MONTCLAIR, NJ - The Montclair Township Council had a special meeting on May 13 – a Monday, so as to avoid a conflict with the municipal elections the following day, May 14 – to introduce the 2024 budget. Scheduling conflicts for Mayor Sean Spiller and the councilors were partly to blame for the late introduction. Interim Township Manager Michael Lapolla explained that the budget had to be introduced no sooner than 28 days prior to a final vote on it, and the final meeting of the outgoing Spiller council – scheduled for June 11 – was 29 days after this meeting. Mayor Spiller was unavailable, though, so First Ward Councilor William Hurlock ran the meeting in his capacity as Deputy Mayor.
Councilor-at-Large Robert Russo, the only member of the current council standing for re-election, said that he had not had enough of a chance to go through the budget and had not been given any chance to provide input, and he said he would vote against the budget as introduced. A special meeting presenting the budget is planned for May 29 before the June 11 vote.
The budget can be amended on the day it is adopted, but Chief Financial Officer Padmaja Rao said that, while that is true of minor adjustments and alterations, “significant” changes would require a three-day notice to the public. The term “significant” would refer to any tax increase above 5 percent, any line item with an increase of 10 percent, or an overall budget increase of 1 percent.
Fourth Ward Councilor David Cummings asked about how the surplus from the previous year’s budget is to be applied. Manager Lapolla explained that the township should use $8 million in surplus to keep property taxes as low as possible.
The tax increase currently being proposed is 2.8 percent. Mansager Lapolla said that the 2023 budget generated a surplus of $7.5 million, and without using the surplus and adding an extra $1 million, the tax increase for the 2024 budget would be an average of $100 per household, or a 3.5 percent increase across the board. He also told Councilor Cummings that he expected to spend $100,000 on outside consultants in 2024. Councilor Russo, addressing payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs), suggested that money from families with children in PILOT-funded housing developments could pay for $3 million in schools, while PILOT money representing buildings with seniors could pay for senior programs in town.
The council eventually voted 4-2, with both Councilors Cummings and Russo being dissatisfied with the proposed budget and voting no, to introduce the budget and advance it for a final vote on June 11.
The council also passed a first-reading ordinance concurring that the township’s final appropriations of the Township of Montclair is to be increased by 3.5 percent, amounting to $2.45 million. The ordinance creates a cap bank for the 2025 and 2026 calendar years and is required to be passed prior to the adoption of the municipal budget; it does not mandate a tax increase. Third Ward Councilor Lori Price Abrams explained that it gives the incoming mayor and council freedom and flexibility with future budgets.
After coming out of executive session, the council voted to end a longstanding problem for the municipal government - Chief Financial Officer Rao’s suit against the township regrading former Township Manger Tim Stafford. The council voted 5-0 – Councilor Russo had let by then – to pay a $1,250,000 settlement, with the attorneys receiving $1 million and Rao receiving $250,000.
Also, in public comment, resident Sarah Avery demanded proof of a payment to a cybersecurity expert for handling weaknesses in the township’s computers. She also said she was aware of the township having to pay $480,000 ransom to hackers, demanding to know when it was remitted. Avery, a chronic critic of the council in public comment, exasperated Manager Lapolla, who would not address her issues, and Deputy Mayor Hurlock, who called Avery’s comments “unreal.”
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