Bradley Beach council adopts 2026 municipal budget

The Bradley Beach Borough Council adopted the borough’s 2026 municipal budget after a public hearing and formal roll-call vote, approving Resolution 2026-184.

Council opened the hearing on the proposed 2026 budget and, after no comments during the hearing itself, later heard public comments during the general comment period. The council then voted to approve the budget; council members present voted yes and one member was recorded as excused.

The vote followed brief deliberations in which council members praised CFO Mitch Sim for preparing the budget and for identifying continuing control weaknesses in the borough’s finances. Officials said auditors are preparing the 2025 audit while the borough adopts the 2026 budget, and cautioned that auditors may request adjustments to closed financial statements later this summer. Officials also said the borough filed a corrective action plan and is working to address weaknesses identified in 2022–23 audits.

During the public comment period, resident Mr. West asked whether the borough is “out of the woods” regarding the earlier audit problems and past-year budget issues. An official responded that audit timing creates a lag — auditors are reviewing the 2025 year while the council is approving 2026 — and that the borough expects to know whether auditors recommend adjustments around August. The official reiterated that the borough has begun implementing corrective actions and that the process is ongoing.

Another public commenter, Mr. Bartal of Newark, asked how county and board of education tax components will affect the borough’s reported 4.7% tax increase. Officials said they recently received the board of education payment schedule and will break down and publish the consolidated tax impact for taxpayers in the next two weeks; they said a fuller breakdown should be available by the first meeting in August.

Resolution 2026-184 was adopted by roll-call vote. The motion to approve the resolution was made by the mayor and seconded; votes recorded in the meeting transcript show yes votes from Mr. Noble, M. Greenwood, Mr. Clark and the mayor, with Mr. Niki excused. The council did not record any no votes on the motion during the meeting.

The council closed the meeting after additional announcements and brief thanks to staff and volunteers. Next procedural steps described by officials included publishing the tax component breakdown and continuing implementation of the corrective action plan filed in response to prior audits.