Borough Opposes Budget Cap for Municipal Fees

The Council unanimously approved a resolution formalizing their opposition to two bills currently in the New Jersey state legislature that will apply the to municipal fees.

Councilman Len Resto said applying the cap to fees such as pool membership, parking permits or water and sewer usage would create an even greater strain on municipalities throughout New Jersey, including Chatham Borough.

"Every town struggles with [the two percent cap.] We struggle with it, but we get there," Resto said.

In Chatham, many fees are based on usage, including water and sewer fees.

"If you use more, you pay more. If you pay less, you pay less," Resto said, and for parking permits and pool memberships, "you're paying for a service."

The League of Municipalities also announced its dissatisfaction with the two bills. Part of their opposition stems from unclear definitions of what the cap could apply to. The bill says it would apply to "traditional municipal services. ...

"The problem that the League of Municipalities has with it is that 'traditional municipal services' is very openly defined," Resto said. "It's not clear whether their municipal services would extend to those type of fees that we're using to recoop our expenses."

Another shortcoming in the bill, Resto said, is the cap on fees "doesn't extend to schools and it doesn't extend to counties, where those two combined are the largest portion of your tax dollar. So it's aimed at municipalities, and municipalities feel they are being picked on unfairly, that not everybody is sharing the load."

Also, the bill does not require the legislative or executive branches of the state government to fulfill promises made which remain unfulfilled.

"One of the things the League of Municipalities is trying to do is to get the Senate and the Assembly to focus on things that Gov. Christie promised in his toolkit," Resto said.

Some items Resto specified which are still oustanding from Christie's toolkit are COAA reforms, civil service reforms and the restoration of the energy receipts tax.

"I think they need to focus on those issues," Resto said, "and see how much money we can get back from the state before passing what I'm sure is a well-intentioned piece of legislation."

Until then, he said, "I don't think it's been thought through enough for us to support it."

Resto moved the resolution for a vote, and Council Member Gerald Helfrich seconded the motion. The council adopted it unanimously.

Other items approved by the council included:

• First reading of an ordinance creating the position of Qualified Purchasing Agent in the borough. The borough's CFO, Michael Mariniello, will perform this role. Second reading of the ordinance will take place Monday, June 11.
• A resolution specifying that Mariniello will not serve more than 32 hours per week as the borough's CFO.
• A resolution settling a tax appeal over four years, from 2009 through 2012, between the borough and Peapack-Gladstone. Peapack-Gladstone will receive a tax credit in the amount of $10,331.67.
• A resolution authorizing the sale of surplus property by public auction, including four cars, two soccer goals and 102 granite blocks. The auction will take place Thursday, June 14 at 10:30 a.m. at the .
• A resolution authorizing the b. The borough is the only municipality in New Jersey to compete with towns from the rest of the 50 states for a $100,000 grant from SC Johnson to fund a local green project.
• A resolution approving a contract with Metrick Parking for two Aura machines, along with product warranty for maintenance and service, not to exceed $20,500.
• A resolution settling a lawsuit of Wolosky v. Borough of Chatham for $945 in the borough's favor.