Old Bridge Township, New Jersey - April 28, 2003 Minutes

A Regular Meeting of the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge was held on Monday, April 28, 2003 at 8:00 p.m. in the Municipal Complex. The meeting was called to order by Vice-president Redmond asked all present to participate in a salute to the flag which was followed by a short prayer.

Deputy Clerk Ward announced that the meeting was being held in conformance with the Open Public Meetings Act and was published in the newspaper. Roll call by Deputy Clerk Ward showed the following answering present: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond. Councilman Hoff and President Butler were absent.

Executive Session: 7:30 p.m.

RESOLUTION #216

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge that the public be excluded from this meeting pursuant to NJSA 10:4-13 for the discussion of the following matter or matters:

Personnel - Health Coverage to Retired Employee

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this meeting shall reconvene in public session in 1 hour and that the minutes or other record of these discussions shall be available to be disclosed to the public in sixty (60) months unless a sooner date is determined by vote of the governing body at a public session.

Moved by Councilman Baker, seconded by Councilman Greene and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice President Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

Regular Meeting reconvened at 8:05 p.m. after a brief recess.

Bill List

RESOLUTION #217-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Business Administrator has the responsibility of approving all bills and vouchers subject to preaudit and control; and

WHEREAS, the Director of Finance is responsible for the preaudit, the disbursement of all monies and the control over all expenditures to ensure that the budget appropriations are not exceeded; and

WHEREAS, the Finance Committee of the Township Council has satisfied themselves in respect to the bill listing of April 28, 2003 that there exists a detailed bill or voucher supporting each payment and there is indication that goods or services have been received or rendered.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge that the bill listing of April 28, 2003 as approved by the Business Administrator after preaudit and control by the Director of Finance and after review by the Finance Committee be spread on the minutes in the amount of $12,111, 521.95 (General Fund)

Moved by Councilman Testino, Seconded by Councilman Baker and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler.

Bill List

RESOLUTION #218-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Business Administrator has the responsibility of approving all bills and vouchers subject to preaudit and control; and

WHEREAS, the Director of Finance is responsible for the preaudit, the disbursement of all monies and the control over all expenditures to ensure that the budget appropriations are not exceeded; and

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Greene and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler.

Bill List

RESOLUTION #219-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Business Administrator has the responsibility of approving all bills and vouchers subject to preaudit and control; and

WHEREAS, the Director of Finance is responsible for the preaudit, the disbursement of all monies and the control over all expenditures to ensure that the budget appropriations are not exceeded; and

Moved by Vice President Redmond, seconded by Councilman Baker and so DENIED on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Vice President Redmond.

NAYS: Councilmen Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler.

BILL LIST

RESOLUTION #220-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Finance Committee of the Township Council has satisfied themselves in respect to the bill listing of April 24, 2003 that there exists a detailed bill or voucher supporting each payment and there is indication that goods or services have been received or rendered.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge that the bill listing of April 24, 2003 as approved by the Business Administrator after preaudit and control by the Director of Finance and after review by the Finance Committee be spread on the minutes in the amount of $740,693.45 (Payroll).

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Vice-president Redmond and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

BILL LIST

RESOLUTION #221-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

Moved by Vice-president Redmond, seconded by Councilman Baker and so DENIED on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilman Baker, Vice- President Redmond.

NAYS: Councilmen Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler.

Councilman Baker: I have a question for the attorney, for the folks that are watching at home for the first time and for the folks in the audience, I want to explain that although it appears that the Council has control over the overtime they don't. It is controlled by contract which is negotiated by Administration. We just voted "no" for the overtime, Mr. Ruggierio can you explain that? Do they get paid any way?

Attorney Ruggierio: They get paid. It is probably not exactly correct to say that it is controlled by the Administration. The police just like any other employee are entitled to receive overtime for working in excess of what the fair labor standards act states is compensable. The right to control how police officers are deployed within the police department lies with the Chief and has been established by case law that the Chief has the right of assignment which cannot be interfered with by civilians. That may mean that a different deployment could result in overtime savings and it may mean that no amount of creative deployment could reduce the overtime. The long and short of it is that this overtime is incurred and we are obligated by law to pay it. What is the consequence of the Council voting "no" on the overtime as it has done for a fair amount of time, I suppose it could be an audit exception, beyond that I think that you have a legal obligation to pay the overtime and that is all I can tell you.

Councilman Calogera: If we are going to play this game I would like to use my "no" vote on the overtime because I don't believe we are expending this overtime in the best interest of the residents and I think there are ways of keeping it down, which I don't think is being done and I will continue to vote "no" even though it is only a symbol.

Councilman Testino: I will chime in on that.

Preliminary Public Comments:

David Merwin Everyone knows that Monday, May 26th is Memorial Day and that we will be having the annual parade. Everyone at home please come out it is in Laurence Harbor and has been going on for fifty years. The best viewing is along Laurence Parkway and the park area. We would love to see everyone come out and show their support for this event and for our country and the freedoms we enjoy. Mayor Cannon and myself, as the parade coordinator have named Bob Bozian from the Tax Collector's office as this year's grand marshal. Bob is one of if not the oldest employees of the township and this honor is being bestowed on him.

Eugene Dunlop: My subject is the YMCA. We are now talking about condemning property and our batting record is not too good, the last time we did this it cost us a fortune. I now read in the news media "politics", Councilman Greene states he has no agenda, he is only interested in protecting the children. He makes a statement that Mayor Vas is running for the Assembly in the 12th District and he should consider the children of Old Bridge. I would like to remind Councilman Greene that we are the 13th District and Sam Thompson is the representative of this town. Then we go with credits, in the paper he indicates that perhaps the democrats are not proceeding with the YMCA because they don't want to give the republicans credit. Gentlemen, you do not get the credit. Good, bad or ugly the Mayor is the one that gets the credit and when she does it wrong, your "ass" will correct it. We negotiated for this Cedar Ridge property and you negotiated with Perth Amboy for two years and it cost you 18 million dollars. But, if we were aware of the big picture, we could see that we could have negotiated with Perth Amboy to purchase the Raritan Watershed and brought the property for 5.5 million dollars and had 12.5 million left over and then offered Perth Amboy 12 million dollars and we would have a park here with 1166 + acres. I don't know where we are coming from. What a tribute this would have been to Pete Mannino, who was not a political foe of mine, but a personal friend. There is criticism of a survey being taken and I quote from the recreation director who serves on the YMCA, that we could put Yankee Stadium in there without parking. Hopefully that is what the survey is for, why do we want to develop parks without parking facilities. The rumor that the democrats don't want the YMCA in Mannino park because he was a republican. You people are in this complex every day, I ask you to look there is a George Bush Senior Center, the Tom English Administration Building. You show me a democrat who voted no. When a resolution was put forth here to name something for Mary Brown, Councilman Greene and Councilwoman Panos , wished to table the matter for further information and she was a democrat.

