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Carneys Point committee confronts $700,000 shortfall in 2026 draft budget
Summary
Township finance officer told the committee the 2026 draft requires roughly $700,000 in cuts to meet a 3.5% appropriation cap; officials discussed using fund balance, NJ Cash Management Fund earnings and sale proceeds spread over nine years to narrow the gap.
C. Ehret, the township's chief municipal finance officer, told the Committee that the 2026 draft budget contains fixed costs that cannot be changed and that "Again, this year we need to cut about $700,000 from the budget as it sits currently." She reviewed the budget line-by-line for new members and emphasized the constraint of the 3.5% appropriation cap.
Ehret said a positive fund balance helps the township's bond rating and can be used to offset the next year's levy. She recommended placing some funds in the New Jersey Cash Management Fund to earn investment returns rather than leaving funds idle; "This year it could be as high as $200,000 over our investment," she said, which would count as unanticipated revenue and flow to surplus. Committee members also discussed revenue tied to PILOTs and a planned sale of recreation land to a local college, noting that the college's payments are spread over nine years.
