Middletown Board of Estimate approves routine contracts, budget transfers and 2% raises for department heads

The Middletown Board of Estimate on Nov. 27 approved a slate of routine contracts, intra-department budget transfers and a 2% salary increase for department heads and full-time nonunion employees, and moved to obligate remaining ARPA funds toward ambulance services.

Most items were approved by voice vote with two members voting "aye" and Council President Rodriguez recorded absent. Approvals included vendor agreements for wildlife control, aerial imagery, auditing services and workplace-comp insurance, targeted transfers inside the sewer, police and community development budgets, and authorization of an assessment collector's warrant for 2025.

The board authorized a transfer within the 2024 sewer budget moving $2,340 from "sewage material and supplies" to "sewage training." It approved a one-year agreement with Tri State Geese Police for Canadian geese control in 2025 at a rate the board recorded as $3.85 per week, a $10 increase from the prior year; minutes reflect that the vendor's work last year "met expectations in reducing the geese population in our parks." The board also renewed an agreement with Nearmap for twice-yearly aerial imagery for use by the assessor's office and authorized the mayor to sign the contract.

Within the police department 2024 budget the board approved multiple within-department transfers to cover equipment purchases and training: $15,000 from personal services to other equipment (for RBT equipment), $3,700 from personnel training to other equipment (for a new drone), $1,250 for chemical analysis to meet OSHA requirements, funds to cover background investigations for new hires, $5,000…