OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Passaic City Council Meeting - May 15, 2026: 2026 Budget Presentation and Ordinance Discussions

Council Meetings — Friday, May 15, 2026
BodyPassaic, New Jersey
SessionCouncil Meetings
DateFriday, May 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:08:48

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

Good evening.

0:06

On behalf of the governing body of the city of Passake, we welcome you to the May 5th, 2026 City Council meeting.

0:12

In accordance with chapter 231, public laws of 1975, adequate notice of this meeting was provided by resolution of the municipal council adopted on June 17th, 2025, setting forth the schedule of meetings for the year 2025-2026.

0:28

Said notice was published and posted on the City Hall Bulletin Board by the Office of the City Clerk.

0:33

Please be further advised.

0:41

On April 24th, 2026, public notice and Zoom instructions for this meeting were posted on the City of Passake website at WW City of Passake.com council agendas.

0:53

Instructions are also available on the last page of this agenda.

0:56

Please be guided accordingly.

0:58

Roll call, please.

0:59

Councilman Monk.

1:00

Yes, present.

1:01

Councilman Love.

1:02

Present.

1:03

Councilwoman Mello.

1:04

Present.

1:05

Councilman Mayor.

1:06

Present.

1:07

Councilman Garcia.

1:11

Councilman Colom Montañez.

1:13

President.

1:13

And Council President Sher.

1:15

Here we stand for the occasion.

1:20

Heavenly following one and thank you, Lord, for allowing us to meet this evening.

1:24

Father, we ask you to please guide us in the decisions that will take place this evening.

1:27

You may be able to name.

1:48

Yeah, just want to ask for a moment of silence for um the ground man who was killed tragically over the weekend here in the city of Basake.

1:58

I want to pray for both the man and the Hill family.

2:14

Thank you, Councilman.

2:15

Thank you.

2:23

Good evening and welcome to tonight's meeting.

2:27

If you do not have a copy of our agenda and you would like a copy, they're located directly outside the council chambers.

2:33

Um you can also uh access all the information regarding this meeting, resolutions, ordinances, correspondence, etc.

2:40

That the council is received by the administration.

2:43

Those are also available to you online.

2:46

Our first order of business is remember number four and our agenda mayor's presentation 2026 preliminary budget presentation.

2:55

I believe this is considered receipt tonight by the council of the budget.

3:01

As we all know, the budget is the mayor's budget until he hands it to the council, at which time it becomes the council's budget.

3:08

One budgeted is certainly with all that confusion, it is the people's budget.

3:13

Uh, and with the people we will share with them why we are contemplating what we are.

3:18

Mayor, now I turn the floor to you, sir.

3:36

Yeah, so what we'll do as we have done in the past, we're gonna go through the PowerPoint.

3:42

Um, that'll explain kind of the process and where the numbers came from.

3:47

You should have a copy of the budget workbook, which gets into greater detail on you know the numbers that are presented in the PowerPoint.

3:57

So at this point, I'll just turn it over to Mr.

4:00

Omar Garcia, our chief financial officer to kind of walk us through the PowerPoint and how that correlates to the work.

4:13

Yes.

4:15

Good evening, council members, um, members of the public.

4:20

Here to present the 2026 proposed budget.

4:25

And if you bear with me a second, just to pull up the PowerPoint as we go.

4:31

As the business administrator stated, everyone has a copy of the budget workbook that goes into the detail of the various line items.

4:40

This PowerPoint will pretty much summarize the major changes within the 2026 budget as compared to the 2025, and where we got um the numbers.

4:53

So just by okay, just by uh introduction, a quick explanation on what is the budget.

5:00

The budget is the outline of how the city intends to spend its funds during the calendar year in order to provide the necessary services for its residents.

5:11

Appropriations or expenses are broken down by departmental salaries and other expenses, deferred charges and statutory expenses, capital improvements, and debt service.

5:24

And I will go through some of those examples later.

5:28

Revenues or income is broken down into four areas of fund balance or surplus, miscellaneous revenues, receipt from delinquent taxes, and amount to be raised by taxes, which are the current year's taxes.

5:48

There we go.

5:49

Okay.

5:50

Uh so now just to explain a little bit about how the budget is prepared, where the requests come from, how it's put together to become what you have in front of you at this moment.

6:01

So the budget process begins with the department or the division, the city department or city division submitting the request.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Equity Analysis████████████████████████████████32%
Procedural█████████████████████21%
Zoning Board██████████10%
Personnel Matters██████6%
Fiscal Sustainability██████6%
Public Safety█████5%
Transportation Safety████4%
Healthcare███3%
Public Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Passaic City Council Meeting - May 15, 2026

The Passaic City Council met on May 15, 2026, for a regular meeting. The primary agenda item was the presentation and introduction of the 2026 municipal budget by Mayor and CFO Omar Garcia. The council also considered several ordinances, including a parking standards update, a street excavation moratorium, and a drainage improvement appropriation. One public comment was heard, and multiple resolutions were adopted.

Consent Calendar

  • Items 6-9 (routine matters) and items 10-19 (routine matters) were approved en bloc by roll call vote.
  • Item 20 (single resolution) was approved individually.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Joshua Goldman, 185 High Street, addressed the council. He apologized for filing a lawsuit against the city regarding a rehabilitation resolution for his neighbor's property. He explained that he filed preemptively due to a strict time bar and expressed hope to withdraw the suit if the property owner's proposal proves satisfactory. He thanked the council for their work.

