Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Budget Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hamilton development director outlines 2025 budget, fees and municipal complex timeline
Summary
Director Fred Dumont presented the Department of Community and Economic Development’s 2025 budget to the Hamilton Town Council, reporting multi‑year fee collections, cost‑saving staff changes and plans for a municipal complex and road projects funded largely by grants.
Fred Dumont, director of the Department of Community and Economic Development, told the Hamilton Town Council at a budget workshop that the department expects to carry out several capital and program priorities in 2025 while reducing certain operating costs.
Dumont opened by tracing construction‑related fee revenue trends. “In 2017, we took in $2,000,006.06 … in 2024, $3,707,724 in fees,” he said, noting steady increases in most years and reporting $594,000 in fees taken in March 2025. He said the department preserved 10.577 acres last year as part of land‑preservation work tied to the Cruiser Road project.
The nut graf: the presentation framed how the department plans to balance rising service demands — including a fourth‑round fair‑share housing obligation, opening cannabis facilities, managing a housing rehabilitation program and building a municipal complex — with a request to reduce some operating costs and reassign positions.
Dumont identified personnel changes that reduced salary costs, saying several staff retired and some positions were refilled at lower salaries. He gave an example: “Her salary was 76 (thousand). Replaced her by Madison at a … salary of 65. That’s $11,200 savings.” Dumont said two housing inspector positions remain to be filled and that replacements are planned at a starting salary of $70,523.
On capital work, Dumont said the town conducted paving projects and pedestrian and ADA improvements in 2024 and that Engineering’s total road investment was $3,114,155.73. He explained that the administration aims to avoid increasing the capital program this year and instead will use state grants and TID funds to finance much of the paving program. “We are hoping to move [Cloughton Road] off of our capital list and include it into the project we’ve received the state grant for the rest of Cloughton Road,” he said, noting the town had received verbal but not yet written confirmation from the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Dumont described the municipal complex project timeline: stair towers are going up, steel is expected in spring (he said “April, May”), and he anticipated a topping‑off ceremony in September or October. When asked about a ribbon cutting, he estimated “22 months, maybe. 21 months. Something like that.” He said lease details and the future of the existing building are still being worked out.
Council members pressed for detail on several line items. Dumont said vacancies in 2024 reduced actual salary spending compared with budget and that the department is centralizing some items in IT (which will show as an increase in that department). He also described in‑house scanning and intern support as cost‑saving measures.
On permit fees, Dumont said the reported fee totals are construction fees (building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical) and that construction fees have not been raised since 2018. “We’ve not adjusted the construction fees,” he said; he added the department had adjusted housing fees but chose to keep construction fees low to encourage development.
Ending: Dumont closed by noting operating and salary reductions in the proposed 2025 budget and offered to answer further questions. The council’s review moved to the next presenter following his remarks.
