Jackson Council adopts 2024 municipal budget after CFO outlines settlements, debt and surplus
May 29, 2024 | Jackson, Ocean County, New Jersey
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Jackson Township Council adopted the calendar year 2024 municipal operating budget in a May meeting after public questioning of the township’s financial position, including pending or settled lawsuits, debt and use of surplus.
Chief Financial Officer Sharon Finkava told council members and residents that two settlements occurred this year and that those items are "outside of the cap," meaning they are accounted for separately from the township’s levy and appropriations caps. She told the council the township had used about $11,370,000 of surplus during the year and described longer-term obligations such as the master-plan and revaluation costs projected over the next five years.
On municipal debt, the CFO gave figures during the session; the transcript records comments that were partly garbled but convey a municipal debt figure in the low tens of millions. "I believe it's $22,000,007.69," Finkava said on the record when asked for the current total municipal debt. She also explained the township’s double-A plus credit rating and said it permits favorable interest rates when the township borrows.
Council opened and closed the public hearing on R206-24 (local examination of the 2024 budget) and R207-24 (authorize reading the budget by title), and later opened the public hearing for the municipal operating budget and then adopted R208-24 to finalize the budget. Council recorded affirmative votes for the budget-related resolutions.
During the Q&A, residents asked whether pending lawsuits could affect future budgets. The CFO said settlements could affect future years if the township must accommodate settlement payments, but that the two settlements this year were outside the cap and manageable through surplus and revenue sources. The CFO also summarized the township’s levy and appropriations caps and the constraints those caps impose on future appropriations.
The council took no additional fiscal actions beyond adopting the budget and recording motions to approve bills and claims (with a handful of recorded abstentions on specified vendor items). The council also pulled one consent-agenda resolution (R216-24) after confirming with the CFO that a state statute already permits credit-card payments over the phone, so the town will remove that item from the consent list for follow-up rather than adopt it now.
The budget adoption completes the formal municipal process for 2024; the council did not announce immediate tax-rate changes in the public record during the meeting and directed residents with further questions to submit email requests for more detailed follow-up.
Chief Financial Officer Sharon Finkava told council members and residents that two settlements occurred this year and that those items are "outside of the cap," meaning they are accounted for separately from the township’s levy and appropriations caps. She told the council the township had used about $11,370,000 of surplus during the year and described longer-term obligations such as the master-plan and revaluation costs projected over the next five years.
On municipal debt, the CFO gave figures during the session; the transcript records comments that were partly garbled but convey a municipal debt figure in the low tens of millions. "I believe it's $22,000,007.69," Finkava said on the record when asked for the current total municipal debt. She also explained the township’s double-A plus credit rating and said it permits favorable interest rates when the township borrows.
Council opened and closed the public hearing on R206-24 (local examination of the 2024 budget) and R207-24 (authorize reading the budget by title), and later opened the public hearing for the municipal operating budget and then adopted R208-24 to finalize the budget. Council recorded affirmative votes for the budget-related resolutions.
During the Q&A, residents asked whether pending lawsuits could affect future budgets. The CFO said settlements could affect future years if the township must accommodate settlement payments, but that the two settlements this year were outside the cap and manageable through surplus and revenue sources. The CFO also summarized the township’s levy and appropriations caps and the constraints those caps impose on future appropriations.
The council took no additional fiscal actions beyond adopting the budget and recording motions to approve bills and claims (with a handful of recorded abstentions on specified vendor items). The council also pulled one consent-agenda resolution (R216-24) after confirming with the CFO that a state statute already permits credit-card payments over the phone, so the town will remove that item from the consent list for follow-up rather than adopt it now.
The budget adoption completes the formal municipal process for 2024; the council did not announce immediate tax-rate changes in the public record during the meeting and directed residents with further questions to submit email requests for more detailed follow-up.
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