Belmar council approves budget amendment tied to water/sewer rate changes after heated transparency debate

Belmar — The Belmar Borough Council on April 28 introduced and adopted a budget amendment required for state certification after officials said the borough’s water and sewer utility is not generating enough revenue to cover fixed operating and capital costs.

"Absent this ordinance passing tonight, we will not be able to adopt our budget," said Lorraine, the borough finance director, presenting the 2026 municipal budget and warning that state review requires certification that revenues will cover obligations. Lorraine said the borough is under state review and must show balanced revenues; she listed capital work on mains and lead-service-line replacement required by the WQAA as major drivers of utility expense.

Council members and residents pressed for more public notice and technical fixes before raising rates. "I don't see I don't feel comfortable passing an ordinance no matter how important it is if the public has not been made aware," a council member said during the workshop discussion, arguing the council had earlier agreed to share information with residents before a vote.

Public commenters urged the borough to check meter accuracy before raising rates. "We found out so many neighbors are paying way less in water charges than other neighbors," Anne Peters said during the budget hearing, urging the borough to audit meters and billing practices so that billing errors do not force unnecessary rate increases. Chuck Peters, a long-time resident, described meters in his neighborhood that consistently read a minimum rather than recorded consumption and asked the borough to investigate.

The introduced budget uses $3,530,000 in surplus and anticipates $428,005.49 in state aid, the finance director said. The municipal tax-rate proposal shown in the presentation is 60.9¢ per $100 of assessed value; the finance director explained that sharp increases in employee and retiree health-insurance premiums and pension costs are large drivers of the overall tax and budget pressure.

Council voted to adopt Resolution 02/2690 to authorize the budget amendment and to schedule a public hearing on the amendment for May 12. The roll-call on the amendment recorded the following votes: Councilman Donovan — yes; Councilman McKinney — yes; Councilman De Blasio — yes; Councilman Maroney — yes; Mayor Ron Fusco — yes. The council then proceeded with the public-hearing and second-reading steps required under state rules.

Separately, the council considered an amendment to the water/sewer rates ordinance to remove an automatic 2.5% annual increase beginning Jan. 1, 2027. The amendment was offered, seconded and the ordinance was adopted as amended by roll call.

What happens next: the council will hold a public hearing on the budget amendment on May 12; the finance director said the borough must complete the state review steps to adopt the budget. Residents who raised meter-accuracy concerns were told the borough will follow up to investigate individual meter readings and billing processes.

Reporting note: quotes and attributions in this article come from the meeting transcript and public comments at the April 28 Belmar Borough Council meeting. Specific budget figures and the wording of the adopted amendment were presented by the borough finance director during the meeting.