Tom Weiler: I want to discuss Breakfast Club 80. Parking was open to Miller School this past weekend. I live on Ridge Road, what that meant to me was that most of the cars were eliminated from Ridge Road partly due to the fact that they left a valet parking attendant at the end of the street telling them they would be ticketed and towed if they parked on Ridge Road and we know that is not true. We did have cars turning on Ridge Road making "U" and "K" turns or pulling down Robin Lane thinking they had access to Rt. 516, which they do not. It is a problem that is not going to go away. Breakfast Club 80 does not belong in our neighborhood; it is not a restaurant, it is a nite club and according to the Home News article on April 18th it states that it is a nite club. My question is who represents the Council on the Zoning Board?

Councilman Calogera: I represent the Council on the Planning Board.

Tom Weiler: How many patrons per car are allowed for a restaurant in Old Bridge as opposed to a nite club?

Councilman Calogera: You have a maximum seating of 200 and a requirement for 67 vehicles to be parked.

John Vincenti: The parking ratio is one space per every three seats for a restaurant and for a nite club there is 1 space for every two patrons.

Tom Weiler: So we are calling this a restaurant and you are allowing them to park as if it were a restaurant?

Vice-president Redmond: We voted "no".

Tom Weiler: You voted "no" on the liquor license, but on the variance or whatever you voted "yes".

Councilman Testino: They did not get a variance.

Tom Weiler: I know that they did not get a variance, I checked. However, they are parking although it is a restaurant and I want to know why they are allowed to have three patrons per spot as opposed to two patrons per spot.

Councilwoman Panos: Let me expand on that, they are being allowed to valet park in Miller School, perhaps Capt. Cerra can explain that.

Vice-president Redmond: This portion of the meeting allows three minutes for comments. We understand the problem down there and we are working on it. It is my understanding that there were fire people down there over the weekend, so it is a problem that we are aware of and we are trying to address it through our administration.

Councilwoman Panos: I was there Friday night and I was the one who called the fire department.

Councilman Calogera: I would like to hear from other people.

Vice-president Redmond: I have three names on the list of those wishing to speak at this portion and he is the third name.

Councilman Calogera: I want to speak because I sit on the Planning Board and I am familiar with the situation and it is supposed to be operating as a restaurant. The license was denied by this Council and instead of a person-to-person transfer, there was a transfer from corporation to corporation, rather Breakfast Club bought the corporation and by them doing it that way, there was no transfer and approval was not required.

Councilman Testino: Can we send the zoning officer out?

John Vincenti: The zoning officer and a representative of the zoning office both went out, one was there Saturday evening and I am awaiting a more detailed written report and we are going to sit down and evaluate it. The crux of the matter is that it appears that the architectural plans that were presented and what is going on inside are very similar; a very small kitchen and seating for 200 people. Based on that the zoning officer made the determination that it met the definition of a restaurant as opposed to a nite club. You also recall that the first submission by the applicant was definitely a nite club and he came to the Council on a number of occasions and modified his plans and it was determined by the zoning officer that what was being proposed met the qualifications for a restaurant vs. nite club.

Attorney Ruggierio: You might sense some reluctance on the part of the Council to jump into this issue. A lot of them probably have strong feelings and things to say about it and maybe even agree with, but the problem is I did counsel them at the last meeting to be very careful about this issue because it appeared that with all the complaints that are being made, founded or not, at some point they are going to come back before the Council, because in June all liquor licenses renew, and then there is an opportunity to address the situation. If there are things going on, and let me say, the township in general want to know anything that any citizen has to say that this business was not being operated correctly. We also want to be very careful that if we do take action of an adverse nature, that we have given the people notice and opportunity to be heard and treated them fairly and that ultimately our judgment would be sustained. Sometimes if feels good to make your statement known, but if it does not result in ultimately in correcting what is obviously annoying to the neighbors and the public in general, then you have not moved very far so that is why you see a little bit of reluctance that I congratulate the Council and ultimately Mr. Redmond's comments are correct we do contemplate proceedings in the future to take appropriate action being reasonable with the liquor license holder, but also being fair to the residents.

Tom Weiler: I appreciate the extra time, but I don't think there are 200 seats in there, maybe 200 places for them to stand. My biggest concern still is why are they allowed 3 patrons per spot instead of 2 as a nite club.

Report/Guest

R-1 Feasibility of Advance Tax Sale - Gene Farrell, Auditor

Gene Farrell: I was asked to talk about using the accelerated tax sale as a budgetary mechanism and I will explain the theory and then I will explain the rationale insofar as you should approach it as a governing body in making a decision whether or not you should utilize this as a practice. I am giving you the written information tonight so that you can have it in front of you this evening.

Primarily the theory behind an accelerated tax sale is twofold. The first is that you will have two tax sales, the final tax sale will be in the last month of your current fiscal year. The primary rationale is the tax sale forces individuals to pay their taxes, either they pay their taxes or outside individuals purchase the liens on those properties as an investment. The second reason is the receipts that are generated from the tax sale are allowed to be utilized as a reduction for your reserve for uncollected taxes. Now the reserve for uncollected taxes is a mechanism which prevents the township from going into default and insures sufficient cash so you can make all your payments. Because the calculation incorporates not only the municipal levy but also the school, county and fire districts levies, this is a substantial number. Himanshu did a projection which is one piece of what should be incorporated when you make a determination as to whether or not to use that. The things that you should consider, the theory behind the accelerated sale is the opportunity to have a second sale and the receipts generated from the second sale can off-set the increase in the reserve for uncollected taxes. The second benefit is it forces almost 100% of your collection. Here is the problem because you cannot operate in a vacuum, before you make the determination to go forward with this, you have to take a hard look at the ratables within the township. You have to stratify the taxpayers and which group will be hurt most by this practice. Because in effect the individuals who do not pay their taxes will have to pay them as a result and in addition you have to take a look at the volatility of the situation.

For an example, if you tax rolls equates to one million dollars and you go forward and theoretically you are anticipating 100% collection, in the meantime you have a county board judgment of $100,000, where you are guaranteed a deficit of $100,000, you are not going to collect that, so the arbitrary number you arrive at is the percentage of collections that is utilized.

So when you make the determination to go forward, you want to have an analysis of what comprises your tax rolls and what people are going to be impacted by it. If you have significant county court judgments, bankruptcies, wet lands, whatever, you are not going to collect those taxes and you are precluded from selling those liens against those properties. Finally, the majority of the people impacted are the individuals who own their properties who will most likely be your seniors.

