The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
A hike in township water utility rates may be in the offing.
If it comes to pass, the rate hike would be the second such increase in two years.
A discussion about the water utility budget during the March 19 Township Council budget hearing revealed the same problem facing the Council in 2023: current revenue will not cover the increases in what the Township pays for water from its two main suppliers, New Jersey American Water and the City of New Brunswick.
When asked if the increase would require a rate hike by Councilman Ram Anbarasan (D-At Large), Township Manager Robert Vornlocker would not commit to recommending such a move.
The potential of a hike in what township water customers pay is “a discussion we’ll have at another Council meeting,” he said. “But that’s a discussion being held at the (Council’s) Financial Oversight meetings, yes.”
Vornlocker said that in 2023, the Township used 108 percent of the allocation for water purchases.
“This reflects a rate increase and an allocation increase” from both providers, he said.
The township spent $10.1 million on water in 2023, Vornlocker said. The 2024 recommended allocation is $11.8 million.
“It’s necessary to supply all of our customers with water,” he said.
“The rate increases for 2023 did not compensate for the increases in 2023 for the purchase of water,” he said. “The water utility has increased the budget, primarily due to the costs of water and personnel costs, by $3.3 million. That rate increase of 2023 would not cover this increase in the budget,” he said.
The Township has also had to increase the amount of water it buys from the providers, Vornlocker said.
Public Works Manager Carl Hauck said the Township has increased its allocation from New Jersey American Water from 4.8 million gallons a day to between 5.25 million gallons and 5.75 million gallons a day.
The allocation from New Brunswick has been increased from 2 million gallons to 4 million gallons a day, he said.
“The town has gone in the past 10 years from 6.8 million gallons per day to closer to 8.8 million gallons per day,” Hauck said.
Council members and Township staff spent three hours discussing a number of budget requests from various departments.
Among the departmental asks was $188,000 for four Explorer/pickups, $120,000 to replace bullet-proof vests, and $70,000 for a Virtual Reality training simulator.
Public Safety Director Quovella Maeweather said the four Explorers were needed to make up for a shortfall in vehicles.
“Previously we had cars approved and we were behind 17 vehicles,” she said. “We budgeted for 17, but we were only able to purchase 13” because of general lack of inventory and price increases for the vehicles.
“So I’m asking for four more to get us to that bottom line number because of the price increase and the unavailability of vehicles,” she said.
Maeweather said she did not ask for police sedans in this cycle because the Explorers “are more important.”
Maeweather said the bullet-proof vests have to be replaced because they have reached their five-year lifespans.
The Open Space Trust Fund capital improvement budget request includes $2.2 million for the long-delayed Catalpa Park, for which officials are still awaiting approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Hauck told the Council that while the original plan was to build the park on South Middlebush Road in two phases, the new plan is to do it all at once, hence the $2.2 million request.
He said that money would be combined with the $3 million currently set aside for the work.
There’s also a request for $4 million for road resurfacing projects in the township.
Vornlocker said a request for $805,000 for general legal services is up $200,000 from last year, mainly due to lawsuits over development.
The Township’s costs for liability and health care insurance will increase by $166,000 and $1.8 million, respectively, Vornlocker said.
Vornlocker said the health care increase is due to the fact that “there is an increase overall for all our employees and all those we provide health care benefits to of approximately 24 percent from 2023.”
