Adequate notice of this meeting as required by the open public meetings act was provided through the posting, mailing and filing of the annual notice of regularly scheduled meetings of the town council on December 10th, 2025. The notice was on that date posted on the bulletin board in the municipal
building, provided to the Westfield leader and the star ledger and filed with the clerk of the town of Westfield. Miss Laosi, may I have a roll call? >> Mayor Burman >> here. >> Council members Gilman, >> yes. >> Here, >> here. >> Kefir, he's here.
>> Saunders >> here. >> Adoir >> here. here. >> Please rise for the invocation which will be given by Councilman Vector and then remain standing for the salute for the flag. >> As we gather here today, let us be mindful of the diversity of beliefs
represented in our community. Let us draw upon the values of respect, understanding, and unity. As we deliberate and make decisions for the betterment of our town, may wisdom guide our discussions and compassion govern our actions.
I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Good evening and thanks to everyone who
is joining us tonight both here in person and via the live stream on the tube the town's YouTube channel. As always, the replay of this meeting will be available on Facebook, YouTube, and TV36. Public comment will be accepted in person only. Uh, I am going to make a few brief remarks before we begin
tonight's agenda. Uh, thank you to the police department and the Westfield Optimus Club for hosting another successful Easter egg hunt on Sunday in Mindaskcan Park with support from the fire department, the rescue squad, uh, recreation, and DPW. We had a great turnout from the community for this
popular annual event. I'd also like to thank everyone who stopped by my latest town talks last week at Lion's Roar, where I enjoyed the opportunity to answer some questions uh and enjoy some casual conversations with our residents. Now that spring is officially here, I'm looking forward to the many town events
scheduled in the weeks and months ahead. Tonight, we are introducing Westfield's 2026 municipal operating and capital budgets. Thank you to our bipartisan finance policy committee and our professional staff who have worked diligently over the past two months to develop a fiscally responsible budget
that reflects our shared priorities, the needs of our community and our long-term responsibilities. We are fortunate to benefit from their expertise and commitment. Thank you. As you'll hear tonight, Westfield remains in strong fiscal health, positioning us to continue making strategic investments in
our community. Public safety is a top priority. This budget supports continued investment in our upgraded 911 system, competitive compensation for our first responders, investing in technology to aid in public safety efforts, and expanded road and pedestrian safety
initiatives. Some of this work is already underway, including the installation of flashing vehicle activated stop signs and pedestrian beacons at key intersections throughout town. In addition, we are continuing productive discussions with the county regarding speed limit reductions on
county roads throughout Westfield. Our investments in road work will also deliver necessary drainage improvements, including pipe size increases and new storm inlets. These measures reflect the input of our residents in areas throughout town that continue to experience storm water management
issues. The budget also reflects our commitment to enhancing our parks and recreational facilities with the Tomas Park plan advancing this year and the upcoming installation of expanded parking and new facilities at Sidfe Hulahan. At the same time, like many
municipalities across New Jersey, we are experiencing significant increases in non-discretionary costs, notably in healthcare, utilities, pensions, and sewer services, which has placed additional pressure on our budget. Therefore, the finance policy committee
has recommended an adjustment to the municipal portion of our tax bills, which for the average assessed home amounts to an increase of approximately $80 per year. This budget demonstrates a careful and measured approach, balancing these external cost increases and
broader economic trends with the high level of services that our town provides while continuing to invest in our infrastructure and our community. As you'll see in tonight's presentation, this budget positions us well for the year ahead, and I remain confident in our ability to meet the needs of our
community while maintaining long-term fiscal responsibility and stability. Following tonight's introduction, the public hearing and final vote of the budget, adoption will take place on April 21st. Let's begin. And I'm going to pass it to our administrator, Mr. Jim Gai.