Himanshu Shah: I just have one comment and I think Gene mentioned this, it is about the taxpayers. If you recall when we first discussed this issue, that was my concern, that we are more than 80% residential and when you do an accelerated tax sale you are forcing people who did not pay their 1/4 tax to go on tax sale. Right now they do not go on tax sale until almost a year. Now May 12th will be the starting point to begin the accelerated process and by June we will be completing tax sale for the people who did not pay tax on May 10th, they basically have two days. We have people who pay in installments, even though the payments are due on the first of the month, within three (3) months they catch-up and pay this, you are not going to give them any opportunity to pay it, they will be on tax sale and incurring a lot of additional costs. So when he talks about the tax base, your residential base what is really what you should be thinking about. The other thing I want to highlight is that we are at a very high collection rate right now. This process would be beneficial if we had a very low collection rate. We are at almost 98.5% collection rate, that is why you will not see a tremendous benefit and it is a one year benefit. Starting next year the benefit will be gone and you have to continue to maintain this accelerated tax sale to sustain having negative impact.

Gene Farrell: That is the downside of it. What you have to do, and you don't have it in front of you, is before you make a determination is what normally drives this is the tax increase for your upcoming year. So if you have a significant tax increase forthcoming, you have to take a look at the avenues available and this is an excellent avenue to do it. You have to also consider what impact an accelerated tax sale will have on the tax increase.

Councilman Maher: Himanshu, do we have that number?

Himanshu Shah: We have a general idea, your major source of tax increase is the Board of Education tax levy. You know that has gone up significantly, 12 points and I think there was a similar increase or more last year and that continues to have the biggest impact. Gene is making a valid point that this is an avenue to make an impact, but the problem is that it is only an impact on one year. Based on the analysis you are going to have a three tax point impact for the fiscal year 2004, after that, you have no additional benefit and if you look at the analysis it shows a negative impact thereafter. That is my concern, but Gene is absolutely right it is an avenue that legislature has made for short term relief.

Gene Farrell: Personally, I think it is something to be considered. We had two other clients who were considering this and the reason why it was implemented was because they took a look at the tax rolls and individuals who would be impacted the most were senior citizens and also, their percentage of collection was around 96%, but this is something that definitely should be looked at.

Councilman Maher: Himanshu, can you run the numbers to anticipate a best, worse and most likely case scenario, based on what we know now with the Board of Education increase.

Himanshu Shah: That was my attempt and when I initially did my analysis, and the auditors office called and I think it is one of the state requirements to pull back and do the same expense for the comparison purposes. I think that when we put in the increase for the next two years for the Board of Education, the impact is worsened. What you are showing here is the negative in a smaller amount because we did not account for any increase in school tax. I tried many different ways and I came back to you and said the concept is very straight forward and it is for a one year impact. This multi-year analysis does not make any sense based on all the formulas given to me by the state and they would not work. I called the state and asked three different people there for help. I asked several other of my finance colleagues and almost everyone is running away from this because of the problem that lies in going forward and maintaining this kind of a tight accelerated tax sale. Remember, the biggest problem that we have is that it starts on May 12th and ends on June 10th and we don't even finish the quarter. Sometimes depending on the situation , our tax bill might be delayed and all of those situations scare me because how can we do an accelerated tax sale if we have not even done the billing.

Councilman Maher: As Gene suggested do you have any idea as to what our anticipated tax rate will be?

Himanshu Shah: No, I do not. I have a general idea, 12 cent increase from the Board of Education and I don't know what the County rate will be and we just started working on our municipal budget and it is a difficult situation. There is no question that we will be impacted with significant numbers.

Councilman Maher: So why don't we complete Sheet 5A and do an analysis?

Gene Farrell: What I am suggesting is you need a report from the tax collector and you need to go through what I have prepared. The important thing and I have said it before, if you push up that reserve for uncollected taxes and if you have significant properties out there that are pending bankruptcies or you have properties that are pending county court judgments that could have a significant impact on your tax roll, it is like any business decision, you have to incorporate a matrix. When you incorporate that matrix of risk-reward, and you make a determination so far as percentage of collection, if you have a very high percentage of collection and utilize a high percentage of collection reserve for uncollected taxes, the only benefit that you will have is increased receipts from the tax sale which in effect is a non-recurrent event. It will drive the revenues up and drive up potential tax increase that year but it is a non-recurring event. If your percentage of collection is 98% or almost 99%, you're utilizing 98.2%, the benefits are only the receipts coming in for the initial year and then you have to incorporate that calculation if you have significant tax increases in the composition of your tax rate.

Himanshu Shah: I would like to do and it is complicated, and I have a real concern about long term impact, and I would like to utilize Gene's services to continue his analysis. We will try to put together the analysis he is referring to.

Gene Farrell: Time is of the essence and if you look at the model that you have, there are errors in that model. The thing that the state will be looking at is they are incorporating the items that are within the annual financial statements. Also, again, once you go with it you must continue with this process.

Councilman Maher: I'll take you up on this; I have been pushing for this for a long time. It is a new financial tactic and whatever you need to do using the services of Gene and his firm, within the next two weeks, it should be done. I would encourage you to continue working and come back to us. We are looking at a significant tax increase this year and we need to look at different financial strategies, out of the box of thinking and I think this is so new people don't know about the accelerated tax sale and I think we should be getting on board.

Gene Farrell: Remember, I said the most critical thing about this is the projected tax increase on the municipality thing and nine times out of ten that is on the high end.

Councilman Greene: I understand the principle of it and not to beat a dead horse, the principle of this works well with a municipality that is fiscally in trouble. For one reason or another they have a number of real estate tax collectibles, Gene just mentioned 80%. You sell those taxes to individuals to recoup the revenue that you may not get during the current year, but you may get it down the road next year or the year after, but it is a way of scaring those land owners, homeowners, who don't pay the taxes to get the money into the treasury so that you can rely on more than 80% collectible rate, maybe you could bring it up to 85%-87%. I have a concern with the tax sale if you look at Old Bridge. You would have to incorporate that action into the budget when you adopt it, my problem with that is the tendency would be that if you anticipate this additional revenue, which Mr. Shah stated could be from homeowners who have houses assessed at $145,000 and for whatever reason may pay their taxes late and now all of sudden we are going after them, which is fine, but my concern is the fact that in the beginning of the year we are anticipating that revenue to spend it and I think that this township has done a great job with their finances. However, it worries me when you anticipate doing a tax sale to get additional revenues to spend it. I like the current practice of having that reserve for unpaid taxes and a reserve which is a nice cushion and can be used for relief in the next budget as opposed to putting the burden on individuals who may not be able to pay their taxes and anticipating spending that money. I am not really in favor of it, it seems to me another way of taxing and spending money. Because for sure if we anticipate a tax sale, what will happen, it will go into the budget and it will be spent.

