The municipal capital budget is for the people.
That is how Council President Mary Sohor looks at it.
“It shows [residents] what’s going on,” she said. “This is where they see roads being paved, they see curbs, they see drainage, see park improvements. All the things that make their quality of life so much better.”
And for township officials to put together the capital budget with the amount of state aid and funding that the township receives, Sohor said she’s truly amazed.
“This is definitely the people’s without a doubt,” she said.
The Township Council approved a bond ordinance appropriating $4.5 million for various improvements at a meeting on April 7.
The 2026 capital budget includes annual curb replacement and drainage improvement programs at various locations in town.
Equipment includes fiber backbone and medium-density fiberboard upgrades; IT security improvements; Sharepoint Migration to Cloud; police Body Worn cameras; police ballistic vests; Laurence Harbor substation radio improvements/upgrades; dumpster, stormwater system inspection camera system; calcium chloride tank and spray system; 12-foot plow for garbage truck, and a F-550 Plow and Salter.
Facilities improvements include police dispatch HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) upgrade, fuel station replacement design; administration window replacement Phase I, Veterans Park HVAC replacement Phase II on Englishtown Road; and Animal Shelter electric panel replacements.
Furniture includes tables and chairs for public and township events; office furniture replacements, and police training room furniture.
Park improvements include sod project at township soccer fields.
Road improvements include annual road resurfacing program in various locations throughout the township.
The bond ordinance also include vehicles for the police department, a rear loading garbage truck and a F-350 Mason Dump Truck.
Also at the meeting, the Township Council adopted the $75.032 municipal budget that will see a tax increase in the municipal property tax rate.
The municipal tax rate is estimated to be $1.055 per $100 of assessed value in 2026, which reflects tax increase of $0.025 over 2025 of $1.030. The owner of a house assessed at the town average of $158,052 for property tax purposes will pay $1,667. This is an increase of $39 over the prior year’s municipal tax increase.
“This budget has been shaped by a very challenging financial environment,” Business Administrator Anahita Feltz said. “Rising health insurance premiums, higher utility and fuel costs, increased pension obligations and contractual increases have all placed added pressure on our operations.”
As discussed during budget workshops, a “thoughtful discipline and strategic approach to budget development” was taken, Feltz said.
