Franklin Township Council Budget Hearing – March 17, 2026

The Franklin Township Council held a budget hearing on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, starting at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. The meeting focused on proposed operating and capital budgets for the Police Department, Department of Public Works (DPW), Water Utility, Open Space, and Information Technology. Council members reviewed line-item changes, questioned department heads, and discussed potential adjustments to capital requests before the final budget introduction.

Public Comments & Testimony

• The public portion was opened and closed with no members of the public offering comments.

Discussion Items

• Police Department (Director Lloyd Frederick, Captain Wilson, Sergeant Frore):

  • The police operating budget is proposed at $752,850, a decrease of $35,550 from 2025. Major changes include a $9,150 reduction for exams, a $10,000 increase for equipment repair, a $51,000 decrease from eliminating an electric vehicle purchase, a 12.26% increase for ammunition, and a 24% increase for telephone charges to provide department-issued phones to officers.
  • Dispatch (911) budget: $13,800, flat from 2025.
  • Emergency management: $13,800, flat.
  • Animal control: $56,780, flat. Director noted significant in-kind support from nonprofits Second Chance for Animals and Angel Tails. Councilwoman noted the mayor and council donate wedding officiation fees to the shelter.
  • Police capital requests totaling $1,431,200 were discussed, including a five-year Axon contract ($250,000), eight Ford Explorers ($350,000), outfitting of 10 vehicles ($175,000), water rescue equipment, a camera trailer, ATV replacement, and a portable training house.
  • Council questioned the number of explorers; it was suggested to reduce from 8 to 6, then to 5 plus 2 pickup trucks. Director agreed 5 explorers and 2 pickups is acceptable. Optional items identified: water rescue device, camera trailer (2 of 3), and some water rescue equipment could be halved. Councilman Vasanella requested reallocation to speed feedback signs; director noted two new portable radar boards are being deployed.
  • Councilman Oni-Jacca asked about business sponsorship of equipment; Director explained the Attorney General prohibits sponsorship of police vehicles and warned against private sponsorship of any police equipment.
  • The drone-as-first-responder program was not included this year because the previous vendor under-delivered; exploration continues.

• DPW & Water Utility (DPW Manager Carl Hauck):

  • Buildings & Grounds: $515,672 (up $5,750) – increase due to DEP air permitting fees and sewer fees for new buildings from the Board of Education.
  • Board of Education Transportation: $275,671 (down $13,814) – fully reimbursed by BOE.
  • Condominium Services Act: $125,000 (up $25,000) – statutory reimbursement to HOAs for snow removal, driven by a heavy snow season.
  • Sanitation: $761,387 (up $91,989) – driven by a sharp decrease in recycling tonnage grant offset (from $304,000 to $139,800). The grant is based on three-year-old tonnage data.
  • Shade Tree: $100 (down from $1,000) – expenses can be charged to the well-funded Shade Tree Trust.
  • Snow Removal: $705,750 (up $250,000) – after depleting the storm recovery trust (balance $238,404 at year-end 2025) due to significant storms.
  • Streets & Roads: $229,800 (down $10,900) – decrease due to arborist training which is only done every five years.
  • Utilities: $3,187,700 (up $212,700) – includes $100,000 increase for street lighting due to a 17% PSE&G rate hike; fuel costs may need further increase given rising prices (diesel ~$5.15/gal).
  • Vehicle Maintenance: $288,002 (up $60,000) – due to higher parts costs and tariffs.
  • Water Utility Operating: $27,150,502 (down $2,588,000) – $2.3M increase in other expenses offset by debt service decreases. Major items: wholesale water purchase flat, increases in postage, building maintenance, equipment repair, professional services, road materials, hydrant parts (25% increase due to obsolete models).
  • Water capital: includes $3.5M for Hamilton Street main replacement (grant applications submitted to Senators Booker and Kim), $2M annual main replacement, apartment retrofit meter pits ($158,125), pump station upgrades ($175,000), SCADA upgrades ($100,000), Kingston Pump Station ($2M additional), and a billing folding machine ($35,000) to enable monthly billing in 2027. Council expressed need for further discussion on monthly billing.
  • DPW capital: $3M road resurfacing; crack sealing ($150,000); stormwater infrastructure ($250,000); streetscape ($600,000); guardrail phase 11 ($100,000); tax lot consolidation ($100,000). Also: DPW admin addition ($750,000 – council asked for detailed plan), sewer line relining at municipal and PD buildings ($75,000 each), floor cleaning machine ($35,000), salt barn ($650,000 for 5,000-ton capacity – to ensure supply after this winter's shortages), vehicle lifts, vehicles, brine trailer ($135,000 – noted $175,000 savings from doing own brining), hot box for potholes ($35,000), vehicle washing station ($125,000 – to extend equipment life), and various mowers and open space equipment.
  • Council discussed the salt barn – Director explained that the current barn holds about 2,500 tons (shared with county), and with 1,000-1,200 tons per storm, a second barn of 5,000 tons is necessary to maintain service and avoid shortages.

• Open Space (Land Consultant Tara Kenyon absent; Bob presented):

  • Open Space Trust Fund budget: $1,996,241 (down $637,532) – decrease due to lower capital requests ($293,500 vs $990,000). Salary increase of $212,000 due to CWA contract raises for park maintenance staff (10 employees for 10 months, 2 for 12 months). Benefits funded from general fund. Debt service down to $731,175. Estimated open space tax revenue $8.683 million.
  • Capital requests: zero-turn mowers ($58,800), wide area mower ($80,000), all-terrain mower ($45,000) – council asked about usage; primarily parks but occasionally rights-of-way. Also: windscreens for Inman pickleball courts, Grasso Grove Pavilion ($125,000 – grant pending 75% state share), portable pickleball nets, pool benches.

• Information Technology (Director Krista Hegedus):

  • IT operating budget: $699,430 (up $19,035) – main increase in data processing equipment (toner moved from manager's budget) and training; software licensing decreased $18,000 by dropping unused apps.
  • IT capital budget: $587,000 (down $45,500). Items: computer/printer/server replacement ($118,500), WAN upgrades ($50,000), door access system ($65,000), video surveillance for police/municipal buildings ($100,000 – to cover blind spots), MacBooks for lab ($15,000), email archiver replacement ($25,000), credit card payment portal ($50,000 – one-stop for all departments), building paging upgrade for police and youth center ($30,000), website redesign ($50,000 – needed for ADA compliance, modern UX, AI chatbot; current site has 4,000+ pages), Office 365 Copilot AI add-on ($33,500 – piloted with one license), firewall replacement ($50,000 – end of life).

Key Outcomes

• Council and Police Department agreed to reduce the vehicle request from 8 explorers to 5 explorers plus 2 pickup trucks, reducing outfitting and radio costs accordingly. Director identified water rescue device, camera trailer, and half of water rescue equipment as deferrable.
• DPW will provide detailed plans for the admin building addition to council for review.
• The monthly billing proposal for water utility will be discussed further in committee; the folding machine request may be deferred pending that decision.
• The police drone program will be revisited next year after exploring new vendors.
• Grant applications for Hamilton Street main replacement were submitted; council will await funding news.
• All adjustments and deferrals will be evaluated at the financial oversight level before budget introduction.
• Meeting adjourned at approximately 10:10 p.m.