Councilwoman Panos: I agree and in that whole analysis you said there are a lot of residents and you said it did not take place in certain towns because of the seniors. When we start figuring out how much of it is residential, I also would like to see how much of our deficit is due to seniors.

Gene Farrell: Lucille, realistically, the people who are going to be impacted are the individuals who paid their mortgages, own their home. We are in financial downturn here, so people are deferring as much as they can and one of the things they defer are property taxes. Three weeks ago I went before the local finance board and they wanted to know why there was a downturn in the percentage of collection. What we did was we deferred a significant dollar amount as it relates to deferred school tax and they went into early retirement and we utilized the deferred school tax to pay the debt off, but their primary focus was on that percentage of collection attributable to people deferring the payment of their taxes because they were utilizing their resources for daily living expenses. What I am saying is that you cannot make this decision in a vacuum you have to take a look at your ratables and you have to make an administrative decision. You have to weigh the benefits and you have to weigh the people who will be impacted.

Himanshu Shah: We will try to work on the reports.

Councilwoman Panos: I don't want this on the back of the seniors, that is for sure.

Mayor Cannon: I just want to mention that once you go into this program you have to continue.

Gene Farrell: You can stop the program, but it will have a significant impact on your taxes. There will be a real spike in your taxes. So once you commit to this, you pretty much have to go forward doing it on an annual basis.

Mayor Cannon: You are getting only a one year benefit and the other years, you stated we are going into a negative situation, correct?

Gene Farrell: In all probability that will not occur. The benefit is the additional receipts you will get which will be used to utilize the reserve from uncollected taxes. Basically, it is a non-reoccurring economic event.

Vice-president Redmond: Gene, could you briefly touch on this other item, the defeated budget proposals? The only question is are we required by statute to take any action?

Gene Farrell: The issue with the school budget with regard to the tax levy, I am just going to ask if you have received a memo from Dr. Quirk at the Board of Education regarding this.

Attorney Ruggierio: No, we received a letter from the County.

Gene Farrell: Basically, the bottom line is you have to take action as it relates to the two questions because they impact on the tax levy also. The two items were defeated, the only action you can take is concur with the voters or you can amend the school budget to incorporate those items and raise the school taxes.

Councilman Testino: So you are saying the appropriate action is to concur with the voters? This has to be done by May 19th , so send a letter to the school district and tell them we are going to put it on our next agenda for action.

Gene Farrell: I spoke with Dr. Quirk on this matter and he was supposed to provide a memorandum explaining what action has to take place by the Council.

Presentation

CDGB Annual Action Plan FY 2003

Mike Ruffley & Linda Wills - Plan Consultant

Mike Ruffley: Pursuant to the requirements of federal code regulations 91-105B1, Old Bridge anticipates receiving approximately $403,000 in community development grants. We also anticipate receiving $30,000 for program income during the current year. The programs must meet the required activities. Various programs are eligible under this grant but again they must be qualified under the statute. The Township has to assure that 100% of the funds expended during the current years will be used to benefit persons of low/moderate incomes. A copy of the budget was presented to the Council for their reference.

MOTION

Motion to accept CDBG Plan as submitted made by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Baker and so moved on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Redmond, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

Prior to the motion the following discussion took place:

Councilwoman Panos: This "frail and elderly" what is that?

Mike Ruffley: We have an aide who works in the Senior Center who helps the disabled people.

Councilman Calogera: With regard to the Mr. Fix-it Program, I believe the County had this program and I have been trying to get access for some of the seniors in the Ticetown building. Do we allocate any funds here for the Mr. Fix-it Program locally that we control?

Mike Ruffley: No, we do single family home rehabilitation for low income people.

Councilman Calogera: What do we have set aside for low income apartment tenants?

Mike Ruffley: We do not touch apartments.

Councilman Calogera: What do we do for seniors that live in apartments?

Mike Ruffley: Again, apartments we cannot touch, we can only do single family homes.

Councilman Calogera: What programs do we have for addressing these other problems?

Mike Ruffley: We do not have anything under CDBG.

Councilman Testino: Just for the record, everything complies with federal regulations and guidelines?

Mike Ruffley: Yes, it does.

Hearing

H-1 Release/Reduction of Performance Guarantee - Forest Gardens Condominiums Rt. 34.

Vice-president Redmond: This was postponed at the request of their attorney.

H-2 Release/ Reduction of Performance Guarantee - Lowe's Development

John Vincenti: This is a bond release for the Lowe's Development on Rt. 9. We are currently holding performance bonds, just under 2.5 million dollars with additional cash in the amount of $277,000. All the site improvements have been completed. Due to some damage over the winter the developer has been on site recently fixing some curbs. The punch list work has not been 100% done and we have outlined seven items that are still deficient at this time, so we are recommending a reduction as opposed to a release. Technically the developer is entitled to a 70% reduction and that is our recommendation. That would bring the revised performance guarantee from $831,000 in the form of a paper bond to the amount of $748,000 and a cash bond of $83,000. The developer has suggested and we have no objection to releasing the paper bond and retaining all of the cash that was posted which is $277,000. I have no objection, but we do need concurrence from the Council. We are suggesting holding all cash of $277,000 in lieu of the 10% cash of the reduced amount which is only $83,000. The $277,000 cash far exceeds the estimate of any work that needs to be done, it is all minor cosmetic work. The only real issue is the condition of the off-site storm drain. We have not received any letters from surrounding residents and they were all notified.

Vice-president Redmond: I am opening this to the public, does anyone wish to speak?

Councilman Testino: Do we have the notices on file?

Deputy Clerk Ward: Yes we do.

Councilman Testino: Are we coordinating with the MUA to get the water line going across that property?

John Vincenti: I believe the water main has been completed by the developer as an unrelated issue, but an issue related to Perrine Road, which the MUA is planning on doing and is trying to coordinate that as part of the Perrine Road/Cheesequake Road project, but it is really unrelated to this development.

Vice-president Redmond: Any other questions? Seeing no hands, Vice President Redmond closed the public portion.

MOTION

Motion to move this reduction with the stipulations noted by Mr. Vincenti made by Councilman Calogera, seconded by Councilman Baker and so moved on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Vice President Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler.

ABSENT PODIUM: Councilwoman Panos

Consent Agenda

C-7 YMCA Site Selection - Mannino Park

C-8 To proceed with the condemnation of Perth Amboy Property on 516 (Mannino Park)

Vice-president Redmond: I just received my consent agenda at 4:30 p.m. today. I noticed that there are two items C-7 and C-8 that are being removed; they were tabled at the last meeting.

Councilman Greene: I just want to say that I have received very good news. There was a stumbling block that was raised regarding whether or not you could place a "Y" at a township owned facility and we received a letter today, stating that if we decide it is all right to site a YMCA in a township facility. A copy of the letter has been distributed.

