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Waldwick council adopts 2025 budget with 3.47% tax increase; advances traffic, parking and floodplain measures
Summary
The Waldwick Borough Council adopted the 2025 municipal budget, which includes a 3.47% tax increase (about $79 per average homeowner annually), and passed several traffic and parking ordinances on second reading. The council also received updates on PFAS settlements and sewer odor testing and introduced updated floodplain and lighting ordinances for later hearings.
The Borough of Waldwick adopted its 2025 municipal budget after a public hearing and roll-call vote. A council presenter summarized fiscal pressures including insurance, pension and solid-waste costs and said the adopted budget represents a 3.47% tax increase, which the presenter described as roughly $79 per average homeowner per year (about $6.58 per month).
During the public hearing, a resident from the environmental committee recommended expanding municipal composting to reduce food-waste hauling costs and offered a follow-up with a composting vendor. Council members responded to a public comment from a resident on traffic congestion near the schools, and council staff agreed to study problem areas and report back.
The borough attorney gave a brief update on pending PFAS litigation, telling the council that administrators have released percentage allocations for early settlement rounds (Dupont and 3M referenced) and that the borough expects dollar figures next month as the settlement process advances. The attorney said a second round of settlements — which was described as including other manufacturers such as Tyco — remains active.
On the consent and ordinance calendar, the council approved a block of routine resolutions and passed four ordinances on second reading that modify parking and traffic rules (ordinance numbers 2025-06, 2025-07, 2025-08 and 2025-09). Those ordinances add no-parking segments, adjust left-turn prohibitions tied to school hours and change time windows at identified intersections; council members said the measures were recommended by the police department and the Board of Education’s safety committee.
Council members also introduced two substantive ordinances for first reading: Ordinance 2025-10, which updates the borough’s flood-damage-prevention chapter to adopt new FEMA/DEP flood-hazard maps and designate a floodplain administrator, and Ordinance 2025-11, which tightens residential lighting and sound regulations to limit light spillage and establish measurement standards. Both were set for public hearing in two weeks.
After routine new-business items — including reports on recent water-main breaks that DPW repaired and a planned relocation of a bus shelter — the council moved into a short closed session on two items with no immediate decisions announced.
Votes at a glance - Adopt 2025 municipal budget (Resolution 2025-143): adopted after roll-call (affirmative votes recorded). - Ordinance 2025-06 (amend parking prohibitions): passed on second reading; clerk to advertise as required by law. - Ordinance 2025-07 (parking/parking times near Board of Ed area): passed on second reading; clerk to advertise. - Ordinance 2025-08 (no-left-turn restrictions during school hours on Ridge/Summit): passed on second reading; clerk to advertise. - Ordinance 2025-09 (adjust left-turn hours for 155 Wyckoff Ave): passed on second reading; clerk to advertise.
The council scheduled public hearings for newly introduced ordinances 2025-10 and 2025-11 in two weeks and asked staff to follow up on traffic hot spots and a possible easement vacation raised by borough counsel.