Thank you, mayor. Um, and thank you, uh, to the public on TV36 and the ones in the room here. So, we have a short presentation tonight for the budget. Before I start, let me just say, uh, I want to thank the finance committee. Uh, we have a new mayor and council this year. Um, it's a lot to learn in a short
time. So, Councilman Vic uh and Councilman Pecker, thank you for being on the committee and jumping in at both feet. And Councilman Kever and Council Dad Damaga, thanks for being uh people to calm them down the first meeting here two years. So, it's uh we had really great very busy uh January February uh
where the finance committee meets multiple times a week and some Saturdays. Uh but it takes that long to go through and kind of learn the process and understand all the pieces. It's not your normal finance. And I also want to thank the mayor who has been in the office almost every day and uh he's been
willing to jump in and learn um the process again uh as the mayor which is important because um again it's not your normal finance as you would have in in the public in the private sector. So tonight we're just going to run through the mayor hit some of the points. We'll go into some more detail here uh just so
the public can um understand this a little better. And this presentation by the way will be posted on our website uh uh after the meeting. And again, for anyone's interested, you can go on our website and find uh multiple years in the past of presentations, budget documents, audit reports, etc. Um, one
last thing, just thank you for the some of the department heads that are here in the room. The chief battle, Chief Dulks, uh, public works director, Craig Gibson, Alan McInley, library director, Dan Hansen, Lauren, recreation and assistant recreation director, Scott Olsson, our CFO, our assistant administrator, our
public information officer. Uh we have a really great staff uh those that are here and not here and I think the committee sees that when we go through we hear and meet with each one of them uh and um it's important for you know there's a lot of numbers up here but we are in the people business and we have
great people that run the town and uh we also serve the members of this public very very well. So, um, okay. So, again, just some of the people, myself, of course, I've been here way too long. Um, and, uh, we have Scott Olsen, who's our CFO, a phenomenal CFO, uh, and Heather,
my assistant administrator here, who's been with us in this end of the hall now after her days in recreation for, I think, over three years now, uh, doing a great job. But in addition to that, I mentioned the committee, Councilwoman, uh, Vivic, uh, uh, who's the chair of the committee this year, uh, Councilman Drew Pecker, vice chair, Councilman
Dagal, and Councilman Keef from the committee. It's important uh to have a good group of people that are willing to listen and learn. And then just lastly, we have um important SPY Clooney and Rogan McCarthy. Um they're sort of behind the scenes and the committee knows this and the council will hear
more about this. Having an auditing firm that obviously does the audit independently is important. They also assist when we need budget assistance uh and the CFO is uh in communication that is necessary and Rogan McCarthy is our bond council. that comes into a lot of importance when we do our capital budget and we'll talk more about that in a
little bit. So we have really a great team and we're lucky to have a great team um budget process. So we've been doing this process for quite some time most of the time I've been here it does work very well important to just highlight a few things and why this is
important. So couple things about the process parallel to the budget being formulated uh over the course of uh you know late last year early this year uh is the capital budget that's kind of goes in in parallel with this process. So every municipality in the state of New Jersey must submit a six-year
capital plan as part of your resolution that you uh provide in the budget. We do that of course. Uh what we do spend extra time doing with the committee and the council is focusing on three years um because a lot can change in six years. So we focus on three years uh so we can plan things out, budget
accordingly and also uh budget not only this year but plan for next year. What is our down payment going to be? What is our debt service going to look like? So we're planning strategically as we can. So we focus on a six-year plan. We focus on three years and those things are what you might expect. Roads, public safety,
equipment, drainage, etc. Parks and recreation as well. The actual municipal budget process starts with the department heads. um late in the year we're closing out our books talking to the CFO uh find finalizing things of that year's budget and then they're formulating their following year's
budget and then we meet independently Heather and I and Scott with every department head talking about their needs their desires the things that went well things didn't go to go well staffing proposals all the sorts of things we work on that last two months of the year and then in January we meet
with our um auditors and bond council about how we ended up the year what our future debt service is going to And that then leads to the finance committee meetings where we come in, we talk about exactly how the previous year ended, where we're starting off with um and um and you know, obviously worth the
financial experts. That puts us on a level playing field for the future uh of this calendar year budget. Now, we are a calendar year budget town. It's a little strange. We're approving and adopting our budget in April by state regulation, and yet it's been in place since January. We're operating on a temporary
budget. Uh most every town operates the same way. Okay, that's a state regulation. So, uh we are um we plan uh we we work on the budget. Right now, we're operating on temporary budget. Uh but again, department heads start everything. We then meet with the finance committee as it says here. January 29th was our meeting with the
financial experts, auditors, etc. Uh had a great meeting there. We then meet with department heads from January 21st through March 13th. That's usually twice a week, sometimes three times a week. department heads come in, present, questions are asked, detailed sheets are reviewed, proposals uh are considered
and then um after the March 13th meeting, uh we then wait uh Governor Cheryl, new governor, just like every governor makes the budget address. After the budget address, usually two or three days after, uh that every town is afforded the opportunity to see what their state aid would be. Um as an FYI,
state aid hasn't changed for anybody in 10 years. It's been the same number, but nonetheless, we had to wait for that confirmation. So, we did that. We then incorporate that number or any other grants we may have received into the final budget documents. We then, you know, explain to the finance committee and the mayor the details of the final
proposals. And then that brings us to tonight. Uh we basically have proposals. Tonight is what's called by law introduction and approval, but it's not adoption. Okay? It's just the terms are important. Introduction and approval. The budget is introduced to the public. And what that means is we're introducing
to the public to be have the public have a chance to see it, review it, uh, and come back on April 21st is the public hearing and adoption night. Public can actually speak to the budget that night, ask questions, the council can hear those questions, and the council ultimately adopts the budget on the
21st. Uh, so again, the budget process we've been having here, uh, it works very well. It's very thorough, and again, the finance committee really, uh, gets heavily involved with this, which is great for the for the departments and myself. Um, so just a a quick recap on what
information we know from 2025. Uh, and we don't know all the details yet for 26, but it's beginning to come together. Uh, for 2025, total tax collections was over $197 million and all that money came through this building in the tax
collector's office. Um, so where do your taxes go? We collect it here as we're the tax collector agency. Um 62% of it gets sent right to the school system as you might expect. They have 10 schools in town, seven elementary schools, two middle schools, a high school. They
obviously uh command the majority of the town's tax bill. So 62% goes to them. Union County gets 20% 19 for their operations and 1% is the open space tax. So 20% alto together. That money comes in and goes right out to them. The town for all the services we provide, we keep
16% of your tax bill. Uh and the library of course Alan McInley is here they get a uh 2% piece uh which is the town has always provided the library the statutory minimum is a formula the state requires libraries to be funded uh and some many many years ago when the
library needed it uh there was more given but the library is in a very health position and uh if you've seen what the library has been doing it's been great with the taxes they've been getting. So so really 16% is all that this body in front of you behind me here has control over. um might like to have control over more of it, but they don't.