Vice-president Redmond opened the public portion of the consent agenda to the public.

Seeing no hands Vice-president Redmond closed the public portion.

EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION - SNOW REMOVAL

RESOLUTION NO. 222-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, an emergency has arisen with respect to a shortfall in the Snow Removal Salaries and Wages and no adequate provision was made in the SFY 2003 Budget for the aforesaid purpose, and N.J.S.A. 40A:4-46 provides for the creation of an emergency appropriation for the purpose above mentioned; and

WHEREAS, the total amount of emergency appropriation created including the appropriation to be created by this resolution is $176,585.00.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge that in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:4-48, an emergency appropriation to be and the same is hereby made for Snow Removal - Salaries and Wages in the aggregate amount of $7,500.00 and Other Expenses in the aggregate amount of $50,000.00 and that said emergency appropriation shall be provided in full in the SFY 2004 Budget.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that three certified copies of this Resolution will be filed with the Director of Local Government Services.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

RESOLUTION AWARDING CONTRACT #03-04 TO INNOVATIONAL CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN, INC. FOR LAURENCE HARBOR BEACH FRONT RECREATION CENTER

RESOLUTION #223-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Township of Old Bridge advertised and received bids for Contract #03-04 for the renovation of the Laurence Harbor Beach Front Recreation Center; and

WHEREAS, bids were received and opened on March 28, 2003; and

WHEREAS, the Township Council wishes to award the contract for the renovation of the Laurence Harbor Beach Front Recreation Center to the lowest responsible bidder; and

WHEREAS, the Township Project Engineer has recommended that the contract be awarded to Innovational Construction and Design, Inc., located at 188 East Bergen Place, Red Bank, N.J. 07701, as they submitted the lowest responsible bid.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey, as follows:

1. Innovational Construction & Design, Inc., is hereby awarded the contract in the is amount of $280,149.00 for the renovation of the Laurence Harbor Recreation Center.

2. The award of the contract is contingent upon the issuance of a Certification of Availability of Funds No. 1130 certifying the existence of a sufficient appropriation to fund the said contract.

3. The Mayor and Township Clerk are hereby authorized to sign the contract documents necessary to effectuate the award of this contract. The Township Attorney shall review any and all contractual documents prepared in furtherance of this award.

This resolution is conditioned upon the following:

A. Formal execution of a contract approved by the Director of Law which is signed by the Mayor and Township Clerk.

B. Issuance of a Certificate of Availability of Funds as aforesaid.

C. Compliance by the vendor with signing the mandatory affirmative action language required by law.

D. Compliance by the vendor with filing of the Affirmative Action Form AA302 or AA201 or otherwise complying with affirmative action employee information reporting.

No contract shall be considered awarded unless and until the above requirements are executed.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

RESOLUTION AWARDING CONTRACT #03-01 TO PIONEER GENERAL CONTRACTING CO., INC. FOR RESURFACING OF PERRINE ROAD AND CHEESEQUAKE ROAD

RESOLUTION #224-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge advertised and received bids for Contract #03-01 the resurfacing of Perrine Road and Cheesequake Road; and

WHEREAS, bids were received and opened on March 27, 2003; and

WHEREAS, the Township Council wishes to award the contract for the resurfacing of Perrine Road and Cheesequake Road to the lowest responsible bidder; and

WHEREAS, the Township Engineer has recommended that the contract be awarded to Pioneer General Contracting Company, Inc., located at 127 William Street, South River, NJ 08882, as they submitted the lowest responsible bid.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey, as follows:

1. Pioneer General Contracting Company, Inc. is hereby awarded the contract in the is amount of $239,645.60 for resurfacing of Perrine Road & Cheesequake Road.

2. The award of the contract is contingent upon the issuance of a Certification of Availability of Funds No. 1128 certifying the existence of a sufficient appropriation to fund the said contract.

This resolution is conditioned upon the following:

A. Formal execution of a contract approved by the Director of Law which is signed by the Mayor and Township Clerk.

B. Issuance of a Certificate of Availability of Funds as aforesaid.

C. Compliance by the vendor with signing the mandatory affirmative action language required by law.

D. Compliance by the vendor with filing of the Affirmative Action Form AA302 or AA201 or otherwise complying with affirmative action employee information reporting.

No contract shall be considered awarded unless and until the above requirements are executed.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

RESOLUTION APPROVING CHANGE ORDER NO. 1 FOR CONTRACT #02-23 FOR CURB REPLACEMENT PROGRAM

RESOLUTION #225-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge previously authorized Contract #02-23 with the firm of Pioneer General Contracting Co., Inc., for the curb replacement program at various locations; and

WHEREAS, Pioneer General Contracting Co. has requested Change Order No. 1 to increase the amount of the contract due to changes in the contract quantities.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey that Change Order No. 1 is hereby authorized as set forth on the attached Change Order.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the modified cost of services after this Change Order is as follows:

ORIGINAL CONTRACT....................... $323,098.99

CHANGE ORDER #1............................ + 64,000.00

NEW TOTAL AUTHORIZED.............. $387,098.99

Total Amount of Change Order............. $64,000.00

The award of the contract is contingent upon the issuance of a Certification of Availability of Funds #1129 certifying the existence of a sufficient appropriation to fund the said contract.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mayor and Clerk of the Township of Old Bridge are hereby authorized to execute such written contract documents as may be approved in form by the Township Attorney.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXTENSION OF THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE & THOMAS NORMAN, ESQ. IN THE MATTER OF OLD BRIDGE PLANNING BOARD VS. HICKORY WOODS

RESOLUTION #226-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Planning Board of the Township of Old Bridge has recommended the extension of certain existing contracts with attorneys; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey as follows:

The contract previously granted to Thomas Norman, Esq. for the purpose of legal assistance to the Planning Board of the Township of Old Bridge in regard to the matter of Old Bridge Planning Board vs. Hickory Woods be extended in the amount of $5000.00.

The award of the contract is contingent upon the issuance of a Certification of Availability of Funds #1131 certifying the existence of a sufficient appropriation to fund the said contract.

There will not be a necessity for an additional contract to be provided as the original contract is presently on file with the Township Clerk's Office.

The Mayor and Clerk are hereby authorized to execute any documents necessary to extend this contract.

Subject to the maximum amount authorized above and as available Appropriation, the Director of Law of the Township of Old Bridge may increase the funding of this contract by issuing one or more supplemental purchase orders.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXTENSION OF THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE & THOMAS NORMAN, ESQ. IN REGARD TO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE REVISIONS

RESOLUTION #227-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Planning Board of the Township of Old Bridge has recommended the extension of certain existing contracts with attorneys; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey as follows:

The contract previously granted to Thomas Norman, Esq. for the purpose of representing the Planning Board of the Township of Old Bridge for the review of the Land Development Ordinance revisions be extended in the amount of $5000.00.

