see information I think um if you look at it I believe you were already tier a and they weren't going to to change anything so not every municipality was um tier a so that's what happens so are they just getting rid of tier b or no no no it's elevation and the reason being it says here the DP eliminated the tier B classification on I I don't believe it's overall I think it's un certain Community the problem that you run into is that we have the exceptional amount of storm water runoff because of the nature of you know you have mountains both sides the and so forth so I think that's where it's looking does this include private roads as well or no we don't deal with the private road over it had to do with uh another contractor issue but right back to your uh shared service comment we uh just had a meeting today with um I had uh the council president with us as well uh with the Board of Ed um on doing the uh street sweeping and also the uh catch basins as well so that's something for the next council meeting we'll we'll we'll put that um to you guys but so we we are we did look for shared service somewhere um just not outside of District so thank you it is definitely something to look at motion is on the floor may I have a it's Motion in second so may I have a roll call yes council member D benedetto member Higgins yes council member Sparta yes council president rudo yes carries moving the remainder resolution 24116 governing body certification of compliance with the United States equal employment opportunities commission enforcement guidance on the consideration of arrest and conviction records in employment decisions under title seven of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 resolution 24117 approving Act of volunteer excuse me fire fighter for membership in the New Jersey state fireman's Association Mueller resolution 24-18 refund overpayment due to tax court judgment sangary block 541 lot 48 resolution 24-19 resolution authorizing award contract to vendor with national Cooperative contracts hgacbuy resolution number 24-11 120 authorizing the township of Vernon to accept loan of fire tanker from Township of Mawa resolution number 24-12 one authorizing cancellation of the outstanding checks over six months old to Municipal cash balances resolution authorizing the resolution 24-1 122 authorizing approval of susex County contributions to Vernon Emergency Medical Service the EMS resolution 24123 refund overpayment due to state tax court judgment spiotti and Associates block 220 lot one resolution 24-24 refund overpayment due to state tax court judgment spiotti and Associates block 220 lot one resolutions 24-1 125 refund overpayment due to state tax court judgment spiotti and Associates block 220 lot one resolution two 24-26 refund for totally disabled veteran block 106 Lot 21 Stewart resolution 24-27 block 106 Lot 21 cancelling taxes for dis total disabled veteran uh resolution 24-12 refund for totally disabled veteran block 8 lot three Rivera resolution 24-12 n refund for totally dis oh I'm sorry no I'm sorry it's a different one resolution for totally disabled veteran block 8 lot 3 Rivera resolution 24-h 130 block 8 lot 3 Rivera cancelling Tech taxes for total disabl veteran resolution 24-31 refund for total disabled veteran block 306 lot 16 Gary resolution 24- 132 refund for totally disabled veteran block 306 lot 16 Gary resolution 24-33 blot lot I'm sorry block 306 lot 16 Gary cancelling taxes for total disabled veteran resolution 24-1 134 refund overpayment block 106 lot 43 humph resolution 24-135 refund overpayment block 26 lot 279 Russell resolution 24136 refund overpayment mean multiple lot in lots for logic resolution 24- 137 refund overpayment block 529 lot 176 core logic resolution 24138 refund for totally disabled veteran block 355 lot 6 Ruan resolution 24-39 resolution authorizing reling of certain vehicles for the Department of ad Administration through sourcewell National Cooperative number 060618 dfm through Enterprise Fleet Management Services Incorporated quote number 78 4681 one time agot Black Metallic resolution 24-14 a resolution expressing community support for water and wastewater infrastructure products projects I'm sorry may I have a motion to approve the consent agenda second moved by Mrs de benedetto seconded by Mr sparter questions or comments no roll call please council member D yes council member Higgins yes council member Sparta yes president rudo yes motion carries thank you public comment before I open the floor to public comments I I would like to read some comments that I written relative to I think a change in minor change in how we're going to be handling this portion of the meeting following our last meeting a number of comments were addressed to me and to my com colleagues concerning the comments that were made by members of the public regarding issues that were not gerine to any issues on the agenda or related to Township business in retrospect I believe that the subject matter brought by many residents in the five minute sessions have been issues not of council concerns we strive to provide an open forum for discussion of matters that may be on the mind of residents but not yet part of an agenda in many cases this is how a problem is brought to our attention or to the attention of the administration perfect example was the matter of autism brought to our attention by a