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Kenilworth advances 2026 budget reading and introduces cap-bank ordinance
Summary
Council moved to read the 2026 budget by title for public hearing and introduced Ordinance 2026-10 to permit "cap banking" (carrying forward unused municipal budget capacity). Officials said growth in ratables and savings on health benefits helped stabilize the tax outlook.
Kenilworth councilors on May 5 advanced the borough's 2026 municipal budget by reading it by title for a public hearing and introduced an ordinance to allow "cap banking," a practice that permits municipalities to carry forward unused budget capacity into future years.
Councilman Morrow, the finance committee chair, told the meeting the projected average household tax increase had shifted during committee deliberations and credited $16 million in added ratables and a planned exit from the state health benefits plan (effective June 1) with improving the borough's fiscal picture. "That decision alone is going to save taxpayers about $300,000," he said, and noted the borough closed 2025 with a $6.7 million surplus.
Ordinance 2026-10, introduced at the meeting, would formally allow Kenilworth to establish a cap bank and to adopt a carryforward process that the statute permits up to a 3.5 percent COLA limit. Officials explained the measure restores flexibility lost when the ability to bank unused portions became non-automatic.
Procedurally, a motion to read the budget by title only for the public hearing passed by voice during the meeting; the public hearing was then opened and residents were invited to comment. The hearing produced detailed questions about shared-services lines that staff answered during the meeting.
Next steps: the council will continue the public hearing process on the budget per statue and consider ordinance 2026-10 in subsequent hearings.
Votes at a glance: the council approved the consent agenda and motions to read the budget by title and to open public comment; ordinance 2026-01 (parking amendments) was tabled for further discussion.