The award of the contract is contingent upon the issuance of a Certification of Availability of Funds #1133 certifying the existence of a sufficient appropriation to fund the said contract.

There will not be a necessity for an additional contract to be provided as the original contract is presently on file with the Township Clerk's Office.

The Mayor and Clerk are hereby authorized to execute any documents necessary to extend this contract.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE EXTENSION OF THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE & THOMAS NORMAN, ESQ. IN THE MATTER OF OLD BRIDGE PLANNING BOARD VS. TOBY GARDENS

RESOLUTION #228-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Planning Board of the Township of Old Bridge has recommended the extension of certain existing contracts with attorneys; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey as follows:

The contract previously granted to Thomas Norman, Esq. for the purpose of representing the Planning Board of the Township of Old Bridge in regard to the matter of Old Bridge Planning Board vs. Toby Gardens be extended in the amount of $10,000.00.

The award of the contract is contingent upon the issuance of a Certification of Availability of Funds #1132 certifying the existence of a sufficient appropriation to fund the said contract.

There will not be a necessity for an additional contract to be provided as the original contract is presently on file with the Township Clerk's Office.

The Mayor and Clerk are hereby authorized to execute any documents necessary to extend this contract.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

DESIGNATING NEW JERSEY TRANSIT BUS STOP AT RT. 527 AND MAPLETON AVENUE AND RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO. 102.

RESOLUTION #229-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey, finds it in the interest of public safety to establish bus stop locations along Rt. 527 and Mapleton Road pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-8(3); and

WHEREAS, the Township of Old Bridge has submitted the New Jersey Release Form as per the criteria as set forth by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, Bureau of Traffic Engineering & *Investigations pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-8(e).

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey that the following bus stop locations described meet the criteria as set forth by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, Bureau of Traffic Engineering and Investigations pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-8(e) as follows:

Along Rt. 527, northbound on the easterly side thereof at:

Mapleton Road - near side

Beginning at the southerly curbline of Mapleton Road and Extending 105 feet southerly therefrom.

Along Rt. 527, southbound on the westerly side thereof at:

Mapleton Road - near side

Beginning at the northerly curbline of Mapleton Road and extending 105 feet northerly therefrom

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Township of Old Bridge will enforce the needed traffic regulations governing the aforementioned bus stop locations and provide the necessary police security to ensure the safety of the traveling public; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution shall take effect upon the approval of the Commissioner of Transportation as provided by law and that Resolution No. 102 hereby rescinded.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE REJECTION OF ALL BIDS WITH REGARD TO CONTRACT #03-03 FOR LIGHTING UPGRADE FOR THE OLD BRIDGE LIBRARY

RESOLUTION #230-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Township of Old Bridge solicited bids in connection with Contract #03-03 for lighting upgrade for the Old Bridge Library; and

WHEREAS, all bids exceeded the engineer's estimate; and

WHEREAS, the Township Council wishes to reject all bids received for the lighting upgrade for the library.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey that the bids received with respect to lighting upgrade of the Old Bridge Library are hereby rejected.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

RESOLUTION DETERMINING THAT A CERTAIN DELINEATED AREA (BLK. 21000, LOT 6.12, BLOCK 21000, LOT 3.11 AND BLOCK 21005, LOT 2) BE DETERMINED A REDEVELOPMENT AREA. (Later Rescinded)

RESOLUTION #231-03

WHEREAS, the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge referred a preliminary investigation to the Township Planning Board of a proposed area of redevelopment with respect to property known and described at Blk. 21000, Lot 6.12; Blk. 21000, Lot 3.11 and Block 21005 Lot 2; and

WHEREAS, the aforesaid lands are more particularly set forth upon a map containing the designation "Old Bridge Economic Development 506 +/-acres" on file with the office of the Township Clerk; and

WHEREAS, the Planning Board of the Township of Old Bridge has recommended that the lands bounded and described as Block 21000, Lot 6.12, Block 21000, Lot 3.11 and Block 21005, Lot 2 be declared and determined to be a redevelopment area pursuant to NJSA40A:12A-6(5); and

WHEREAS, the determination of the Township Council to designate and determine the said lands to be a redevelopment area should be set forth in a Resolution.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey as follows:

The vacant lands bounded and described as Block 21000, Lot 6, Block 21000, Lot 3.11 and Block 21005, Lot 2 which are further depicted on a map containing the designation "Old Bridge Economic Development 506 +/- acres" on file in the office of the Township Clerk, be and hereby are determined and declared to be a redevelopment area under NJSA 40A:12A-6(5)

No redevelopment project shall be undertaken or carried out except in accordance with the redevelopment plan which must hereinafter be adopted by ordinance of the Township Council.

The Township Council does hereby adopt the analysis and recommendation of the Township Planner and the Township Planning Board insofar as it counsels against any development upon the parcels herein designated as a redevelopment if such development is residential. Accordingly, the Township Council does hereby direct that any redevelopment plan hereinafter prepared disallow use of the redevelopment area to commercial (non-residential) uses only.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge that the Township Clerk shall cause a notice of this declaration and determination of an area in need of redevelopment to be served upon each person (if any) who filed a written objection to the proposal to designate the area as an area in need of redevelopment. Such notice shall be served within ten (10) days after the adoption of this resolution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge that no action shall be taken to acquire any property in connection with the redevelopment area for a period of forty-five (45) days next following the adoption of this resolution if the Township Clerk determines that written objections were filed with the municipality and/or the Planning Board; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge that the Township Council does hereby adopt and incorporate all findings made by the Township Planning Board in support of the substantial evidence required to justify designation of the lands as a redevelopment area.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler.

AUTHORIZING BINGO/RAFFLE APPLICATIONS

RESOLUTION #232-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the following organizations have made application to hold, operate and conduct a Bingo/Raffle; said applications being in accordance with the statutes relating thereto:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge that the Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to issue to the applicants, the following licenses:

RA53-03 Children with Cancer & Blood Diseases
RA54-03 Children with Cancer & Blood Diseases
RA55-03 Cheesequake Baseball Assoc.
RA56-03 James McDivitt PTA
BA28-03A St. Ambrose Altar Rosary Society

Moved by Councilman Maher, seconded by Councilman Calogera and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: Councilman Testino

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

C-3 EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION - POLICE OVERTIME - $770,000.00

Councilman Testino: I separated this for a vote as well as discussion.

Himanshu Shah: At the next meeting I will be giving you a resolution for transfer of funds for the annual adjustment that we always do. However, there are not sufficient funds to cover the funds needed. You will see in that resolution that we are moving almost one half million dollars in police salary and wages and that is not enough to cover what is needed to cover the overtime that we are facing now.

