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Millville adopts 2026 municipal budget after state sign-off; debate surfaces over Nabb Avenue grant
Summary
After last-minute state approval, Millville commissioners voted 4–1 to adopt the municipal budget. Vice Mayor Cott raised concerns that the commission lacked a clear cost estimate or local funding plan for a proposed $15 million grant application for Nabb Avenue; city officials said grant application and later certifications would follow separate processes.
Millville commissioners adopted the 2026 municipal budget June 16 after the state completed its late-day review, but not before a brief debate over a separate infrastructure grant application.
The municipal clerk told the commission the state had approved the budget that afternoon, prompting an added resolution to allow the budget to be read by title only and to proceed to the public hearing. Commissioners moved and voted to adopt the same budget the commission had previously approved pending state sign-off.
Vice Mayor Cott objected to adopting the budget while the city is simultaneously pursuing a potential $15 million grant for the Nabb Avenue extension. "I haven't been provided with a clear cost estimate, funding plan, or agreement outlining the city's financial responsibilities if the project moves forward," Cott said, adding that the public deserves those details before final budget adoption for a project of this scope.
Other commissioners and the mayor said applying for grant funds does not itself commit the city to expenditures and that any spending above the budget would require later certifications of funds, separate resolutions, bond authorizations or ordinances. Officials also said the Congressional office had signaled support for the grant application and that even if awarded the timeline to construction would likely be at least 18 months.
Following the exchange the motion to adopt the budget passed on roll call with four members voting yes and one voting no (Commissioner Renello registered the lone no vote). No public commenters addressed the budget during the hearing.
The meeting record shows the budget relies on some surplus to balance and contains no assumed growth; a city official said the finance staff and the CFO conducted extensive line-by-line reviews before submission to the state.
