(Note: This meeting was conducted via Zoom session. The recording of the Zoom session has not yet been released, so I cannot double-check the notes I took. Trying to summarize a Zoom session has proven challenging, as the sound cut out a few times, its not always easy to determine who is talking, and you really don't get the same 'feel' that you do being in the room. That being said, some important things happened that I wanted to share.)
Unemployment
Freeholder Director Felicia Hopson joined the Town Council at the beginning of the meeting. (A freeholder director is the leader of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, the official governing body of Burlington County). She spoke on a number of topics, including Covid19 and testing, small business loans, and a few others, but one of the most important was her attempt to help those who are having difficulty navigating the NJ Unemployment system. She recommends going to the website myunemployment.nj.gov for assistance. If you are unable to get assistance there, she recommended sending her an email and she will help, though she did want to level-set, advising that they do have a backlog. You can email her with the last 4 numbers of your social security number, your phone number and your full name to FHopson@co.burlington.nj.us
Property Taxes
The Township Council passed Resolution 156-2020, which extends the grace period for 2nd Quarter property taxes until June 1, 2020. This is the latest date allowed by law - the council does not have the authority to extend it further. Normally the grace period is 10 days, but on April 28th, 2020, Governor Murphy issued Executive Order 130, which allows municipalities to extend the grace period until June 1. (As an aside, while I understand that the Township needed to wait for a council meeting to pass this, knowing that a lot of families in town are in dire financial straits, I wish they would have published notice on their Facebook page or homepage as soon as this item was on the agenda.)
Public Works Yard Reopening
While this was announced prior to the meeting, it was brought up during the session: beginning Friday, May 8, the Public Works Yard will reopen BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. It will be open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. You can make an appointment by clicking here: https://lf.evesham-nj.gov/Forms/YardAppt
Covid-19 Mitigation Update
A presentation was given by Township Manager Robert Corrales.
First, a bit of an introduction: Evesham is governed under the Faulkner Act, which defines duties for the Town Council and the Township Manager. As per the Evesham website, the manager:
Like my Facebook Page to get the latest posts - A View From Evesham. You can email me at MarltonNeil@yahoo.com.
Unemployment
Freeholder Director Felicia Hopson joined the Town Council at the beginning of the meeting. (A freeholder director is the leader of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, the official governing body of Burlington County). She spoke on a number of topics, including Covid19 and testing, small business loans, and a few others, but one of the most important was her attempt to help those who are having difficulty navigating the NJ Unemployment system. She recommends going to the website myunemployment.nj.gov for assistance. If you are unable to get assistance there, she recommended sending her an email and she will help, though she did want to level-set, advising that they do have a backlog. You can email her with the last 4 numbers of your social security number, your phone number and your full name to FHopson@co.burlington.nj.us
Property Taxes
The Township Council passed Resolution 156-2020, which extends the grace period for 2nd Quarter property taxes until June 1, 2020. This is the latest date allowed by law - the council does not have the authority to extend it further. Normally the grace period is 10 days, but on April 28th, 2020, Governor Murphy issued Executive Order 130, which allows municipalities to extend the grace period until June 1. (As an aside, while I understand that the Township needed to wait for a council meeting to pass this, knowing that a lot of families in town are in dire financial straits, I wish they would have published notice on their Facebook page or homepage as soon as this item was on the agenda.)
Public Works Yard Reopening
While this was announced prior to the meeting, it was brought up during the session: beginning Friday, May 8, the Public Works Yard will reopen BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. It will be open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. You can make an appointment by clicking here: https://lf.evesham-nj.gov/Forms/YardAppt
Covid-19 Mitigation Update
A presentation was given by Township Manager Robert Corrales.
First, a bit of an introduction: Evesham is governed under the Faulkner Act, which defines duties for the Town Council and the Township Manager. As per the Evesham website, the manager:
- Serves as Chief Executive Officer
- Responsible for negotiating contracts
- Develops reports, plans and recommendation for the efficient delivery of municipal services
- Prepares the municipal budget
As defined by the Faulkner Act, the Township Manager is therefore the one to give the presentation on the economic situation in Evesham, as well as come up with a plan to mitigate the economic crisis Evesham is now faced with. There was no vote by Council on his plan (though all members of Council appeared supportive).