So, so our budget is is based upon that 16% uh number. So, everything we're talking about tonight is 16% of your tax bill. Uh and again, uh this is where your taxes went from last year, and we'll we'll know more in the next month or two where the tax is going to go in 2026. So, let's just talk a little bit about
the tax impact 2025 to 2026. So, on the on the municipal side, just the town portion, right, the 16% portion. So, little little comparison here. Um so on the lefth hand side 2025 numbers our total budget total appropriations was 54
million393 and change. The revenues that came in of things that we generated on our own were 22 million856 and change. And then the difference between the two becomes the tax levy. That's what we need from the taxpayers to balance the budget. Last year that was 31 million
537 and change that produced. So, of your um the municipal portion of your tax bill last year for an average assessed home, which was $826,700, that's the average assessed home in Westfield in 2025. The town portion that
was $3,34. So, $3,34 of your $18,948 tax bill last year was the town portion. The rest was school, county, and library. Um, so that's last year. Now, moving to 26, what changes? While our
budget changes, uh, the revenues went up slightly, but not very much. That means the tax levy went up. Um, and so that's the 32 million 523 number you see there. The assessments also go up. So the your assessed value, thankfully, we live in a
town where property values rise. So your the average property assessed or average uh assessed property in town in 2026 is no longer $826,700. It's $832,500. Uh so we have an increase in values. So
the total ratable value of all properties in town increased pretty significantly actually. That helps produce a lower tax uh rate to the resident. So right now our estimate based upon what we know of the town's portion uh that the town's portion, as
the mayor indicated before, about an $80 increase, $3,114 of the total tax bill will be the for town purposes. We say TBD in that last box because as of today, we know what we're proposing, the town is. Uh we've heard what the school's proposing. We've
heard what the county is proposing. We know the library's number, but we don't know for sure yet what the total average tax bill is going to be. Uh it's going to be more than last year that we know. The question is how much more, but we know that our piece is going to be about $3,114 of whatever the average tax bill. That
could go up or down by a couple dollars depending on what everybody else's piece is. But um we think that's very reasonable for what we provide and also a reminder we've had uh some flat budgets in the past couple years and that obviously something that's not sustainable. So um anyway that's a quick
look at some of the um uh comparisons to last year. Uh and by the way $80 uh is $6.67 per month. So uh when you break it down on monthly costs it's it seems to be very very manageable for town purposes. that I would argue and we'll talk about in a minute all the things we
provide uh to the residents is uh is uh supple most of the things people depend on. So how does our budget function? What are the revenues? What are the appropriations the expenditures? So on the revenue side that's sometimes the hardest side of the budget because the appropriations of course we control a
bit of it. A lot of it is not controlled. We'll go that go into that in a minute. On the revenue side a couple things to talk about. So uh the biggest piece of the pie there you see is surplus. That's a conversation every year. 6 million $40,000. Important to note that is uh the same amount we used
last year. The committee felt strongly that they didn't want to increase it. They didn't want to decrease it. They wanted to manage the tax rate. They also wanted to, as the mayor indicated before, has to be fiscally responsible for the future year. Do we have enough for next year? Do we have enough for the year after? So, that number is the same as last year. But you see other pieces
here. State aid, $3,19,000. That number has been flat for almost a decade. It's a nice piece of revenue for us, but it has not changed up or down. So, that's something that's been stagnant, but still helpful. Delinquent taxes, um, delinquent taxes, don't be fooled. We have excellent taxpayers in
this town. We collect a very high tax rate, but things do happen in a given year. So, out of 197 million, uh, or more than that this year, the anticipation amount, and that number comes from a formula that we get from the annual financial statement, um, $1.5 million is expected. Usually, we meet
that number or slightly exceed it. Uh but that's an important piece and you see it's a pretty large piece of our revenue number. Uh we have shared services and grants. Another thing to talk about here for a minute we have uh one of the probably model shared services in the entire state of New Jersey our regional health department.
