Council adopts $1.8 million bond ordinance after debate over tracking and 'not-to-exceed' language

Council Vice President Ohman cast the lone no vote on Ordinance 26-08 but the measure passed on a 3–1 roll call after an extended debate about how the township will track soft costs and interest tied to the bond.

The bond ordinance, introduced on second reading, appropriates $1,799,000 for various improvements and authorizes the issuance of bonds or notes for the projects. Administrator Mark DeCarlo told the council the plan includes approximately $1.4 million for road projects, a $20,000 vehicle warning system from capital fund balance, $45,000 for a field rake, $21,000 for portable radio upgrades, a $105,000 Clark Field basketball court, a $120,000 grant match for Memorial and Clark improvements, about $30,000 in soft costs, and $30,000 in HVAC repairs for the police department.

Council Vice President Ohman said he remained unconvinced the council had a clear method for ensuring the ordinance’s stated "amount not exceeding $200,000" for certain items would not be exceeded. He cited calculations provided by Acacia Financial Group showing scenario projections that raised concern about total interest costs and whether those amounts would push aggregate costs past the ordinance cap. "I don't understand how we have an ordinance that speaks to a... not to exceed, and we know... using simple math we are going to exceed that," Ohman said.

Administrator Mark DeCarlo and Mayor Peter Calamari responded that financing teams—including representatives named to meet at the next council meeting—will provide details, and that the ordinance can be revised if needed. DeCarlo summarized the capital allocations and said some costs will be supplemented by grant money. Mayor Calamari said the council appoints the auditor and suggested the auditor or bond counsel could be asked for further explanation.

Despite the concerns raised, the council moved to adopt the ordinance on second reading. Roll call on the adoption recorded Councilman Cascio voting yes, Councilman Sears voting yes, Councilwoman Velez voting yes, and Council Vice President Ohman voting no. The ordinance therefore passed.

The council directed staff to bring financing partners to the next meeting to clarify the debt-service assumptions and monitoring practices. No immediate revision was made to the ordinance; council members asked for clearer tracking and an opportunity to have bond counsel and the financing team explain the calculations before further steps.

Next steps: The financing team and bond counsel are expected to appear at the council’s next regular meeting to provide detailed projections and to answer how ongoing monitoring will be performed; the ordinance was adopted and projects may proceed pending any follow-up actions from that briefing.