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West Orange council advances budget packets after line‑by‑line reviews, health and police adjustments
Summary
At its July 27 municipal budget hearing, West Orange council approved multiple consented line‑item adjustments, adopted a $15,956 downward amendment to the health‑insurance ask, and accepted police salary prorations that trim roughly $382,000 while approving a $150,000 overtime supplement.
The West Orange Township council continued its multi‑meeting review of the 2026 municipal budget on July 27, advancing several pages of the packet after detailed line‑by‑line discussion and public comment.
Residents and the CBAB urged the council to seek new revenue sources and ensure prorated payments for late hires and retirees; council and finance staff responded by amending several line items and endorsing follow‑up work on fees and contracts. Finance staff presented a $15,956 reduction to the introduced health‑insurance ask and showed a police‑department cleanup that prorated seven positions, lowering base salary by about $382,000.
“The modified health‑insurance ask is down $15,956 versus the introduced budget,” the CFO said while walking the council through a reworked health‑insurance schedule that includes a move to self‑insured prescription coverage intended to capture rebates and better match claims data.
The police department presentation included a request to add $150,000 to the overtime appropriation after staff calculated a projected year‑end overtime of roughly $1.27 million. Finance summarized the revised police ask as $15,732,670 after the payroll cleanup.
Council members consented to multiple pages across different departments during the meeting. On the central mailing line, staff reported about $14,911 in prepaid postage and recommended a $20,000 reduction; the council approved that cut. A motion by a council member to sharply reduce the central telephone appropriation failed to get a second and died, but the page was later approved as presented by roll call.
The meeting also advanced operational reviews: staff confirmed plans to issue an RFQ for the Rock Spring restaurant contract (contract expires Dec. 31), said they are working on an analysis and potential ordinance to permit Jitney fees, and described limited opportunities to substitute municipal vehicles for event bus rentals because of scheduling and overtime minimums. For animal control and other smaller departmental pages, staff presented prorations and line‑item clarifications that the council voted to accept.
The council moved the budget toward an amendment and stated next steps: staff will prepare the formal budget amendment for state review and bring a consolidated public hearing and vote when the amendment is ready. The meeting then proceeded to an ABC licensing item and adjourned.
