The council also discussed efforts to publicize the FreeB jitney service, debated ways to recover money owed to the Borough by the Township and passed an ordinance regulating the maintenance of construction sites.
Council members said they worried that the property tax revaluation could upset Borough residents, some of whom may end up paying more taxes.
“This makes people very nervous, and with reason,” Councilman David Goldfarb said. “Especially at a time when people are feeling pressured [financially], I think we should provide a complete explanation of the process.”
Other council members agreed, noting it might be an ideal topic for the next joint meeting with the Township this November.
“It’s one contractor, and it affects everyone in the Borough and the Township in the same way,” Goldfarb said.
On Monday, the Township Committee approved the contract with the same assessor, Appraisal Systems, Inc.
“We need to be very conscious and very aggressive. The sooner we can deal with tax increases and give information out, the better,” Councilman Roger Martindell said. “The more steps we take this year to reduce taxes next year, the better it’s going to be.”
Advertising the jitney
Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi faced criticism from council members over the Borough’s efforts to publicize the FreeB, the jitney service that is currently partially funded — but not administered — by the University.
“Publicity for the FreeB was promised for the fall and promised within a week [from the last council meeting],” Goldfarb said, explaining that he did not see enough advertising and was concerned by the FreeB’s low ridership. “I am somewhat skeptical that it’s reaching our target audience,” he added.
In August, the jitney saw a record total of 500 riders.
At the Sept. 23 Borough Council meeting, Bruschi promised the council that an advertising campaign would begin in the coming weeks or months.
Bruschi told the Borough Council on Tuesday night that advertisements would be distributed over a “three-week rollout of information” and that the Borough had taken out an ad in the Town Topics.
“I’d rather see it out there rather than reading a report of what you have done,” Goldfarb said in response.
Dividing up money
Council members also discussed options for ensuring that the Township pays its bills to the Borough on time, including adopting legally binding “interlocal” agreements and jointly passing resolutions. The Borough operates agencies and funds projects that serve both municipalities with the expectation that the Township will reimburse the Borough for expenses related to Township projects.
According to documents that Borough Assistant Administrator Sandra Webb provided to the Council, the Township owed the Borough more than $3.8 million as of Sept. 30.
Martindell suggested that the Borough and the Township “broker an interlocal agreement so that we can both be on the same page” about the reimbursement schedule.
Included in the agreement would be provisions “to bond the Township to pay higher interest on bills that they pay late,” Martindell added, explaining that “otherwise they have no binding reason to [pay bills on time].”
Martindell said that by paying bills late, the Township unjustly takes money from Borough taxpayers.
“They are owing us a million-and-a-half dollars that we have not collected interest on. At 4 percent interest, that costs us over $100,000 over two years,” he said. “I cannot conceive of looking any Borough taxpayer in the face and saying, ‘Hey, we also fund projects in the Township, how do you feel about that?’ “
Bruschi said in a memorandum to the council that he believed the bills would be paid more quickly if both the Borough and the Township simply adopted resolutions rather than negotiating a legally binding agreement.
“I believe that this mechanism is easier [to] implement and gets a process in place more rapidly than attempting to [negotiate an] agreement and then enacting an ordinance to have it go into effect,” Bruschi said in the document.
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