Of that 1,ion57,000 1 million6 of it is for shared services towns reimbursing us for us providing services to them. So, Westville Regional Board of Health provides services to Mountainside, uh, Scotch Plane, uh, no, sorry, Mountainside, uh, Fanwood, Garwood, um,
Rosel Park, Summit, Chadam, Chattam Burough, and a few others. We are the lead agency, and so those towns pay us for our services. So, that our costs in town are slightly lower than it would be if we had our own own department by itself. So, that's important to note. Sewer fees, again, we're collecting 2.9 million in sewer fees, but that's not
the full bill. We subsidize close to half of it on the budget. So that's roughly a little bit um more than half of the of the fees we collect. And we're still obviously not charging residents the full amount. Court fines comes from just what you expect, fines, parking tickets, uh you know, other tickets that
go on in town. Construction permits very healthy and this is a sign of a healthy town. But people are investing in their homes uh and they're and redoing their homes outside and inside and of course new homes. That number is a very healthy number and that's slightly increasing every year. 1,475,000
parking per meters and permits just again that's the money we take from the pay stations and on street meters and the permits per year. Uh and uh so at 1.5 million there uh miscellaneous licens and fees. We have the town clerk here. Her department takes in lots of miscellaneous fees. Uh a lot of
departments take in fire, police, and so forth. Um taking a lot of different fees and licenses and that's 1.1 million interest on investments. manage of 44,000 is anticipated this year. Depending on how the markets do, what our uh our CFO is able to do that, we could try to exceed that number. And
lastly, senior housing leases and a lease and pilot revenue. Um obviously, so senior housing that 99 $989,000 709 of that is the senior housing lease. Okay, that's an agreement we have. It's a 30-year lease. That's a payment we
give. 280,000 of that is the pilot revenue. We only have one pilot in town. It's the Westville Crossing pilot which is still only in it in its second year. It's in its infancy. Um it's not stabilized. So the amount of pilot money is not very large. It will grow over time once it becomes fully rented and
stabilized. But right now of that 989, all we can anticipate in this year is 280,000. The good news is we know that number is going to grow, but obviously it doesn't grow overnight to a big number. It'll grow over time. But um if anyone that there's been discussion of pilot monies, it's a whopping $280,000
in this whole uh revenue puzzle. not a very big number right now. So again, that's just as a little snapshot of our revenues, where they come from and how we use them. Uh then of course that helps us to pay for the appropriations. So again, our budget this year is
proposed to be $55,642,991. And this is a little uh uh and we talked about this in the finance committee, little more we believe accurate approach here of how we should break this down into categories. So, as you can see, as you might expect, the two almost 50% of
our budget is spent on public safety and public works. Uh, and that's what you might expect, police, fire, public works, construction department, uh, engineering, uh, infrastructure work. So, 48% of our of our budget goes toward that. Uh, everything from police,
dispatch, crossing guards, um, parking division, uh, pensions, fire hydrants, also public works, our conservation center. We have one of the best conservation centers around in the state. It does cost money to operate. Um so that's a cost there. Uh maintenance of roads and sewers. Um parks and fields
maintenance, downtown maintenance, forestry management. Uh we the most requested item we get every single year in all my 25 years here is about trees, uh pruning, takedowns, plantings, assessments, you name it. It's it's it's and that's what makes Westfield Westfield. We are known for our tree
line streets, canopies. We take a lot of pride in that. We have a forestry division just dedicated to that. And of course uh um uh fleet management, something that the public might not understand. Uh except for the big fire trucks that Chief uh Dulks has,
which we can't um work on because of specialized certifications, our public works department has a mechanic shops that take care of almost every other vehicle in this town. We save a lot of money by doing that. We actually are turn police cars out in and out with sewer uh with oil changes and so forth. all the vehicles for recreation, board
of health, public works, uh police. Um so that's something that most towns can't say and we have an excellent staff and it's only been enhanced under director Gibson and and the productivity there. So that's been great. In addition to those big expenses, of course, as you might expect, we have we have 11 other
departments that operate that make up about 10% only 10% of our budget. That's my department. It's it's recreation, planning, zoning, health, finance, clerk, assessor, collector, court, and legal services. a lot of services for 10% of of 16% of your total tax bill. So, I think we do pretty well managing
that. As the mayor alluded to earlier, every town in the state of New Jersey, you don't have to look very far online or newspaper and find that every every municipality is suffering for two main things this year. Utility cost increases and health insurance increases. Uh we luckily are not part of the state health
benefits plan. So, when you read in the papers about state health benefits going up 34 or 24%, we are not part of that. We switched to a self- insurance plan five or six years ago. We have very good experience. While we're in experience in an increase, it's very well managed compared to what those things are. And you don't have a choice when you're sale
of benefits. That increase comes through. Either you leave the plan or you accept that increase. So, but despite that, we're seeing increases in health insurance and utility costs and sewer costs and other and other items as well. So, those are things that we get the bill and we have to actually uh pay
it. Last two things here. Um capital improvement fund. Uh that's money we put in the budget every year to use as down payment money on capital which we'll talk about in a minute. And lastly, utility costs as you might expect. Uh water, electric, gas, phone, street lighting, um fuel, sanitary, sewer
treatment, the RV, RVSA. Uh I'll say that the new members of council and the mayor um they're all surprised to learn. So if you had to take a guess, what is the combined cost to the town between fire hydrants and street lighting? You'd be might surp be surprised to know it's a million dollars between the two. So
the town must pay roughly a million dollars to the board of public utilities, those those entities, American Water and EPS and like every other town does. It's a required board of public utilities expense. Every municipality is required to support the infrastructure in their town that provides a service street lighting andor
