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Residents urge city to address rising utility bills, taxes and affordable-housing requirements during public comment
Summary
At the Feb. 26 Long Branch council meeting, speakers asked how the city will respond to a 17% JCP&L rate increase, questioned timelines for meeting a state-imposed affordable-housing target of 317 units, and raised concerns about library and health center project costs and tax impacts.
During the public-comment portion of the Long Branch City Council meeting on Feb. 26, residents pressed council members and staff on municipal budget pressures, a recent utility rate increase, affordable-housing obligations and project costs for the library and a proposed health and technology center.
Vincent Lepore of 33 Ocean Terrace asked how the city would cover a State Board of Public Utilities announcement that Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) rates were increasing by 17 percent, and directly asked, “Does that mean increasing taxes?” Lepore also cited specific prepay amounts the city had for JCP&L on an item he referenced as Resolution 31: $39,751.02 and $3,742.59, and asked how the city planned to absorb higher electricity costs.
Council President Viera did not provide a detailed fiscal plan during the public comment period; when asked about the city’s ability to meet a related deadline, Viera said, “I’m not aware.” A resident also raised the state-required affordable-housing figure, saying the Department of Community Affairs had identified a requirement of 317 affordable housing units for Long Branch and asked whether the city would contest that number by the Feb. 28 deadline or adopt a plan by June 30. The council provided no definitive answer during the session.
Several speakers questioned grant and project funding. A commenter said the main branch of the Long Branch library reopened after receiving a $6,200,000 matching grant from the New Jersey Construction Bond Act and asked whether the taxpayer matching contribution (about $3.5 million, as described by the speaker) had been paid. Another resident criticized the city’s planned health and technology center, saying the total cost had been presented as about $15,000,000 and arguing that donated buildings and existing library space might have avoided the expense.
Nick Diguglielmo, another public speaker, urged the council to propose “innovative ideas” to lower taxes and criticized what he characterized as repeated approvals of spending. He asked elected officials and the city’s finance staff to present concrete measures to reduce the tax burden.
No specific staff responses or formal council directives resolving these questions were recorded during the public comment period. The meeting proceeded to routine business after the public portion closed.
The public comments raised several items that council members or staff may need to address in upcoming budget discussions and hearings: utility rate impacts on municipal and resident bills, the process and deadline for contesting or adopting the state’s affordable-housing numbers, the status of grant matching payments for the library project, and the projected cost and use of donated buildings for planned municipal facilities.
