Bedminster Township Committee adopts indemnification update and establishes 2.5% cap bank

The Bedminster Township Committee unanimously approved two ordinances Tuesday, updating the township's indemnification language for employees and creating a 2.5% cap bank for municipal budget flexibility.

Robin, the township administrator, told the committee that Ordinance 20-26-0001 "amends our current ordinance, per the PBA contract language, [to] put it in line with the contract," explaining the change came out of a review of personnel policy and the employee manual. The public hearing on the measure produced no public comment, and the committee closed the hearing and approved the ordinance by roll call.

On Ordinance 20-26-0002, Robin said the cap-bank ordinance is an annual, routine measure that "allows us to exceed the budget max" up to 2.5 percent and to bank any unused portion for future years. The committee likewise received no public comment and voted to adopt the ordinance by roll call.

Roll-call tallies were recorded by the township administrator. Committeeman Benjamin Hickey, Committeewoman Mareski (first reference: Committeewoman Mareski), Committeewoman Fernandez (first reference: Committeewoman Fernandez), Committeeman Rosen (first reference: Committeeman Rosen) and Mayor Jacobs cast aye votes on both ordinances. No yeas, nays, abstentions, recusals or absences were recorded in the roll-call recordings for these items.

Both ordinances were presented as updating routine municipal governance: the indemnification change aligns township code with current collective-bargaining language and personnel policies; the cap bank preserves budgetary flexibility for the upcoming fiscal sessions. The meeting record shows no public speakers on either ordinance and no amendments were made during the hearings.

The committee recessed to executive session later in the meeting and returned to adjourn with no further formal actions recorded.