the fire hydrants is inch feet of water man. The water man underground serving the hydrants. So something that when you come on the council learns like I got to spend a million dollars on this. I will not do other things but that's something that every town's required to do. So, gives you a sense of where um this money is spent and and uh again, I think we're
managing as best we can with the uh challenges we have. So, that brings us to the capital budget uh which is outside of the operating budget, but is tied to it. Part of the operating budget puts down payment money down on projects like this. So, also being introduced tonight is the capital ordinance. And
what's included in here is uh really six topics, six items or six categories. uh infrastructure and facility improvements, roads, sewers, drainage, all and we have a very large number this year. We have over 40 roads that are going to be touched either in full or in
part uh with storm water enhancements, drainage enhancements, uh and and milling and paving, which is a big deal. And I think I mentioned in in the uh previous meeting, if we're able to get done all the roads we planned this year, in addition to what the utilities are doing, by year's end, town of Westville
will have all 100 miles of road that the town owns paved since 2019. Uh that's really remarkable. Now, half of those roads have been paved by utilities because town councils in the past have changed rules that when they cut into the road a certain number of feet, they are required to pay that entire section
of road or entire road. So, the great news is a lot of that cost has been on the utilities. Uh, but our roads really have never been better, even though the winter was not not kind to anybody um for road uh work, but uh we're going to be in very good shape by year's end. So, that's the big cost. We have public
safety items, police and fire, obviously need uh replacement items, technology, cameras, um uh equipment, etc. That's the 216,000 and change. Facility improvements. Uh we have we we work in a beautiful facility here. We have firehouses. We have public works facilities. Uh they are aging buildings.
We have roof replacements, roof repairs, things to do inside. Uh this year that's 450 for those items. Uh equipment and vehicles that mostly this year makes up um uh public works. We're replacing equipment and and uh uh trucks that have to be replaced. Um in addition to
parking meters downtown. So our parking meters on street uh are older. The company we've been using is going out of business, which most towns use. We had to make a switch. So there's some money in there to partner up with money we had from last year to u replace all on street meters this year which will be
help and there'll be new technology available as well which is great. Um last two categories are traffic and pedestrian safety improvements. These are things that come out of the public safety committee, councilman Gilman's committee that based on when they meet, things come up. Uh people, you know, we do analysis, we do data analysis, uh
flashing stop signs, new stop signs, uh flashing beacons, pedestrian activated beacons, those kind of things when they come up, if you don't have a budget for it, you can't do it till the following year. So, we put money aside so when something comes up and if it means we can do it, we actually try to do it in that calendar year. That's at $70,000
there and that goes a long way. And lastly, recreation and parks improvements. So, um, we have continued park improvements here. Uh, we put money in every year for same kind of thing where if things come up throughout the course of the year that are small things, we have money in the budget to actually do park benches, water bottle
fillers, uh, you know, water, whatever it may be, we can do that. That's in addition to larger projects we'll talk about in a second. And of course, we have money in for design uh, work for the uh, pocket park we're going to uh, put forth. We we purchased a property last year with grand funds 200 South
Avenue, corner of South and Central. Uh part of our grant requirements are to design a new pocket part there um for beautifification and pedestrian uh enhancements there. So that'll be designed this year. So that's included in what's being introduced tonight. Uh and then the projects that are underway
from last year previous year's budgets. Hulahan Sidfeay parking lot and comfort station. As a matter of fact, that project's out to bid as we speak. Bids are due mid April. So we're hoping to get good bids there and uh award that project soon. The fuel system at public works that's been replaced. We're rolling it out now. the old system
underground as for DP requirements must be uh decommissioned. That's in process. Quimby Street design plan. The committees will be meeting again very soon and designing that uh that streetscape uh down on Quimby Street and then that'll be a project we do next year with capital. Uh Tomas Park design
plan. Same thing. Committee has been working uh for a while there. There'll be some public information shared very soon about concepts for the public to have reaction to and then that'll likely be a phase one that will take place in 2027. uh demolitions of the two properties we purchased uh both firehouse number two
the house next door to that and the old Mr. Goodloo on the corner of South and Central and lastly the cell tower installation after litigation is finally over that is planned to be installed this year. So those are some of the projects that were previously approved are underway will be taking place this year in addition to what we actually
have uh have approved up there. So it's a lot of information in a short time. That's $5.4 million for capital $55 million in change for the operating budget. Um, and we are still just 16% of your tax bill. So, uh, I think you're getting a lot for your money. Um,
lastly, um, I know Councilman Vic and or the mayor may have a few comments at the end here, but reminder to the public. This is the beginning of the budget process to the public. Um, we introduced tonight, we approve, it's out there, the public to be advertised. We have a email address budget.gov. If people have
questions, you're more than happy to email us. We do get back to everybody and our website has the budget documentation on. You can look at last year, previous years, look at this year's information. This presentation and the budget document introduced will be posted there uh by tomorrow. Um and then uh as the process continues, more
information will be posted as we go forward. So that's all I have, mayor, and uh thank you very much. >> Uh thank you, Jim. I I just before I pass it over to finance chair um Councilman Venadraman, I just want to thank the hard work and I I saw this kind of from the side uh but our finance
committee did such an amazing job and spent so much time. So uh so Councilman Venetan, Councilman Domaggala, Councilman Pekker, and Councilman Kefir spent an incredible amount of time, energy, and effort trying to get this right, and I think they did a wonderful job. So thank you to to our committee.
