Hillsboro committee approves consent agenda and temporary budget as members warn of prior emergency spending

The Hillsboro Township Committee approved its consent agenda, which included adopting a temporary budget, and passed a claims list at the conclusion of its Jan. 6, 2026, reorganization meeting.

During roll call, most committee members voted to approve the consent agenda and associated claims list. Committeewoman Jill Gomez said she would vote yes on the temporary budget to keep government operations running but raised a fiscal warning about prior emergency spending: "by the end of April, only four months into the year, we... two-thirds of our overall budget was already spoken for before the official budget was even passed," Gomez said, urging further review of budgeting practices.

An attendee requested the committee remove certain consent items for separate consideration; one member abstained from items 8 and 10, and items 8–10 were taken separately as requested. The committee then approved consent items 1–7 and 12–25 by motion and roll call.

On the temporary budget, Deputy Mayor Sha Leani explained the statutory allowance that permits municipalities to adopt a temporary budget equal to up to 35% of the full budget so government can continue to operate during the budget process: "the state of New Jersey allows you to do a 35% of your budget as your temporary budget," Leani said.

A committee member raised a concern about resolution 17 (authorizing the tax appeal attorney) lacking explicit reporting language; Township Administrator Ferrer responded that county-board judgments and settlements are recorded, assessor records are available, and the township is informed if proposed settlements would require refunds to be authorized by the committee. Administrator Ferrer also noted tax-court timing constraints for filing counterclaims.

The committee approved the claims list 2026-1 by roll call and then adjourned the meeting.