resident and a request at April we proclaimed autism month another was the issuing of squatting and home protection rights brought to our protection by Mrs lson which the council acted on very quickly and is still under cons you know under work I believe and the council supports this position that we cannot allow our business meetings to become a place of interpersonal conflicts to sit and allow comments regarding accusations of lack of Integrity or individual efforts on matters not within our control or oversight does not product productive meeting therefore as council president I will respectfully ask that the public restrict its comments to matters concerning the township or its welfare or issues that can be resolved by the only by the administration or the council uh I would hope that we can work way through this I'm sure there may be concerns but we simply Council simply does not appreciate being put in the position of having to uh I I guess play referee and so um we'll move on May I have a motion to open the meeting to the public uh on items other than what was listed on the agenda but within the scope of the uh parameters that I just cited so mov moved by Mr Higgins is there a second second seconded by Mrs de benedet uh motion the meeting is open to the public for five minutes uh on any of these issues uh May anyone wishing to come forward Scott Castle from Glenwood just very quickly um I run up here very fast if I hear something I don't like so I figured I'll run up when I too um I just wanted to say for the Bill's questions that Miss benedetto and also Mr Sparta had um that's exactly the type of actions for me that I love to hear from the council which is uh you know even if a a charge or a check we're writing or whatever is just miss missing a justification and it fully explains why it is I think asking these questions and I think that was a great one on the the infield groomer um you know maybe maybe they do need it the other one is totally shot but just getting some clarification on there stops some of these checks being written that maybe we could have saved um so I just want to say thanks for that that that's really good um my other comment is just a kind of a statement because I don't think uh a lot of the taxpayers understand what goes into their taxes just because everybody's working all of that and I I fear that because in talking to one of our neighbors today we got it was It was kind of surprising but the effort that went in by the council and the mayor to have a 0% town wide you know townside tax increase I think is going to be totally overshadowed and lost in the shuffle because the Board of Ed has the 2.7% increase which you know is already over the 2% cap for whatever reason and then they're going to put that second question on the ballot for another $2 million which is going to be way more than that so I think the taxpayers are just going to see wow I'm getting killed with taxes again and then the county you're forgetting the county on Yeah well yeah you got yeah that's true you got to throw the county in there too but to me the Board of Ed piece is just it's a it's a killer and there it's out of control there I'm not looking for any solution I'm just saying I think I don't know how the word gets out I really don't have any any answers for it but like talking to neighbors by us they blame the mayor and the Town Council like that's what people think they're like these guys got to get taxes under control you're actually doing that and I think next year because the Surplus is going to be lower you may not be able to do that you know who knows what's going on and then they're going to blame you again and they're gonna be like you just raised it 7% last year what the heck's going on so it's uh like I said I don't have an answer but I feel like that's coming I'm assuming you guys realize that but it's uh it's unfortunate I think one of the things the council must do and I've already discussed it now other members of the council have discussed it is perhaps it's time to bring back the segmented dollar bill showing how much Council spends in terms of the dollar that it brings in from TA from you know sess taxes and how much the Board of Education and how much the county and how much library and maybe the few minor pennies elsewhere but the I I don't disagree with you we can only we can only handle what we can handle yeah and I think that's a good idea that the split up I just don't know where do you put it that everybody sees it because people don't see it I mean when I used to work in the city I didn't pay attention to any of this because I had no time so uh I think there's a lot of people in that that that you just see the tax increase I think maybe what we can do is it put it in with the tax bill oh good idea it's it's an extra stuff but uh actually it's it's already on your tax bill how it's segmented out just a question of reading it yeah exactly exactly because it it is on there how much of your $10,000 or whatever your property tax is how much is going to County how much is going to Municipal how much is going to to Boe um but but yeah I I I I agree that there's I read some of the comments that are out there and um I I don't think people understand their tax bill maybe a graphic or something like that would you know help if it could go on yeah it's 56% uh schools we're 24 and the County's 20 and uh it's 30 