$10K in Funds Up for Approval in Borough

The Chatham Borough Council will vote on a resolution transferring $10,100 to the 2012 Current Fund Budget to cover operating expenses and $140,000 to help pay for damage caused by Tropical Storm Sandy when they meet Monday.

Emergency funds from Sandy include $35,000 in police overtime, $35,000 in DPW overtime and $70,000 in operating expenses as a result of the storm.

Between August 2011 and November 2012, three major storms—Irene, the October 2011 snow storm and Sandy—hit the area, each causing more damage than the last.

Sandy's impact was by far the worst. At the borough council meeting on Monday, Nov. 12, Administrator Robert Falzarano estimated the storm's total damage to the borough at $680,841.

Costs to the borough from Sandy include:

• 655 overtime hours worked by employees of the Department of Public Works, totaling $33,734.
• 411 overtime hours worked by Police Department employees, totaling $31,107.
• 559 meals served for utility workers and volunteers, totaling $2,000.
• Estimated damage to borough property, including sidewalks, is $10,000.
• Estimated cost for private companies to remove trees and brush is $6,000.
• Approximate damage caused from borough trees is $600,000.

According to Falzarano, damage caused by borough trees can be taken out of the borough's Joint Insurance Fund (JIF), which is in the millions.

Operating Expenses

A further $10,100 will be voted on to cover unforeseen expenses to the borough.

The funds wil come from the budgets for the Assessment, fire Safety and Tax Collections department and will to toward emergency operations, financial administration and the fire department. Another $100 will go toward the municipal court, according to the resolution.

For the remaining funds, the resolution transferring $10,100 to the 2012 Current Budget will help pay for that amount.

The resolution transfers funds as follows:

The Chatham Borough Council meets at the Chatham Borough Municipal Building at 7:30 p.m. Monday. A full copy of the agenda can be found in the Photos & Documents section of this article.