Red Bank commissioners table FY26 budget to consider stormwater supervisor after debate over 5% tax revenue bump

The Red Bank Board of Commissioners voted to table second and final reading of the fiscal year 2026 budget on a voice vote, sending the ordinance to the commission’s June 17 meeting so staff can amend the document to include a proposed stormwater supervisor position and the revenue needed to fund it.

City Manager Jeffrey Grama and CFO Chris Pickle presented the FY26 budget materials, which Grama said “bake in” a 2% cost-of-living adjustment and a projected 5% increase in property tax revenue. Grama told commissioners that the 5% revenue projection would raise anticipated property tax receipts from about $5.25 million to roughly $5.51 million and that the city must still await the certified tax rate before adopting a final rate.

The budget presentation flagged several notable items: the city will assume the full cost of a sworn officer previously funded by a grant, convert a part-time position to full time, propose a new tax-relief match covering roughly 38 Red Bank residents, and allocate $30,000 as the city match for paratransit trips (about 65 one-way trips per month). Grama also discussed the city’s intent to take on targeted public-works borrowing across the general fund, stormwater, and solid waste funds and said future budget conversations should focus on capital improvement planning and additional public-works and fire staffing.

Commissioner Fairbanks Harvey said she had concerns that the 5% property tax revenue increase had not been signaled earlier to residents or commissioners, and that raises of that size were the third in four budget years. She said some residents had contacted her with objections and urged caution; she also acknowledged compromises in the draft, including a 2% COLA that was increased from 1.5% after commissioner input.

Several commissioners pressed the case for restoring a stormwater supervisor position that had been in earlier drafts but removed before the final packet. Staff estimated the general-fund impact at about $80,000, structured as two half-time FTE increases shared across departments with the stormwater fund covering the position’s primary cost. Commissioner Holmes and others said the city’s recent heavy rainfall and the location of commercial buildings in flood-prone areas made the position a high priority for protecting people and the sales-tax base.

Faced with no clear unanimous support for the budget as printed, a commissioner moved to table the ordinance to allow staff to revise the packet to add the stormwater supervisor and associated revenue, and Commissioner Wilkinson seconded. The clerk called the voice vote; the motion to table carried. The commission directed staff to prepare an amended budget for consideration at the June 17 regular meeting.

Public comment at the meeting included residents who said they expected modest tax increases and others who asked for follow-up on specific drainage and private-property infrastructure grant opportunities. City staff said they continue to seek funding and will provide updated documents on the city’s budget webpage.

The commission’s filing deadline for the budget to the state was noted during the meeting; staff reminded commissioners that the published packet and department memos are available online and that the city must wait for notification of the certified tax rate before formally adopting the tax rate that will convert the projected revenue into an exact millage.

The commission will reconvene on June 17 for the second and final reading of the FY26 budget if staff incorporate the requested changes and the majority of commissioners so direct.