Uh and I know that Vic has a few comments. Yeah, just just a couple comments. Um, first I want to I want to thank uh our town administrator Jim Gilde and our assistant town administrator Heather Ray Ferrari. They have done a really incredible job uh
coalesing months and months of work uh into this really thoughtful presentation that Jim just walked through in the last 30 minutes. Uh so so thank you guys for for all the hard work there. Um, you know, it's, as Jim pointed out, it's been a rigorous, deliberate undertaking
for the past several months, uh, with many late night meetings. And it starts with all of our great department heads submitting their budgets and, uh, going through the appropriate, thoughtful, judicious review, which they absolutely did. Uh, and so, thank you to to all the department heads. And then of course our
our meetings with our CFO Scott Olsen, our audit team, and then again all the department heads to make sure that you know what they put forth is prudent and responsible for for the town and and it absolutely was and we appreciate all their hard work. Uh and then I just want to you know really thank our finance
policy committee uh meeting, our team uh as as Mayor Burman just pointed out, Councilman Kefir, Councilman Damagala, and our vice chair and Councilman Pcker. really just collaborative work uh for the last several months uh just pragmatic fiscally responsible that's
the approach we took throughout this process and then just last comment obviously as Jim pointed out uh this is just an introduction to the budget so we of course would you know hope that the public takes some time to read through uh all the work that we put into the decisions that we've kind of put forth and we welcome your feedback uh thank
you everyone >> thank you councilman Venet we move on can I say one thing real quick thanks thanks Uh first of all I echo everything that you guys said. I think it's a I think it's a great budget and a lot of work did go into it. Um for the public certification or benefit I
wanted to just touch on one thing and that is um the concept of the surplus that we run every year. So when we set the budget we inherit a surplus from the year before. Um and there's a little bit of attention involved on how to treat that surplus because part of being well in order to be fiscally uh responsible
and prudent you want to do a couple things. You want to keep taxes as low as possible, but you also want to make sure that that surplus survives and is robust enough to head off any problems in the future. So on one hand, you don't want to raise taxes while the town's sitting on piles of cash because it seems kind
of unsemly, but on the other, of course, you want to have a bit of a nest egg for tough times. Now, I wasn't here for this, but my understanding is during the COVID years, during the financial crisis 2008, town uh, you know, had lean times and and was tough. So the surplus is an important element and it's something we
deal with in the in the in the budget committee and it's not always easy to get it right. And when I first joined um on the finance committee I the first budget I worked on was 2024 budget. We inhered like a record surplus because it was a one-time shot of revenue we didn't expect. So we able to keep taxes at zero
and everyone was really happy. The next year we did the same thing. We kept taxes at zero. We had a good surplus but we kept dipping into it. And this year we have, you'll see obviously we raised uh you know we had to assess taxes. Um but we use as much of that surplus as we
comfortably can. And I would say for the next year that I'm going to be on the committee that's something to always keep an eye on is to keep that surplus as healthy as possible for future years. and and just I know people are focused on taxes, but I just hope you understand that that ying and yang component is
important too, which is we do need a nest egg to be a vibrant town and to be secure in case times get tough again. So that's the only thing I would say. It's just not it doesn't jump off the pages and not everybody goes on the website and studies all the data. So I just want to talk about that. Thanks, Council
Keeper. Okay, anyone else? All right. Uh, may I have a motion to approve the minutes from the town council conference and regular meetings of March 10th, 2026? >> Moved. >> Councilman Gilman. Second. >> Second. Second by Councilman Ventor
Ramen. Any discussion? >> Uh, all in favor? >> Yes. >> Opposed? The motion is carried. Now it's time for open discussion by citizens. Uh, anyone may come up to the microphone and speak to the council on any subject on which this council has jurisdiction. Please state your name and address for
the record and limit your comments to 5 minutes. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Jean Lmberg. I live at 528 Grove Street. The Tomquist Park design plan was recently published, which means you will soon be approached
by representatives of the artificial turf industry who will try to convince you that their products are sustainable, save water, and mitigate climate change. But those claims are not true. The layer of artificial turf that looks like grass
is actually a plastic carpet. Something on the order of this one. The polyethylene used to make artificial turf carpets is produced from ethane, a nonrenewable fossil fuel that is extracted from the earth via hydraulic
fracturing. FRA fracturing or fracking, a process that uses and contaminates enormous amounts of water. The ethane is transported to a processing facility where it goes through a polymerization process and eventually becomes
pre-production pellets or nerdles. The nerdles are melted and chemical additives containing carcinogens and endocrine disruptors including plasticizers, UV stabilizers, flame retardants and pigments are added to the
liquid to provide the finished product with a v a variety of characteristics. The liquid plastic is extruded to form yarn that will become the blades of plastic grass. PAS is used as a
processing aid and has been found in all the samples of artificial turf tested by the ecology center and pier. PAS bioaccumulates in plants, animals and people. It has been linked to cancer, nervous system