million there's a 70 million and it's just that this effort is really getting lost which I think is huge I mean it looked like we were going to have an increase now we're not but yet it's still going to be a big increase like you know right overall so the other thing is I I think it's necessary to point out that they are working the members of the administration and the school board and member of our Administration trying to find ways of maybe thinking outside the box and you know forgetting who's who gets the credit but there is a money does come out of our pockets and if there's a way of saving that some type of shared service agreement they are looking into it I sat in as mayor said I sat in on a meeting today and uh you do what you can and everything as I always said is incremental yeah hopefully we got enough incrementals we could debate for a long time on how hard they're working on it but yeah thank you thanks Steve also on May 13th the CFO is going to give a PowerPoint presentation on on the budget go through everything go over that yeah that's that's great thanks got it is there anyone else Sean clarking from Lakes section uh I wasn't prepared to speak about this but the the new requirements that we had that we have from the state uh it's a lot of money $400,000 just for the machine is a lot of money if we determined whether it's the county roads private roads or state roads that we're responsible for and then I would like to see things like this put out to bid not necessarily to give the work to a contractor but just to see how much it would cost us and then we try to do it inhouse and we do it inhouse for a year or two we see what that's costing us and then we compare it to the bids we got and after a year or two then we weigh it out and we say okay we would have been better off giving it to a contractor from the get-go should we start doing that now and we might be saving ourselves 400,000 for not having to purchase the equipment if we're hiring a contractor and depending on how much those bids are that could be five years of having the work done just for what we would have been spending on the equipment so putting it out to bid might be a good idea and to somebody's point whether it's all the roads or it's just the state roads the county roads or our private roads uh when it comes to things like next year's budget we have to be pressuring our our staff members our managers to be cutting costs now finding ways to save money now because by the time we come around to 202's budget it's too late and somebody said in the last meeting well we're done with that now it's over you know we can wait till next November or whatever that's not the way should should be that's not at all the attitude we should have we need to be tweaking this now and having it we heavy the fact that we had questions about that 3500 $35,000 machine we're buying and why didn't we replace the engine for $1,500 that needs to weigh heavy on the minds of the managers that are running our departments that they all need to be looking for ways like this to save money and by pointing it out and having it filter down through the ranks that Point's going to be made we need to save money we can't afford to live yeld too much longer if things keep going the way it is uh my final statement is if I understand the the rumor mill is that there's five open seats on the board of bed and if that's true that's a phenomenal opportunity for us we did a really great job taking control with you guys getting you guys in office and I think if we do the same type of thing with this with with the Board of Ed uh there's got to be excuse me this kind of parallels what my comments were you know I I hear you hear the other council members hear you but we have no control over that and it's not something that we would discuss at a council meeting okay I respect that what I'm basically my point is this that if as the Town Council if we make the community aware of it if we shake the tree people will come to the surface and volunteer and run for those positions if a de ear to it I would I would encourage the community to look at what they can do as you know in terms of being for volunteer service either be with the council or with the Board of Education or with many of the other uh you know organizations or groups uh that are available but I don't think it's the council's position or place to begin to look at selective groups and see see how we can develop so you don't think it's the council's responsibility to make the my state no I think I think the council's responsibility is to handle the duties and the responsibility of the township not the Board of Education uh they're we have they're two separate bodies they're elected bodies um they have their own separate budget they are governed under two different tit under in the the state's Charter uh one I believe is what 18a 18a and the other one of course is uh ours is Division of Community Affairs uh which has its own Charter not asking you to to oversee them I'm not asking to tell them how to do their job thank you very much I appreciate your your thoughts can I finish can I just say one more thing or you oh you have your five minutes go ahead okay we I've heard in previous meetings that we have a a lot of former Board of Ed members here on the council and all I'm asking you to do is really just get the word out that we need to fill