Franklin Township Council Budget Review Special Meeting - March 10, 2025

This was a special meeting of the Franklin Township Council dedicated to reviewing proposed departmental budgets for the 2025 fiscal year. The meeting included presentations from multiple department heads, with council members asking questions and discussing line items. No formal votes on the budgets were taken; the meeting was informational. The meeting began with a call to order, pledge of allegiance, and roll call, followed by a public comment period with no speakers.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public spoke or called in.

Discussion Items

Human Resources (Raven Williams, HR Director)

• Proposed budget: $137,600, a decrease of $615 from FY2024. Minor adjustments included a $1,000 decrease in medical expenses and slight increases in professional association dues. Council commended the reduction.

Assessor (Richard Carabelli)

• Proposed budget: $17,700, a decrease of $5,550 from FY2024. Reductions due to digital tax lists (no printed list) and no deputy assessor (thus no conference/education costs). Postage and express charges increased. Council asked about fax/email line; it was explained that those costs are now combined elsewhere.

Purchasing (Cindy Belanger, Purchasing Administrator)

• Proposed budget: $118,245, an increase of $4,345. The increase is primarily in postage ($3,885) due to USPS rate increases. The department mails mandated items (tax bills, water bills).

Municipal Court (Keila Martinez, Court Administrator) & Prosecutor

• Court budget: $32,300, up $200. Increase due to $3,000 for interpreting services (required human interpreters). Decrease in printing ($3,000) due to e-tickets. Books and publications up $200.
• Prosecutor budget: $86,900, unchanged from FY2024 (salaries for principal, associate, and alternate prosecutors).

Recreation (Stephen Dahl, Recreation Director) & Senior Transportation

• Recreation budget: $68,730, a decrease from $105,530 in FY2024 because the youth center was split into its own budget. Youth center expenses were removed; the combined recreation + youth center budgets show an overall reduction. The budget includes $1,000 for education/training (moved from conferences/meetings) and professional association dues shared with youth center.
• Senior Transportation: $94,718 (up 2% from $92,423) under contract with Somerset County for a bus service. Council discussed whether a comprehensive study of senior transportation needs has been done; it has not. Current service is meeting demand. Council also noted evening transportation is lacking, but Somerset County does not offer evening drivers.

Youth Center (Windy White, Director)

• Proposed budget: $96,070 (down from $102,730 in FY2024). The youth center now has its own budget. A $750,000 DCA grant (one-time) is funding expanded programming, equipment, and a planned van purchase. The grant is shared with SCAP (Somerset Community Action Program) which received the matching half. Council discussed the impact if the grant is not renewed; Director White noted partnerships with community organizations (Amazon, Franklin Women's Club, etc.) have kept programs free. A shuttle service piloted in summer 2024 was successful. About $500,000 of the grant remains. Council also discussed potential school bus drop-offs at the youth center.

Land Use (Mark Healey, Director)

• Planning Board/Zoning Board: $186,250, flat. Minor reallocation: $5,000 moved from professional consulting to legal services. Council asked about uniform allowance for inspectors.
• Engineering: $141,345, flat. Bulk is professional consulting (township engineer contract).
• Environmental Commission: $4,400 increase, for the contract with Kenyon Planning (sustainability officer).
• Historic Commission: $1,000, flat, for training and conference attendance.

Economic Development (Vincent Dominach, Director)

• Proposed budget: $15,500, flat. Includes stipend for Hamilton Street Advisory Board, membership in Somerset Business Partnership and Chamber of Commerce.

Construction Code (Barry Wilbur, Construction Code Official)

• Proposed budget: $391,775, flat. The department is self-sustaining from permit fees. Council noted that fee collections were down in 2024, reflecting a slowdown in construction.

Fire Prevention (John Hauss, Director)

• Proposed budget: $7,900, a decrease of $1,071 from $8,981. Decrease because last year new fire code books were purchased. Year-to-date spending is 98.72%. Additional expenses (training, gear) are covered by a penalty trust fund.

Information Technology (Krista Hegedus, IT Director)

• Operating budget: $692,000, an increase of $201,794. The bulk ($192,544) is in software licensing, driven by cyber insurance compliance (tier requirements) and 10% across-the-board software cost increases. A $26,000 discrepancy (Census water meter software) will be moved to the water budget. Maintenance of other equipment is $71,000 (up $7,400 due to inflation). Council discussed AI implementation; no plans yet.
• IT Capital Budget: Items include $85,000 for computer/printer/server replacement, $50,000 for server room UPS battery refurbishment, $75,000 for telephone system upgrade (end-of-life August 2025), $75,000 for video surveillance upgrade (police request for 360° coverage of municipal complex), $60,000 for municipal LAN/core switches, $75,000 for Wi-Fi/fiber expansion for events, $30,000 for door access system at public safety building, $30,000 for digital signage, $30,000 for routers/switches (end-of-life), $75,000 for outdoor video surveillance (municipal building), $30,000 for managed detection and response (MDR) for cyber insurance tier compliance, $2,500 for event lighting, $2,500 for mobile registration for camps, $30,000 for municipal court recording system (over 10 years old), and $125,000 for GIS software (deferred to 2026). Also included water capital items: video surveillance for pump stations/water tanks, SCADA server rebuild, and firewall upgrade.

Township Council/Elections/Municipal Clerk (Ann Marie McCarthy, Clerk)

• Clerk budget: $61,819, an increase of $13,615. The increase is $12,000 for preservation and imaging of vital statistics books (birth records from 1925-1986, some damaged). Clerk records go back to 1798.
• Council budget: $20,298, a decrease of $958. Professional association dues increased $451; other lines decreased.
• Election budget: $39,800, an increase of $2,800. Printing and binding up $2,400 (sample ballots, ward elections) and $400 for armory rental increase (state-mandated). The township pays county for ballot printing per statute.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken on any budget; the meeting was a review session.
• The IT capital budget item for GIS software ($125,000) was deferred to 2026 by the Finance Officer.
• The meeting adjourned after council discussion; budgets will be further considered at a subsequent meeting.