OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Franklin Township Council Budget Hearing - March 11, 2024

Township Council — Monday, March 11, 2024
BodyFranklin Township, New Jersey
SessionTownship Council
DateMonday, March 11, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:57:26

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

To order Madam Clerk.

0:10

Council was meeting is required.

0:12

Can including that this budget hearing would take place remotely.

0:16

It's 7 p.m.

0:17

on Monday, Mark 11, 2024.

0:22

If we could also say the allegiance, you don't necessarily need to stand a pledge of allegiance of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands.

0:35

Under God, indivisible with the liberty and justice borough.

0:41

Okay, Madam Clerk, please scroll the role.

0:46

Here council women flaw here.

0:50

Councilman Carthy.

0:52

Here.

0:55

Here counselment on Itaka.

1:00

Deputy May Apple.

1:03

President, although I can't turn my video on.

1:06

Council Willem Dean.

1:10

Councilman Bathinela.

1:16

Councilman Way.

1:19

Councilman Basanella.

1:23

There he is.

1:26

He looks like he's present.

1:28

He may be having trouble answering.

1:35

Yeah, Mayor can't talk as he's done.

1:37

Sorry.

1:39

I'm here.

1:40

Okay, good.

1:40

Can you hear me?

1:41

Yes.

1:42

Okay, sorry.

1:43

Thank you.

1:45

So this is a budget meeting.

1:47

Um some people may be wondering why we're doing it by Zoom.

1:52

It's actually easier for council to have rather than a laptop, a large computer uh screen in front of them, uh, so we can look at the budget numbers more easily.

2:04

So uh I decided, well, I came up with the idea of it, and uh I found other council members agreed with it.

2:12

Uh, but you can blame me if you don't like it.

2:14

Uh and just as my defense in the 20 years I've been involved, the only people I've known to come to a budget meeting are myself and Bill Connell.

2:23

So I didn't think we would be.

2:25

Oh, and the and the press.

2:27

So I didn't think we would be putting anyone out.

2:30

So we have public discussions.

2:33

We have a motion to open to the public.

2:37

So move.

2:39

Second.

2:40

Moves and seconded.

2:41

All in favor say aye.

2:43

Aye.

2:44

Aye.

2:45

Those opposed say nay.

2:48

Motion is carried.

2:49

Um so you can speak about anything with relation to government.

2:54

This is a budget meeting.

2:55

We'd appreciate it if you keep it to the budget.

2:58

However, uh, it's your freedom to uh speak about anything related to government.

3:06

All right, Mr.

3:07

Mayor, anybody from the public wishing to speak?

3:09

We ask that you use the reaction button at the bottom of your screen and raise hand feature.

3:13

You would like to speak.

3:14

If you're dialed in by phone, you can use the star nine to raise your hand, and then when you're done, star nine to lower your hand.

3:23

Again, if you want to speak, we ask to use the raise hand feature, which is under the reaction icon at the bottom.

3:36

Mr.

3:37

Mayor, I do not see anybody indicating they would like to speak at this time.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Technology and Innovation████████████████████████████28%
Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████████████25%
Public Engagement███████████████15%
Public Safety███████7%
Procedural████4%
Public Works████4%
Transportation Safety███3%
Engineering And Infrastructure██2%
Environmental Protection██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Franklin Township Council Budget Hearing - March 11, 2024

This was a virtual budget hearing held on March 11, 2024, at 7:00 PM, to review proposed fiscal year 2024 budgets for multiple township departments. The meeting was conducted via Zoom for council convenience. No members of the public offered comments. The council discussed and made adjustments to several departmental budgets, culminating in a decision to add $909 to the council's conference and meetings line while keeping the total budget flat.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during the public discussion session.