five positions on one event I'm not asking you to look for candidates I'm not looking for you to C I understand but I don't believe it's appropriate for making the day a bully pulpit for asking for candidates for a particular group oh really yes thank you is there anyone else wishing to address the council we have anybody on um Jesse paladini Mrs paladini yes good evening um I wanted to address the piece of um equipment but in light of what you just um announced uh council president rosuto I want to address that um it's unfortunate that you would succumb to the suggestion of a bully who threatens to sue excuse me and I'm gonna say again no Mrs paladini this is exactly what the council wants if you have an issue with any other I have an issue will you let me finish yes but it's not something that you that I or any member of the council or the council in generally the administration I've said this before and I'll say it again during the open public session where you do not have to stick to something that's on the agenda I could come up and I could sing the star spangle banner and I would within my right to do so absolutely okay so you cannot you cannot stop a citizen from saying what he or she wants to say as long as it's not lialis as long as it's not slanderous or inappropriate so I am now going to say this when I spoke at that last meeting I was talking about the mayor and councel I was talking about the uh Council business I was talking about the lies that are continually stated at these Council meetings about the scenic byway and about the scenic byway signage I was referring to a lovely individual by the name of Heidi labre who came up and may we please can we can we please try and work within the parameters I stated I yes I I've offered you as person who was you know eminently responsible for the passage of the byways an opportunity to make presentation uh that has been deferred to I believe sometime in May right but you're not letting me address the issue you're I I understand but you know I'm trying to make I'm trying to make this situation a little more palatable for the general public without having to bring in what some and I'm trying to and I'm trying to tell you that a member of the public can discuss anything and you cannot censor it I was discussing the lies of about Miss La that are again please in in public session the comments the disgusting comments that are made about the mayor the comments that are made about Mr benedetto and what I was trying to say was that immediately after these Council meetings those slanderous defamatory and disgusting comments are posted on that hate group that's all I was saying and that's all I'm gonna say tonight thank you I'm not done and if I see fit to bring it up again I will bring it up and maybe at the next meeting I will sing the star spangle Banner because I do have a lovely voice okay thank you I'm not done okay my last comment that I want to make is that if Mr Sparta is correct about what he said that's really really egregious what happened to that piece of equipment that only would have cost 1,500 to fix did you sell it or get rid of it it's on municibids right now I'm sorry it's what it is on municibid.com right now it was part of the list that we approved last month for um obsolete equipment to be sold through public auction on meus sub bits that's how I found out about that piece all right so did you already purchase the new piece believe there's a check written for it so that's really unfortunate and I understand a similar thing happened with a fire engine or some piece of Fire Equipment to be giving to be selling something that cost $1,500 to fix and buying something new for $35,000 seriously I've asked you folks to scrutinize that bills list better you are scrutinizing it a little bit better but that's really really egregious what I heard tonight and I thank Mr Sparta for bringing it up that's all thank you thank you anyone else yes George nanov Mr nanov yes good evening can you hear me yes um I'd like to take a moment to say thank you Council presid thank you Council and thank you Mr Mayor for listening to your constituents and uh putting some decorum Behind These public comments uh you are I I respect I I respect you and uh I appreciate what you have done thank you I have uh with that said I have a uh I do have a question uh last um last last council meeting you mentioned that you were going to look into security issues with zoom meetings have you uh have you uh taken into consider that into consideration yet Zoom meeting that's it's in regards to the comments that I made yeah I'm referring to your comments councilman SP yes correct I ask that to be placed on the agenda for a future discussion so it has not been placed on the agenda yet okay uh just for consideration uh there is a real issue in security there is a solution out there that allows you to change your voice and create different voices it's called voice. a uh I would recommend in your research that you look into uh that solution along with others because you're absolutely right that is something that can pose a very significant threat uh when doing voice when when doing Zoom uh calls so I wanted to just throw it out there uh I I'm living and breathing AI today these days in the work that I do so if there's any if there's any guidance or any advice that I can provide I'm happy to provide it thank you