toxicity, immune dysfunction, thyroid and cardiovascular diseases. About 40,000 pounds of plastic is used to create an average size artificial turf carpet, which is equal to about 46
million plastic straws or 3.2 million plastic bags or more than 2 million plastic bottles. Worn out synthetic rubber tires are ground into crumb rubber, which is currently the most common infill. It
holds the plastic blades upright and provides cushioning. More plastic grass fields. Most plastic grass fields require a minimum of 150,000 pounds of crumb rub or infill or about 300,000
jars like Greg just held up. Each artificial turf carpet contains millions of blades of plastic grass. Due to the wear and tear of sports activities and exposure to the elements, the blades of plastic grass break apart into
increasingly smaller pieces, becoming microlastics, pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters in length, which do not break down or biodegrade. The microplastics and the toxic chemicals they contain, including PAS,
migrate off the field and into the air, soil, groundwater, storm drains, and into the food chain and end up in human organs, including the brain, lungs, and testes. On warm sunny days, artificial turf heats up, becoming a heat island,
contributing to the likelihood that athletes will experience dehydration, heat exhaustion, burns, and blisters. The plastic carpet off gases carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. It is an
imperous surface that will channel storm water into Westfield's already overburden storm drainage system. The plastic carpets have to be replaced every 8 to 10 years. There is a myth that plastic carpet is 100% recyclable,
but that is a false claim. There are no existing artificial turf recycling facilities in the US. So worn out plastic carpets end up in landfills or illegally dumped. Unlike artificial turf, which was first used as a sports
surface about 60 years ago, natural grass has been in existence for millions of years. It is grown from seeds, not plastic pellets. Natural grass cools the air, filters pollutants, and acts as a carbon sink, sequestering carbon dioxide
in its root mass and soil. It is time to show that Westfield truly cares about kids by enacting an ordinance that bans artificial turf and by directing funds to the installation of high use natural grass athletic fields that have been
designed to withstand athletic activities and are maintained using organic and regenerative maintenance practices. Thank you for considering this. >> Thank you, Mr. Mrs. Lmber. >> That was Mrs. Lmberg. >> Oh, you go as well if you don't mind as
well. >> Yeah. Thanks. Hi, Greg Lmberg, 528 Gro Street. First, thanks for all the work on the budget. Um, and really clear presentation. Uh, happy to have been able to hear it. Um, I have a couple of environmental concerns that I want to
bring to the council's attention tonight. First is the excessive idling of automobiles, particularly in the vicinity of schools at dismissal time. Um, we live near a school, so I can vouch for this. Uh, parents and
caregivers arrive as much as 40 minutes in advance of the end of the school day. The vast majority remained in their cars with the engine running the entire time. This well exceeds the 3 minutes of idling time allowed by state law.
Perhaps some signage on the streets in the vicinity of all the schools would be an appropriate starting point to remind residents to follow the law. Second uh concern is related to the artificial turf fields in town. As you've just heard, there are many issues
stemming from the materials used in these plastic fields. Another issue not previously mentioned is the excessively high cost of ownership of these plastic fields. This is an important consideration for residents, especially with the large tax increases coming from
the board of education. I'd like to illustrate the environmental pollution from these fields with examples from right here in Westfield. Players carry these pollutants off the field on their clothing, shoes, and skin. Rain washes the plastic and rubber
pieces off the field and the wind lofts them into the air and carries them away. Sidfean sheds gross amounts of microplastics into the environment. It's easy to scoop up this pollution by the handful around
the perimeter of the field. Similar issues exist at Kaylor Stadium, which I know is Board of Ed property, but it still illustrates the the point. Um, the microplastics can be seen out on the sidewalk on Raway Avenue. What's worse is it gets washed into the storm drains
and out into the Robinson's uh branch of the Raway River. This is the nature of artificial turf fields. They all pollute the environment far and wide. I'll email each of you some images to uh tonight to illustrate uh what's been happening on
our on our fields. Um, with clear evidence that the existing artificial turf fields are polluting our town, we need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, do we want to knowingly add more plastic fields that will pollute
our environment, or do we want to preserve our remaining natural spaces? The answer from the Tomakus Park survey that was conducted last year clearly showed that residents significantly prefer natural grass field over artificial. I've heard some myths and legends uh
about certain areas within Tomacus Park where only artificial turf can be used due to concerns about soil contamination. But does it really make sense to use more toxic chemicals to cover the existing contamination?
The alternative is to remediate any known contamination. That's what was done to the playground next to Lincoln School many years ago. Natural grass fields with drainage and irrigation could be built on top of
these remediated areas. I hope that the design firm, the committee working on the Tomakus Park renovations and the town council will reject any thoughts about adding more plastic grass to our town to help keep the environment clean
for our kids and grandkids. instead invest in new and existing grass fields to maximize their potential. Thank you. >> Thank you. Anyone else? Seeing no others, I close this portion
of the meeting and move to bills and claims. Councilman Venet. >> Thank you, mayor. I'd like to move bills and claims in the amount of $813,637.30. >> May I have a second? Second by Councilman Armentoto. Any discussion?