Discussion Items

  • 2026 Preliminary Budget Presentation: CFO Omar Garcia presented the proposed budget, highlighting total appropriations of $123,391,502. Key cost drivers included a $6,534,800 increase in health benefits (a 31% premium hike mandated by the state), a $334,000 increase in garbage and recycling collection (9.57%), and a $216,341 library appropriation increase set by the state. The mayor reiterated his commitment to keep the tax levy increase at or below 5%. The proposed budget uses $13.4 million in surplus, keeps the property tax levy increase at 5% (resulting in a 4.34% effective increase due to new ratables), and raises the average municipal tax bill by $322 per year ($26.83 per month) for an average home assessed at $275,000. The city explored alternatives to the state health plan but found them more costly. A new high-deductible health plan paired with HSAs and HRAs could save approximately $2 million if fully adopted. The city has been working to cut costs through attrition, delayed replacements, and shared services. Council members discussed the impact on services, the debt service schedule, and the use of surplus. The budget was introduced and will be subject to a public hearing on June 4, 2026.
  • Ordinance 2525-26 (Parking Standards): This ordinance updates parking requirements for a proposed 400-unit redevelopment. Councilman Monk raised concerns about the minimum parking space assignment (one per unit) conflicting with the per-unit ratios (0.75 for studio/one-bedroom, 1.5 for two-bedroom, etc.) and the allowance for payment-in-lieu of parking variances. The council voted to carry the ordinance to the next meeting without prejudice to allow for a report on recent parking variance history.
  • Ordinance 2526-26 (Employee Regulations): This ordinance was withdrawn from the agenda due to a non-minimum language change; it will be reintroduced for first reading.
  • Ordinance 2525-26 (Street Excavations): Passed on second reading after public hearing, establishing a five-year moratorium on excavations on recently improved roadways and enhanced restoration requirements.
  • Ordinance 2526-26 (Drainage Improvements): Approved on second reading, appropriating $6.6 million (including $1.6 million from reserves and a $5 million state grant) for drainage improvements.

Key Outcomes

  • The 2026 municipal budget was introduced (first reading) with a public hearing scheduled for June 4, 2026. A resolution authorizing the budget to be read by title only was adopted.
  • Ordinance 2525-26 (parking standards) was carried to the next council meeting without prejudice.
  • Ordinance 2526-26 (employee regulations) was withdrawn from the agenda.
  • Ordinance 2525-26 (street excavations) was adopted on second reading.
  • Ordinance 2526-26 (drainage improvements) was adopted on second reading.
  • Resolution 30 (authorizing health savings accounts and health reimbursement accounts) was adopted after a closed session discussion.
  • Ordinance 2525-26 (disabled parking) and Ordinance 2526-26 (Spear Village PILOT) were introduced for first reading, with second reading set for May 19, 2026.
  • Ordinance 2526-26 (worker payment protection) was introduced for first reading, with second reading set for May 19, 2026.
  • The council approved payment of bills and adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. On behalf of the governing body of the city of Passake, we welcome you to the May 5th, 2026 City Council meeting. In accordance with chapter 231, public laws of 1975, adequate notice of this meeting was provided by resolution of the municipal council adopted on June 17th, 2025, setting forth the schedule of meetings for the year 2025-2026. Said notice was published and posted on the City Hall Bulletin Board by the Office of the City Clerk. Please be further advised. On April 24th, 2026, public notice and Zoom instructions for this meeting were posted on the City of Passake website at WW City of Passake.com council agendas. Instructions are also available on the last page of this agenda. Please be guided accordingly. Roll call, please. Councilman Monk. Yes, present. Councilman Love. Present. Councilwoman Mello. Present. Councilman Mayor. Present. Councilman Garcia. Councilman Colom Montañez. President. And Council President Sher. Here we stand for the occasion. Heavenly following one and thank you, Lord, for allowing us to meet this evening. Father, we ask you to please guide us in the decisions that will take place this evening. You may be able to name. Yeah, just want to ask for a moment of silence for um the ground man who was killed tragically over the weekend here in the city of Basake. I want to pray for both the man and the Hill family. Thank you, Councilman. Thank you. Good evening and welcome to tonight's meeting. If you do not have a copy of our agenda and you would like a copy, they're located directly outside the council chambers. Um you can also uh access all the information regarding this meeting, resolutions, ordinances, correspondence, etc. That the council is received by the administration. Those are also available to you online. Our first order of business is remember number four and our agenda mayor's presentation 2026 preliminary budget presentation. I believe this is considered receipt tonight by the council of the budget. As we all know, the budget is the mayor's budget until he hands it to the council, at which time it becomes the council's budget. One budgeted is certainly with all that confusion, it is the people's budget. Uh, and with the people we will share with them why we are contemplating what we are. Mayor, now I turn the floor to you, sir. Yeah, so what we'll do as we have done in the past, we're gonna go through the PowerPoint. Um, that'll explain kind of the process and where the numbers came from. You should have a copy of the budget workbook, which gets into greater detail on you know the numbers that are presented in the PowerPoint. So at this point, I'll just turn it over to Mr. Omar Garcia, our chief financial officer to kind of walk us through the PowerPoint and how that correlates to the work. Yes. Good evening, council members, um, members of the public. Here to present the 2026 proposed budget. And if you bear with me a second, just to pull up the PowerPoint as we go. As the business administrator stated, everyone has a copy of the budget workbook that goes into the detail of the various line items.

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