thank you and uh once again uh thank you very much for restoring decorum and making residents feel like they can comment and make a difference appreciate it thank you no problem um oams 2 yes who might that be yeah it's uh Thomas MCL uh again uh good evening uh two quick comments um on the uh the item that Mr rudo uh brought up for comments on the resolutions uh and that which you all voted for um I just like to make the comment that what that is it's about clean water we're talking about our streams and our Lakes we don't want to uh pollute those uh resources any more than we than we have to or even if we have to perhaps we shouldn't uh I'm of the opinion that uh what we got in the form of Natural Resources uh we should keep uh in the pristine condition that they're in I know that's a an opposing Viewpoint to a lot of people but hey uh my second point is this uh person got up uh the gentleman from I think Glennwood and commented about the three uh entities that are involved in property taxes uh and I just like to point out I mean everybody likes to come down on the Boe uh but at any point you politicians and you're politicians now not members of the Boe at any point at any time that you are disgusted uh upset uh disagree with uh you know the board of EDS uh uh tax increases shall we say there a budget it's very simple to fix and you know and I know that you could do it very simply by putting that border education budget and the elections back on the ballot in April uh there's three ways to do that you can do it through a citizen's petition you can do it through uh the Boe saying we're going to go put everything before the public again and have them vote on it or you can have the Town Council do the same thing and just say hey we want to have elections in April for the Boe and we want their budget put before the voters very simple and that being said and the fire being started have a good night thank you anyone else uh yes Annie L yes I changed it I hope you notice Marcy did thank you so anyway I have a couple of comments first off regarding that piece of Machinery um I I just was thinking maybe you should take it back off of that sales list if it actually can be repaired for something in the neighborhood of 15 even if it's $3,000 it I it sounds like I mean who would trade in a car for you know a $500 tradein fee if you could actually repair it and get somewhere 25 30,000 or we could use it as a down payment or for a tradein against if we have to purchase this piece of equipment um it it just seems that the heavy hand of authority from New Jersey is strangling our necks again and uh coming down with mandates that don't have a financial remedy from them you know everything is always one way uh which is very very upsetting so I just thought maybe you took it off there we repaired the thing and maybe if we have to buy the piece of equipment we we uh trade it in or maybe you cannibalize the parts and use the parts to repair this new one as it breaks but just selling it for $20 $50 whatever it really seems like a huge loss secondly I have another cost-saving idea before the state of New Jersey gets us another time um I feel like we should think about selling the MUA it's just it's it's an albatross around our throats it strangle us it guides it guides pretty much every move the town is making in an effort to try to save the MUA perpetually and so you know I did look other towns have done it Manville sold theirs Salem sold theirs Somerville sold it bound bror sold theirs so you know the sewers can be sold maybe we should just get that off our necks before New Jersey comes down with another another mandate or when we finally get everybody you know on the system the next thing we're going to need is all the improvements and and and you know maybe maybe State mandated improvements it just seems like if we got rid of it we wouldn't be chasing our tales for the next 30 years trying to fully fund that thing so it's it's just a preemptive strike before the next shoe falls regarding the the MUA so thank you for your time have a oh and one more thing I do agree with with putting the board of that on the ballot and having the people vote on that budget as well so thank you to Tom for suggesting that thank you again have a great night everyone bye thank you I would like to address that comment regarding the the sewers and selling them that would right now be absolutely the worst thing that the township could do because it is because of the fact that we have the ability to handle the gallonage for growth that we are now getting many of the projects that are coming due mayor mentioned earlier about the groundbreaking uh in the uh for the over 55 those are 55 plus units um for the community plus there are about 200 units that are going to be uh starting construction with uh on Route 94 across from great Gorge South which will add over 200 e edus plus the 55 edus um there are additional uh projects that are being brought forward that have not yet uh been uh capitalized but yet are in in they're looking to uh promote and these projects can only take place because of the ability to handle f for and were we to do what was suggested now it would be absolutely the worst thing that we could do that decision has long since passed us I understand um that people think that we are overly indebted we are not I've mentioned this previously in my opinion and