06/13/2023 Town Council Agenda- Sai’s Notes

Will the Town Council Add More Fees and Bureaucracy to further push Middle and Working Class Families out of Berkeley Heights?

Today on the town council agenda for final adoption is the following ordinance:

An Ordinance of the Township of Berkeley Heights, County of Union, State of New Jersey, Amending and Supplementing Title 8 of The Code of the Township of Berkeley Heights (“Health and Safety”) Chapter 8.57 (“Property, Vacant and Abandoned”).

Everything this ordinance tries to accomplish in terms of designating a property as vacant or abandoned is documented in the state law, N.J. Rev. Stat. § 55:19-78. This ordinance is poorly written has spelling mistakes and typos. Not sure why we need this ordinance when we have a state law.

We don’t need the lists of criteria for vacant priorities as they are covered in the state law.

All that needs to be done is to designate the person who maintains the list of vacant properties, which we believe the township has currently has. The town council might need an ordinance to designate the construction official to maintain the list. 

$2000 is an excessive amount to be charged from property owners for overgrown grass and accumulation of newspapers. And the fact that this ordinance was initially introduced during the Holiday weekend when many residents were on vacation fails the smell test.

Life happens, someone could be hospitalized or dealing with a life event and given the already crippling costs of living in NJ the last thing someone going through difficult times need is a 2 thousand dollar bill from the town.

Additionally, developers can more easily put pressure on property owners to sell using such an ordinance. 

We are small town with a tight knit community and don’t need such an ordinance with hefty fees.

Other Notes/Questions:

Resolution No.2
Are we appointing the CFO retroactively from January 1, 2023?

What’s the salary for the position and planned hikes for the next four years?

Four years seems long for a CFO, normally they are hired for one year and are renewed based on performance.

How long does it take for the CFO to get tenure?

Resolution NO 9
Why is the town council also approving a professional services contract to HFA advisory to provide short term assistance to  the CMFO and CFO’s office?

Resolution No. 7
Resolution awarding a Professional Services Contract to Neglia Engineering
Associates for an engineering Assessment for Stop Sign(s) for the Washington Street area. The total cost for this contract is $2900 and is missing in the agenda but is listed in the actual resolution.