Vice-president Redmond: You have a half million dollars in the upcoming transfer.

Himanshu Shah: That will be used to cover the salary increases, it will not be available to use for the overtime.

Councilman Testino: Is that 1.2 million dollars that we are in need of?

Himanshu Shah: Yes, in overtime roughly 1.2 million dollars.

Councilman Maher: Can we do this altogether; why should we do it separately? We can do it after May 1st.

Himanshu Shah: I guess you can postpone it.

Councilman Maher: After May 1st we can transfer by statute from other accounts.

Himanshu Shah: One of the reasons we are asking to do this now is because we are facing a shortfall in total salary accounts as of this payroll and that is why we have asked you to adopt this emergency appropriation.

Councilman Maher: Can you tell us what accounts we have underspent so far, where we can transfer money?

Himanshu Shah: We give you all our budget reports along with the bill lists every bill list, but right now we do not have sufficient funds to cover the transfer this year. It is too early to determine how far off we are because we are looking at another two months of expenses in almost every department. Keep in mind, there is not a single department that has this kind of money. The only other department that has a large appropriation is insurance, other than that all the other departments have very small amounts in terms of total dollars.

Councilman Maher: After May 1st rather than an emergency appropriation, we can transfer money from accounts that we have underspent in, rather than raising $770,000 and applying it to next year's budget. Where are we with accounts where we have underspent?

Himanshu Shah: We can provide you with a year-to-date expenditure report. If you want to do this at the next meeting, we may have potential of over expenditure for a short period of time. I can certainly provide you with the balances, but I can tell you as Councilman Testino indicated, we never had this large deficit.

Councilman Maher: I would much rather transfer money than raise money.

Himanshu Shah: We don't have that kind of money. You also have to remember we can only transfer from the operating budget, we cannot transfer from outside of the cap limitations budget so you are very restricted in your transfer. That is one of the difficulties we are facing.

Remember, when we were working on this budget, we were cutting down every penny in that budget. We hit every department, we cut positions, we do not have the funding.

Councilman Testino: My question is, I don't know how we are getting this all at once.

There is $770,000 on this request, but you seem to be adding another $500,000 on a transfer next week. That is 1.2 million on overtime.

Himanshu Shah: That is the projected overtime.

Councilman Testino: How much was in the account?

Himanshu Shah: $500,000 was budgeted in that account. We need an additional $700,000 more in that budget to make up the 1.2 million dollars. We have $500,000 in the budget; we are projecting between 1.2 and 1.3 million dollars for overtime.

Councilman Testino: Didn't you say we need $500,000 transfer next week?

Himanshu Shah: That is for your salary adjustments. You are going to have salary increases that you are going to have to deal with.

Councilman Testino: Isn't that coming from an account we have set up for that, why is this coming into play?

Himanshu Shah: No, if you recall and we go through this process every year in May, where we take reallocated money that is put into salary adjustment because we are always in negotiations in some fashion. We take it out of salary adjustment and we transfer into each department's line item.

Attorney Ruggierio: To answer Councilman Testino's question, Councilman Maher said why not wait to transfer this money and Mr. Shah is trying to give an explanation.

Councilman Testino: I understand, but he has $500,000 allocated for adjustments in salary. I want to know what the true overtime is for this budget year.

Himanshu Shah: That $500,000 is for the projected salary increases, I am not transferring it for the overtime. I am transferring it in to cover salary increases.

Councilman Testino: I think I would rather wait to see this in writing.

Mayor Cannon: I am telling you right now I am not authorizing any over spending, so if we don't have money to pay salaries we are not paying them.

Councilman Maher: I just want to see where we have overestimated our expenses last year.

Mayor Cannon: Himanshu is telling you that there is no excess.

Councilman Maher: I want to see a written report.

Mayor Cannon: But, there is no money to pay the salaries.

Attorney Ruggierio: Both the Mayor and the Council are right on this matter. The Mayor is right that she cannot over expend and the Council is right in that it would like to see detail. I just want to tell you legally that you cannot over expend appropriation accounts. If the finance director is telling you are going to be short then you are.

Councilman Testino: You cannot over extend by the end of the fiscal year, but what can you do between now and June.

Himanshu Shah: In your bill list packet we are giving you the analysis of up-to-date budget balances, it is right there in your copy. However, keep in mind it does not include expenses that are going to occur in the next two months, they are as of now status. Now you are asking me to project and ask me to come-up with a year-end balance.

Councilman Testino: We are asking for your opinion.

Himanshu Shah: I gave you my analysis and we looked at it to try and determine what part of the overtime we could cover and we don't have enough to cover this amount.

Councilman Testino: If you have $200,000, then we don't have to do $770,000 we could do $570,000.

Himanshu Shah: Keep in mind that if we have any excess left we can always cancel emergency appropriation.

Councilman Testino: You are talking about adding three points right off the bat to the tax rate.

Councilman Maher: All I am asking is find out where we have underspent this year, get that information to us at the next meeting because it is a fact by law that we can transfer money after May 1st . So at our next meeting if you can tell us where we have underspent certain accounts, we don't need to raise $770,000.

Himanshu Shah: The only thing I can give you is a "guesstimate" of unspent balances, because I cannot guarantee you what will be actually left at the end of the fiscal year.

Attorney Ruggierio: Can you give an amount that you could figure that would avoid an over expenditure till the next payroll?

Himanshu Shah: According to the analysis we have $800,000 in police salary and wages that is unspent. We should be able to sustain one more payroll. I will give you the analysis and I will give you the transfer, then you can make the decision.

Councilman Calogera: Is the 1.2 million dollars all police department overtime?

Himanshu Shah: Yes it is the projected figures.

Councilman Calogera: That comes out to about $3600-$3700 dollars per day in overtime for 365 days.

Himanshu Shah: Approximately.

Councilman Calogera: Well, if anyone wants to know why I vote against overtime, that is the reason.

Councilwoman Panos: What happens if the Council, most of us vote "no" on the overtime, and if we take a real tough stance, there are negotiations going on, and we say "no" what happens?

Himanshu Shah: The first time this situation occurred it was clear that I took the position not to release the overtime and the attorney gave me a letter relieving me from that responsibility, so that I can continue to pay the overtime even though you continue to vote "no".

Councilwoman Panos: If this Council votes "no" we are not giving an emergency appropriation, let's come up with some accountability and negotiate tougher. Is this money that is already spent?

Himanshu Shah: We have $800,000 in police salary and wages. You have approximately one million dollars per month payroll in police. We have 2 ½ months of payroll left to cover, so you can imagine what is going to happen to that account; there will be a shortage and I will not be able to pay the salaries.

Councilwoman Panos: Police administration says it is contractual, and the contracts are up, we could hold them both accountable, administration and the negotiators.