talking to Auditors and then talking to uh some people who handle uh business administrators who handled the uh finances of Township The Debt Service ratio that we enjoy is uh very very low comparatively speaking to some of the other townships within the area we're less than one and that means uh we can afford to provide uh and use Debt Service as a way of encouraging uh the things that need to be done we have received a substantial amount of money for water and uh uh through uh working with the supplier as well as federal grants for the U the uh storage uh uh that we are uh for the for the pipes that we are laying down for sewers and uh and I think once these things become well known you're going to see a lot more uh a lot more growth A Lot More Action taking place in Vernon my advice to you is to keep track of the lanu sport but maybe Mr Higgins can tell tell us if there's anything new coming up in the uh future well you just hit on uh some of the big on there's other discussion that I'm not allowed to really say on the lanyard board thank you I think Larson's on it as well so uh yeah there's discussions there's uh an active agenda good I just want the community to understand that we're not in a hole we are you know we are beginning to turn things around but we need the infrastructure to do it and uh and I think that's well on its way so moving along is there anyone else council president you mind if I just make a comment certainly not so I know a lot of people uh you know talking about this this uh this engine I don't know anything about it this was apparently something that happened before my time um but I I am um I reviewed the capital plan for the DPW I did question I did walk theard I kicked the tires I looked at all the equipment that they are looking to purchase um I do have uh I do have some issues um there will be some cutting out of it um I I will bring those cuts up soon but it is a couple hundred thousand out of some equipment and things that were looked to be purchased and I didn't find the need to be purchasing this equipment so I I will raise those those uh in due time but uh I'm still working through that process so uh I am scrutinizing uh each one of the expens that uh especially these large expenses um but so it's just a it's a work in process so so so we'll get there but again like I said we I did look and and walk the yard and I just want to express again it it I know this didn't start under you no yeah so I I want people to know that as well anyone I don't have any other hands up no seeing no one else coming forward may I have a motion to close the flo to the public moved moved by Mr Sparta is there a second second seconded by Mr Higgins all in favor signify by saying I I opposed motion carries Council comments I have a few yes please all right so some some of these are from people who don't like to be here or shy but call up and ask questions and a lot of them are good questions so I'll I'll be their spokesperson so there's I saw I even saw one on a post concerning the mayor they there there's a difference between a mayor's salary and a mayor sment so that as we move forward should be identified and used prop ly but if it's a siphon it's a siphon if it's a salary then it's a whole different thing so it's been brought up and people have asked so it's our job I think to clarify that whether it's today or in the future at the budget time all right secondly there was a a note take today I saw and uh if it's accurate then we have to update the uh website with the census somebody said that the census that's posted on our website is from 2010 and it's off by couple thousand people and if that's the case money and congressional districts and everything is predicated on the census I know when I moved here it was below 20,000 went up to 27 and changed and I think it's at 22 now I think we're poting 24 so whoever manages the website can post that it's a important important thing to do uh third on the budget deadline I was also reminded that a few years ago there was a discuss discussion on a budget that was too close to the actual deadline within two days are we planning to have our final budget presentation of vote before two days before the deadline or where do we stand with that our F our budget adoption okay is at our next meeting okay that's before well before May 15th then so we've got few days in there any changes that take place can be taken place and voted on at that time I think at point we if we if we begin to change as I have discussed with you with the the budget will then have to be re advertised because if you're making a substantial change U we had made those changes for example this evening then would have had it had it become an amended budget we could have done so right so we're we're really at the point we have to do something because there are three items in there everybody's discussed to the public as well the mayor's increasing the salary the money going to the school buses that uh you know is not very very well received by the public as well as the stien increase for the council members they're in the budget the budget is a 0% increase if they're removed from the budget we actually have a negative budget so there's things we can do with that money we can put it back in reserve there's a lot of things that that can be done on a positive note so those have to be put in place but if we take the