We’re covering the 07/21/2026 Berkeley Heights Town Council Meeting agenda piece by piece; yesterday we looked at an Ordinance that would authorize six positions in the Police Department along with the creation of a ‘Deputy Chief’ position and no financial backup attached to the Ordinance.
It’s important to note if it’s not in the ordinance, then it’s just words in the air – regardless of whether it’s said in a meeting or somewhere in a collection of documents on a website.
This article is going to cover another ordinance – 2026-18 which authorizes ~$2.4M in bonds/bond anticipation notes (new debt) and $106K coming from down payments from prior budgets – which comes to a ~$2.5M total appropriation.
The Hampton Drive force main was inspected in 04/2025 as part of planned work involving the Township’s sanitary sewer collection system.
The ordinance sets aside $390K for design expenses connected to a switchgear equipment upgrade and electrical transfer. The full $390K is authorized through bonds or notes and the ordinance says no down payment is required because that portion is being funded through the NJ Infrastructure Bank – not a grant, it appears, as the ordinance still lists the full amount as bonds/notes.
The final $115,000 would pay for assessing the Hampton Drive and Twin Falls pump stations – $109K in debt.
The ordinance also allows up to $800K to be used for expenses permitted under Section 20 of New Jersey’s Local Bond Law, with no breakdown showing how much of that chunk is going to be used for what despite being nearly one-third of the overall appropriation. This lack of detail leaves the public to wonder how this amount was calculated and what it’s going to be used for.
Under the ordinance, the CFO would be allowed to issue bond anticipation notes before permanent bonds are sold, which would be expected to mature within one year unless the law allows a longer time frame and renewal. After any sale, the chief financial officer would have to report the amount, interest rate, maturity schedule, price and purchaser to the governing body.
Any grants later received for the projects would have to be applied either directly toward the work or toward paying the debt issued under the ordinance.
The ordinance summary currently lists no grant funding as appropriated.
The Township would pledge its full faith and credit to repay the debt and would be obligated to levy taxes on taxable property without limitation as to rate or amount if necessary to cover the principal and interest.
Also not available within the documents – the expected interest rate, total borrowing cost, annual debt payments or projected impact on sewer fees or the municipal budget. While we get the big picture and overall financing framework structure, we don’t see the inspection findings, engineering documents, design proposals, cost estimates or debt-service projections.
The Council should explain what the 2025 Hampton Drive inspection found, how those findings relate, if at all, to the decision to design a new force main, what the $2 million estimate includes and how much of the $800,000 Section 20 ceiling is connected to each of the three projects. But that’s the words-in-the-air part because the Council is voting on the ordinance, not on explanations or supporting documents that are not incorporated into it. If it is not in the ordinance being adopted, those statements do not limit how the money may actually be used.
Ordinance 2026-18 is scheduled only for introduction on July 21.
The public hearing and final vote are scheduled for August 11 at 6:30 p.m. If adopted, the bond ordinance would take effect 20 days after its first publication following final adoption.
Also related to the 07/21/2026 Berkeley Heights Town Council Meeting:
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