Councilman Testino: Maybe we could have the attorney give us a written opinion by next meeting so we can vote on this.

Vice-president Redmond: So we are not taking any action tonight and we will discuss it at the next meeting.

RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE RESIGNATION OF RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER TIMOTHY KOZLAK

RESOLUTION #233-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, Timothy Kozlak has served on the Recreation Advisory Board; and

WHEREAS, Timothy Kozlak wishes to resign as a member of the Recreation Advisory Board.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey, that the resignation of Timothy Kozlak for the Recreation Advisory Board is hereby granted.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Vice-president Redmond, and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT PODIUM: Councilman Baker

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler.

Prior to the roll call vote the following discussion took place:

Councilman Calogera: On the Recreation Board there was an oversight last year, Debbie Depew's name came up and she was omitted and she would like to serve. The Recreation Board would like to offer it to her if it is all right.

Deputy Clerk Ward: We need a resume.

Councilman Testino: There must be a resume somewhere, she served on Open Space.

I will be glad to move her next week.

C-15 Resolution supporting placing a public question on the ballot in November

Councilman Testino: I am still waiting for more information from the legislature. I am asking that the Council review the proposed non-binding municipal question and we can debate it at the Agenda meeting. I thank Bill for getting this to me so quickly. I think it is a good fresh start and if we can time this right, we can see what more information the legislature intends and get it on the ballot in a timely manner. We will at least have a sampling of whether or not the public support the building moratorium. I am just asking that the Council indulge me and let that ride till the next agenda. I would ask that you move on C-16.

RESOLUTION ENCOURAGING LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO HALT URBAN SPRAWL

RESOLUTION #234-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the pressure of ill considered development and the very real possibility of excessive development threatens the quality of life in Old Bridge; and

WHEREAS, the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge laud the efforts of Governor McGreevey in making these issues a top priority in his 2003 State of the State address; and

WHEREAS, the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge wishes to encourage local legislators to quickly enact laws to halt urban sprawl.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey as follows:

The Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge does hereby laud and endorse the Governor's plan to halt urban sprawl which proposes specific actions including but not limited to:

Allowing municipalities to impose a one (1) year building moratorium
To impose reasonable but aggressive zoning controls to halt building in protected areas.
To encourage smart growth by streamling regulatory approval for developmental proposals.
To encourage regional planning.
To expend State money to rebuild and improve infrastructure in the States urban centers, older suburbs and rural town.
To pressure 20,000 acres of farmland each year.
To create or upgrade 200 local parks and add two (2) new State parks.
To plant 100,000 new trees across the State of New Jersey

The Township Council does hereby endorse the concept of timed growth legislation which the Courts have determined is required in order to lawfully impose timed growth ordinances at the local level.

The Township Council does hereby endorse the adoption of legislation permitting the imposition of developmental impact fees upon developers. Such legislation would permit the municipality to impose upon the developer who profits from new development, the costs of programs, services and infrastructure reasonably caused by their construction of new homes.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a true copy of this Resolution be mailed by the Township Clerk to Governor James M. McGreevey, Senator Joseph M. Kyrillos, Assemblymen Joseph Azzolina and Assemblyman Samuel D. Thompson.

Moved by Councilman Testino, seconded by Vice-president Redmond and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Testino, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

Prior to the roll call vote the following discussion took place:

Councilman Testino: Bill took great pains to prepare this resolution and I would appreciate your voting on this matter.

RESOLUTION FOR ACCEPTANCE OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY GRANT SHTP-2305 RESIDENTIAL MAINTENANCE/SAFE HOUSING

RESOLUTION #235-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

As required by the Middlesex County Office on Aging (M.C.O. on A) this resolution by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge indicates acceptance by the Governing Body of its obligations under the Grant for renewal of the Residential Maintenance/Safe Housing Grant Contract No. SHTP-2305, appropriation Code 12-602, funding source SHTP.

The contract period shall be January 1, 2003 - December 31, 2003. The M.C.O. On A Contract ceiling will be $8,025.00 of which $7,000.00 are Federal Funds, $1000.00 will be provided by the donor in its SFY 03 Budget and $25.00 is the anticipated projected income.

The authorized signatories shall be Barbara L. Cannon, Mayor and Helen Rende, Director Office on Aging.

Moved by Vice-president Redmond, seconded by Councilman Greene and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Councilwoman Panos, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: Councilman Testino

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

RESOLUTION ACCEPTING OF THE GRANT FROM MIDDLESEX COUNTY FOR RENEWAL OF THE INFORMATION & ASSISTANCE GRANT CONTRACT NO. OAA-2310.

RESOLUTION #236-03

BE IT RESOLVED, by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex that;

WHEREAS, the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge has agreed to accept its obligations as required by the Middlesex County Office on Aging under the Grant renewal of the Information & Assistance Grant Contract No. OAA-23104, appropriation Code 12-610, funding source OAA.

BE IT RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS:

The contract period shall be January 1, 2003 - December 31, 2003

The Middlesex County Office on Aging contract ceiling will be $12,885.00 of which $8,000.00 are Federal Funds, $4,875.00 will be provided by the donor in its SFY 03 budget; and $10.00 is the anticipated project income.

The authorized signatories shall be Barbara L. Cannon, Mayor and Helen Rende, Director - Office on Aging

Moved by Vice-president Redmond, seconded by Councilman Greene and so ordered on the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmen Baker, Calogera, Greene, Maher, Vice-president Redmond.

NAYS: None.

ABSTAIN: Councilman Testino, Councilwoman Panos

ABSENT: Councilman Hoff, President Butler

Prior to the roll call vote the following discussion took place:

Councilman Testino: I separated C-17 and C-18 because I wish to abstain.

Councilman Calogera: Going back to the seniors in the Mr. Fix-it Program can we get money for them through this fund?

Mayor Cannon: We can check into it, but what are you looking for specifically?

Councilman Calogera: A lot of seniors have minor repair problems, like fixing a lock or changing bulbs, et cetera. Maintenance in certain buildings charge them for this. A lot are on fixed incomes and I am just looking for some help for them.

Councilwoman Panos: I don't know if I am out of line asking this, but why does Mr. Testino abstain on this?

Vice-president Redmond: Because he does work there and he deems it appropriate.

Ordinance for Second Reading

TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE
ORDINANCE NO. 21-03

AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF OLD BRIDGE AMENDING FEES FOR BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL AND SUMMER RECESS DAYCARE PROGRAMS

BE IT ORDAINED by the Township Council of the Township of Old Bridge, County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey as follows:

Section 1. Purpose.

This ordinance establishes the fees for the Before & After School daycare program and the Summer Recess Program pursuant to the recommendation of the coordinator of said daycare programs. This ordinance replaces Township Ordinance Nos. 31-00, 11-02 and 52-02.