The reason for an economic plan is that Evesham is facing a severe reduction in revenue. While the total estimated loss to date is $545,400, Councilman D'Andrea noted that the golf course fees should be considered separately, as golf course expenses and revenues are maintained in a separate budget.
Note: UCC Fees are for inspections, permits and the like. You can review the Evesham UCC fee schedule here.
Those are just the fees to date, and court remains closed (though I believe some Zoom court sessions have taken place), and while the golf course has reopened, golfers need to be socially distant, so revenues will remain reduced.
And it was mentioned these losses may be 'just the tip of the iceberg'. It is unknown when court will reopen, and it was noted that many experts are predicting a second wave as businesses reopen, which may cause additional closures (or re-closings). In addition, Robert Nehila of Bowman and Company (the town contracted accountants) commented that it remains to be seen whether municipalities will receive the expected amount in state aid, as NJ will have severely reduced funds to spend due to reductions in state income tax, state gas tax, etc. A figure that was mentioned during the meeting was a possible $2 million reduction in aid.
There was some talk about using the surplus to plug in any gaps in the budget. The surplus currently stands at more than $10,000,000. (And I'll apologize now as I don't fully understand the financial aspects of the budgeting process, so I can only relay what I heard, or what I think I heard. If I got anything wrong, please let me know). While a surplus can be used to offset revenue losses, it shouldn't be used to fix structural issues: Mayor Veasy used the example of a 2 income family. If one spouse loses a job in a recession, families don't typically just use their savings to maintain their lifestyle - they also try to make spending cuts. Using the surplus is the 'bandaid approach', as per Mr Corrales.
It was also mentioned that the surplus goes down during the year and 'replenishes' towards the end of the year. There was a question as to whether they would fully replenish in the current economic climate.
It was also mentioned that the surplus goes down during the year and 'replenishes' towards the end of the year. There was a question as to whether they would fully replenish in the current economic climate.
Also mentioned was the possibility of Evesham having difficulty collecting property tax. If Evesham residents are unable to pay their property taxes, it affects Evesham revenue. Just a small percentage drop in the collection rate has a large impact on Evesham finances. The collection rate last year was 99.27%. If that number is reducted by 1%, it is a loss of almost $1.5 million.
For all of these reasons, the Township Manager came up with a plan which he gave a high level overview of. It should be noted that at the time of the meeting, according to Mr Corrales, no one had been furloughed and everyone was still at full pay, with the exception of some part-time and seasonal workers. Mr Corrales is currently negotiating with the union for temporary furloughs.
These furloughs are meant to avoid having long-term layoffs, as occurred during the recession of 2008-2009. During the furloughs, employees would still have their health insurance and other benefits, and there are additional benefits under the federal Pandemic Employment Assistance program, such as $600 in additional unemployment benefits. Mr Corrales believed the plan would have minimal long term impact on employees.
The details of the furlough were not discussed in detail, for the simple reason that the Township is still negotiating with the unions and labor council. When Councilman DiEnna started to ask specifics, based on what he read on Facebook, the Township Attorney Primo Cruz interrupted him, stating that discussion of contract negotiations was not appropriate for public sessions, and they could discuss in Executive Session if he had questions.
While there are a lot of unknowns to come, the township professionals and Town Council members tried to present a positive outlook. Councilman D'Andrea mentioned that its important to 'take steps ahead of the curve' and the rest of council seemed to echo his sentiments.
A few other items:
- The first Farmer's Market is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday June 3, at the same location last year in the Marlton Greene Shopping Center, near the Ragazzi entrance
- The Township recently completed two bond sales, and received great terms for funding long term debt
- Director of Community Development Nancy Jamanow suggested the idea of asking the Township professionals to reduce their rates during the economic crisis. The furloughs were falling on people making $15 - $20 per hour, while the professionals were charging $130-$170 per hour.
- John Volpa, Chair of the Friends of the Black Run, gave a presentation on the Black Run. I hope to revisit this presentation at another time and provide an overview.
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