>> All in favor? >> Yes. >> Opposed? The motion is carried. Uh, next on the agenda is reports of the standing committees, beginning with the finance policy committee, Councilman Ventor. >> Thank you, mayor. I have 12 resolutions, seven of which I would like to move as a
package. One, resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to refund recreation department fees. Two, resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to draw warrants for overpay taxes. Three, resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to draw warrant for construction permit
overpayment. Four, resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to draw a warrant for board of adjustment escrow monies. Five, resolution authorizing affordability assistance grant pursuant to the town of Westfield's affordability assistance program for a tenant of an affordable housing unit at 2111 Echolane, unit
2111. 211 one. Yes. Six, resolution authorizing acceptance of the revised budget introduction and adoption dates as issued by the local finance board. And seven, resolution providing that for self-examination of the 2026 municipal
budget. >> May I have a second? >> Second. >> Second. Councilman Saunders. Uh any discussion? All in favor? >> Yes. >> Opposed? The motion is carried. Next, I would like to move a resolution to adopt temporary to adopt the
temporary capital budget. >> May I have a second? Second. >> Second by Councilman Daggala. Any discussion? >> Please call the role. >> Council members Gilman, >> yes. >> Domo, >> yes. >> Ter, >> yes. >> Keeper, >> yes. >> Saunders, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Mean, >> yes.
>> Mayor Burton, >> yes. The motion is carried. >> Uh, number nine, resolution to introduce and approve the 2026 municipal budget. >> May I have a second? Second by Councilman Saunders. Any discussion? >> Please call the role.
>> Council members Gilman. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Keeper, >> yes. >> Saunders, >> yes. >> Armentoto, >> yes. >> Megan, >> yes. >> Mayor Burman, >> yes. The motion is carried. >> Number 10, resolution to introduce and approve the 2026 special improvement district budget.
>> May I have a second? >> Second. >> Second by Councilwoman Gilman. Please call the role. >> Council members Gilman. Yes. >> Yes. >> Becker. >> Yes. >> Keeper. >> Yes. >> Saunders. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Mayor Burton.
>> Yes. The motion is carried. >> Number 11. Resolution authorizing the chief financial officer to make a budget transfer. >> May I have a second? >> Second. >> Second by Councilman Armento. Please call the role. >> Council member Gilman. >> Yes.
>> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Sers. >> Yes. >> Yes. Yes. >> Mayor Burton. >> Yes. The motion is carried. >> Number 12, resolution to approve temporary emergency appropriations. >> May I have a second? Second. >> Second by Councilman Damagala. Any
discussion? Please call the role. >> Council member Gilman. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Keeper, >> yes. >> Sanders, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Mayor Burton, >> yes. This motion is carried. I also have two ordinances I would like to move on
first reading starting with general ordinance number 2026-11 an ordinance for calendar year 2026 to establish a cap bank uh NJSA4A uh 40-45.14. >> Uh may I have a second? >> Second. >> Second by Councilman Armento. Any
discussion? Please call the role. >> Council member Gilman. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Keeper. >> Yes. >> Solders. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Ramen. >> Yes. >> Mayor Burton. >> Yes. This motion is carried. Last on first reading, I would like to
move special ordinance number 2026-01 bond ordinance to authorize the making of various public improvements in the acquisition of new additional or replacement equipment and machinery, new information technology equipment, new communication and signal systems equipment in, by and for the town of
Westfield in the county of Union, state of New Jersey to appropriate the sum of $5,415,000 to pay the cost thereof to make a down payment to authorize the issuance of bonds to finance such appropriation and to provide for the issuance of bond anticipation notices in anticipation of
the issuance of such bonds. >> May I have a second? >> Second. >> Second. Councilman uh Daggala. Any discussion? >> Well, please call the role. >> Gilman, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes.
>> Yes. >> Yes. Mayor B. >> Yes. This motion is carried. Councilman Packer, please move the code review and town property ordinance. >> Thank you, Mayor. I would like to move on first reading general ordinance number 2026-12, an ordinance authorizing the execution
of a lease agreement with Van Go Westfield LLC for the Mills Ferris Pearl House. >> May I have a second? >> Second. >> Second by Councilman Saunders. Uh, any discussion? Please call the role. >> Council member Gilman, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Becker, >> yes.
>> Keeper, >> yes. >> Saunders, >> yes. Yes. >> Ramen. >> Yeah. >> Mayor Burman. >> Yes. Motion is carried. Councilman Benitamin, please move the public works committee resolution. >> Thank you, mayor. I would like to move a resolution awarding contract for various landscape materials for the Department
of Public Works. >> May I have a second? >> Second. >> Second by Councilman Armento. Any discussion? All in favor? >> Yes. >> Opposed? The motion is carried. May I have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Uh Councilman Solder. Second. >> Second. >> Second. Councilwoman Gilman. Any
discussion? All in favor? >> Yes. >> Opposed? The motion is carried. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you all for being here.