Department Presentations and Budget Discussions

  • Planning Board: Flat at $186,250; $50,000 shifted from professional services to legal services due to warehouse litigation.
  • Historic Commission: Increased slightly to $12,650 (later adjusted to $15,000 for the Environmental Commission—see Key Outcomes).
  • Engineering: Flat at $141,345; minor shift from printing to uniform allowance.
  • Environmental Commission: Proposed at $12,650, but corrected to $15,000 after noticing a resolution reference error; increase covers sustainability consultant and educational items.
  • Human Resources: Flat at $138,250; minor internal line adjustments.
  • Municipal Court: Decreased by $200 to $32,100; postage covered centrally.
  • Collector of Revenue: Increased by $2,507 to $22,373; funds reclassified from conferences to training for certification classes.
  • Tax Assessor: Decreased by $400 to $123,250; includes a new $3,000 annual software tool (CAMA) to assist with residential assessments and appeals.
  • Purchasing: Increased by $3,700 to $113,900; increase primarily due to postage rate hikes.
  • Recreation/Youth Center: Decreased by $345 to $105,530; fee-based programs fund additional activities.
  • Senior Transportation: Contract with Somerset County increased 2% to $92,423.38.
  • Construction Code: Increased by $1,000 to $391,775; for printing of permit forms.
  • Information Technology (Operating): Increased by $83,995 to $490,301; driven by software licensing (Office 365, GPS vehicle tracking, cybersecurity modules).
  • Information Technology (Capital): Funded multiple projects including computer replacement, server upgrades, video surveillance, digital signage, MDM, phone replacement, council chamber camera system replacement, portable Wi‑Fi hotspot, fire prevention equipment (pending district agreement), and $50,000 for parks/open space cameras.
  • Water Utility IT Capital: $35,000 for SCADA server rebuild after lightning damage.
  • Township Manager: Increased by $5,000 to $289,650; increase in office supplies/toner line; contingency fund kept at $240,000.
  • Economic Development: Flat at $15,500; consultant retainer removed, moved to planning budget.
  • Prosecutor: Increased by $10,900 to $86,900; first pay increase for prosecutors since 2018/2019, aligned with neighboring towns.
  • Township Clerk: Decreased by $38,143 to $48,204; removal of one‑time $38,000 codification project.
  • Elections: Flat at $37,000.
  • Township Council: Initially proposed at $20,347 (down $99). After debate, the council approved adding $909 to the conferences and meetings line (increasing it to a total of $1,409 increase) to allow for possible out‑of‑state travel, funded by reducing education/training; total council budget remains flat at $20,347. Policy details for travel will be discussed at a later administrative meeting. No clothing/uniform allowance was added.

Key Outcomes

  • Environmental Commission budget corrected from $12,650 to $15,000.
  • Collector’s training funds reclassified from conferences to education line.
  • Township Council budget adjusted by adding $909 to conferences/meetings (line 41) to keep the total flat; travel policy to be developed.
  • Medical cost increase of $2.5 million was noted by the mayor as a major upcoming expense likely to affect taxes.
  • No public comments were received.
  • Meeting adjourned after all budget discussions were completed.

Meeting Transcript

To order Madam Clerk. Council was meeting is required. Can including that this budget hearing would take place remotely. It's 7 p.m. on Monday, Mark 11, 2024. If we could also say the allegiance, you don't necessarily need to stand a pledge of allegiance of the United States of America to the Republic for which it stands. Under God, indivisible with the liberty and justice borough. Okay, Madam Clerk, please scroll the role. Here council women flaw here. Councilman Carthy. Here. Here counselment on Itaka. Deputy May Apple. President, although I can't turn my video on. Council Willem Dean. Councilman Bathinela. Councilman Way. Councilman Basanella. There he is. He looks like he's present. He may be having trouble answering. Yeah, Mayor can't talk as he's done. Sorry. I'm here. Okay, good. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay, sorry. Thank you. So this is a budget meeting. Um some people may be wondering why we're doing it by Zoom. It's actually easier for council to have rather than a laptop, a large computer uh screen in front of them, uh, so we can look at the budget numbers more easily. So uh I decided, well, I came up with the idea of it, and uh I found other council members agreed with it. Uh, but you can blame me if you don't like it. Uh and just as my defense in the 20 years I've been involved, the only people I've known to come to a budget meeting are myself and Bill Connell. So I didn't think we would be. Oh, and the and the press. So I didn't think we would be putting anyone out. So we have public discussions. We have a motion to open to the public. So move. Second. Moves and seconded. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Those opposed say nay. Motion is carried. Um so you can speak about anything with relation to government. This is a budget meeting.

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