Edison’s Municipal Council on Wednesday approved a set of bond ordinances authorizing borrowing to finance equipment and infrastructure for the township’s utilities and general capital program.

The council adopted ordinances to fund solid-waste vehicles and equipment, water-utility improvements, sewer-utility improvements and a $25,008,500 capital-improvement program. The measures were read into the record by the municipal clerk and passed after public comment and council discussion.

The ordinances were presented as funding specific needs: the solid-waste ordinance as read by the clerk described acquisition of vehicles and equipment for the Solid Waste Collection District; the water ordinance was described as financing water-utility repairs and upgrades ($17,745,000 as read into the record); the sewer ordinance was described as funding sewer-utility improvements ($13,908,375 as read into the record); and the capital-improvement ordinance listed projects including road resurfacing, building repairs, sidewalks, IT upgrades, a police firing-range upgrade, animal-shelter kennel expansion and transit equipment, among other items (total read as $25,008,500).

At public comment, residents asked how routine items such as road resurfacing qualify as capital projects rather than being paid from operating funds. A township official responsible for bond counsel and finance explained that the ordinances fund different streets and long-lived infrastructure with useful lives of five years or more — a legal standard used by bond counsel and the IRS that supports tax-exempt financing for capital items. The official said the municipality acts as guarantor for debt in the marketplace but that utility debt is budgeted to be repaid from user fees within the special-improvement and utility budgets and is reviewed annually by the state Division of Local Government Services.

Council members emphasized different reasons for supporting the ordinances. The council vice president highlighted timelines for library and other capital projects and said the bond package keeps annual debt-service payments in a historically manageable band. The council president and others pointed to ongoing projects such as lead-pipe replacement coordination and meter upgrades when explaining delays and the need for the water bond. On the sewer ordinance, council members said portions will address pump-station rehabilitation required under the state administrative consent order and will fund sewer-line improvements and equipment to improve system reliability.

Discussion about the $25 million capital ordinance included questions from the public on whether recurring work was being bonded. Borough/municipal finance staff and bond counsel explained that the ordinance covers many distinct projects across the township (different roads each year, reconstruction where needed, sidewalks and drainage) and that the town’s bond counsel issues a tax opinion determining which items are eligible for capital financing. Officials said routine maintenance such as pothole repair remains an operating expense, while larger resurfacing and reconstruction projects and equipment purchases meet capital criteria.

Council members also cited municipal debt ratios and peer comparisons in defending the approach. The council vice president said the township’s debt ratios remain under the legal threshold and compared Edison’s ratio favorably with neighboring jurisdictions, noting the administration’s goal to keep annual principal-and-interest payments at or below a target level.

All four ordinances were adopted by roll call following motions to adopt. The clerk recorded each ordinance’s passage and the council moved on to subsequent agenda items.

The measures now authorize issuance of bonds or notes to finance the listed equipment and capital projects; implementing details such as project timelines, contractors and payment schedules will be handled by township staff and respective utility departments as projects move into procurement and construction phases.