Sayreville council sets budget workshop, carries several hearings and adopts two ordinances

The Sayreville Mayor and Borough Council on April 27 handled a series of budget and ordinance matters, including scheduling a budget workshop, carrying several public hearings for additional review, and approving two ordinances on second and final reading.

Budget and cap bank: Council debated Ordinance 12-26 (to exceed municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap bank). Several members said they wanted additional budget meetings to review unanticipated items (healthcare, sewer overages, pension costs) before moving forward; the CFO advised adopting the cap bank before final budget adoption but council agreed to carry further action and schedule a workshop prior to final adoption. Council set a workshop before the next meeting and discussed reintroducing the budget for formal action.

Salary ordinance and other carries: Ordinance 9-26 (salary schedule) drew questions from Councilwoman Novak about minimum/maximum ranges and potential back pay; the council agreed to carry the hearing to May 11 so a labor attorney could respond. Councilman Zabrowski declared a conflict and recorded an abstention where noted.

Adopted ordinances: Council adopted Ordinance 10-26 (amendment to the waterfront redevelopment plan allowing an age-restricted inclusionary rental housing complex for Parcel J) and Ordinance 11-26 (amendments to borough fishing regulations and licensing) on second and final reading by roll call votes. Consent agenda resolutions were approved as a group.

Utilities/bills: Council discussed a longstanding unresolved streetlight bill with JCP&L; staff said insufficient historic data prevents an accurate calculation of offsets and recommended negotiating with the utility or paying the outstanding balance. The council directed further discussion with legal present during budget deliberations.

What happens next: Budget workshops will precede the next formal budget hearing; Ordinances 10-26 and 11-26 will be advertised and take effect according to law. The council also scheduled public hearings for the matters it carried.

Quote: "I would recommend adopting this ordinance tonight because it's supposed to be adopted prior to the adoption of the budget," Danielle (CFO) said about the cap bank ordinance, while other council members preferred more workshops to examine the full budget picture.

Ending: No final budget vote was taken; the council set follow-up workshops and carried multiple hearings for additional legal and financial review.