budget remove it from the budget so it was never there it doesn't go to a reserve the the the proposal that I've masking people to consider is that we simply do not use that money both of those items require Council action the movement of the money that's in that budget for transportation for a grant requires the council to approve the parameters and the grant if we don't do it it remains there same thing with the salaries uh the proposed salary increases for the uh mayor or stien increases and for the mayor and for the council if those are not if we do not pass a salary or stien ordinance and that's why I don't know if in fact a stien is the appropriate term I would have to ask our auditor on that to see if in fact that would work that way because we would have to come up with a an ordinance gives you the range for what the amount of money paid to the mayor would be again that's a function of the council it can't happen unless the council passes it with that money still in the budget if it's not used it then can be funded to uh our the uh fund balance for the coming year for the next year reason why I'm concerned about that is as the gentleman who addressed us earlier mentioned that you know we're using fund balance and what's going to happen next year I don't know and neither do we but I think I think the level of fund balance that we're pushing towards is become becoming somewhat uh critical and I think perhaps we really really ought to consider uh the The Proposal that I've just outlined so it'll build in $72,000 worth of you'll have it that'll be something like that helps and the percentage remain zero do nothing but adopt the budget that will occur okay the uh other questions were uh I guess it'll be discussed as the budget pres some people asking for some more details more details of recreation more details of DPW so they can get into the nuts and bolts of increases decreases were there any savings what's planned so there have been questions on that and uh the other thing I'd like to do is explain that even though there's a to the public even though there's a 0% tax increase your taxes can go up you know there there we we voted tonight on people who rightfully so are are exempt from paying taxes there's people 65 and over that apply if they're underneath the minimum uh amount that they're earning their taxes are frozen and when all those numbers add up it's passed on to the eligible taxpayers so uh the budget currently is around $650,000 that the General Public is going to make up from those who have been Exempted from paying taxes that's that's the current situation it may be even a little bit higher so uh zero zero but in reality you still may see a little bit higher on your tax bill and uh the last thing was on the purchase that we made through the contract that was a national contract and gentleman in the back said maybe going out to bid on some of these things is a good idea it is a good idea to occasionally go out to bid sometime you use a contract when you use a contract there's a lot less work on a municipality because there's an existing National purchasing agreement in place that you can buy equipment under or Services you don't have to negotiate the proper terms of how to make that purchase and if you go out to bid then it's a lot of work because you're really going into the details of who the biders are you're have to determine if they're an appropriate person and uh if you're getting the right equipment rather than running it through a contract so I think the the town has gone out to bid for things in the past when it was appropriate I hope so and then in other cases here using a national agreement it was look like a a a a Texas purchasing order so just for explanation to people didn't know the difference there there is a difference that's it Mr President thank you very much Mrs de benedetto any comments um I don't know if I'm allowed to mention this what it's about um Mary Joe wichard who's running for congress is doing a meeting greet I was just goingon to give the date and time not as an endorsement no you can okay okay so uh Mary Joe gchart is running for congress in cd5 our district and she's gonna be doing a meet and greet at the Vernon BFW on April 28th from 2: to 4: and I thought that was pretty cool because we don't often don't get a lot of attention from people running for congress they're so busy you know other places it's nice to be getting some attention and um so if you you know are interested in meeting her and asking her questions she'll be at the Vernon VFW Sunday April 28th from 2: to 4: and thank you to council president rudo for your comments on the public comment section thank you uh Mr Spar I am good I have nothing thank you I have very few I I talked a little bit more than I wanted to in evening but one thing I I would like to bring up is that as we all know clocks changed a little while ago but the weather is getting better and we're going to have the youngsters out on the roads please let's watch them let's look out for them let's be careful um they're going to be riding bikes and uh I just would not like to see anything happen that would be untour tragic so with that I will ask for a motion to adjourn moved moved by Mr Higgins is there a second second second by Mrs de benedetto all in favor signify by saying I oppos motion carries thank you have a good evening thank you thanks um