HIGH DECK – The Borough Council presented its 2021 municipal budget on Thursday, February 25, with no increase planned for taxpayers.

Administrator Bonnie Fleming presented the local municipal budget for 2021, which will again remain stable for borough taxpayers.

The 2021 budget tax rate will remain at 1.045 cents per year per $ 100 of property assessed, the same as in 2020, administrator Bonnie Fleming said.

For a house valued at $ 100,000, taxes would remain in 2021 at $ 1,045, identical to $ 1,045 in 2020, without increase.

The average home in the borough for 2021 is valued at $ 229,636, up slightly from $ 227,737 in 2020, so the average homeowner would pay $ 2,399 in 2021, up from $ 2,379 in 2020, for a increase of only about $ 20.

The total amount of municipal tax collected for 2021 is $ 3,506,595, up from $ 3,484,068 in 2020, an increase of $ 22,527.

This budget is for municipal purposes only, excluding school and county taxes.

The second reading, the public hearing and the vote to adopt the budget will take place as well as a presentation of the budget on Thursday, March 25.

The 2021 budget documents can be viewed along with this story at HunterdonReview.com.

Ordinances

Council held a second reading and a public hearing on an ordinance presented to revise the borough’s zoning map in order to change the zoning designation for block 24, lot 16 from the mixed-use corridor area to the plan of redevelopment of the main west street; and add Highland land use capacity zones.

The next order for second reading and public hearing was to amend the borough code to set fines and restrict trucks on certain weights. The Truck Weight Order would change the sliding scale of fines and mandatory court appearances from the current order to only a fixed fine of $ 250, and alleviate the need for court appearances. The amendment would also leave damage repairs to the vehicle owners’ insurance company.

The third ordinance from the relevant meeting seeks to amend the borough code to reflect changes to the New Jersey stormwater management rules adopted on March 2, 2020, and changes to the stormwater control ordinance contained in the Highland Regional Master Plan adopted in October 2019, which is required. by state law.

The three ordinances were passed unanimously by the council after no public comment.

A new ordinance was unanimously passed to change the district code’s affordable housing marketing requirements to meet the newly enacted state requirements of the Fair Housing Act requiring online digital marketing of units. affordable.

Another new ordinance was passed unanimously regarding the creation of a CAP bank, an annual event in most years. This would allow that, during the calendar fiscal year 2021, the final appropriations of the district are, in accordance with this ordinance and the law of the State, increased by 3.5%, amounting to 99,535 , $ 40 and that any authorized amount that is not allocated as part of the final budget is retained as an exception to be used in either of the following two years.

The second reading, public hearing and adoption vote for the two ordinances will take place on Thursday, March 25. The full text of these ordinances is available for viewing along with this story at HunterdonReview.com.

Consent agenda

The board passed resolutions to transfer the appropriate reserves unused last year to the 2021 budget; to allocate an additional $ 110,000 in emergency funding for the completion of the River Road Main Water Main Extension Project; award of a contract for a variable frequency control panel at the High Bridge Hills golf course to DAF Services Inc. in the amount of $ 25,049; authorizing a contract for Reivax Contracting Corp. for the project to extend the main water pipe of the river road in the amount of $ 325,576; requested a grant from the Hunterdon I County Commissioner’s Municipal Grants Program Open Space Fund in the amount of $ 10,723.57 to fund Solitude Lake funding; and approval of the social media policy for the High Bridge Historical Committee and High Bridge History Facebook pages.

The council also adopted a resolution updating the salaries and wages for 2021 of the police officers, employees of the borough. Among the salaries and wages set retroactively to January 1, the mayor’s salary is set at $ 0 per year, $ 2,000 per year for council members, $ 125,000 per year for the chief of police, $ 92,247 for the director of the Ministry of Public Works; $ 68,979 per year for the city clerk, $ 18,338 per year for the assessor.

Council reports

City Councilor George Columbus said golf was not very popular last month due to all the snow, but most of the revenue comes from memberships. He said the golf committee expects asphalt repairs on the wagon paths to be completed by April.

City Councilor Natalie Ferry said the Historical Committee has developed a new Facebook page called “History of the high bridgeIn order to develop good relations with the community and become a good resource for anyone interested in the history of the borough.

Councilor Ferry said the committee was working on renovating the interior of Solitude House, including donations.

“One of the most exciting pieces is a grand piano that was generously donated to the committee and now occupies a place of honor in the grand salon,” Ferry said. “If you have any items appropriate to the time period you want to donate or loan to Solitude House Contact Committee Chair Kelly Matos, the story at highbridge.org.

The committee will shortly move the historical archives to a secure, air-conditioned location. Research began on collecting information on black history and influence on the history of the High Bridge, including examining census reports, grave records and online genealogies.

Ferry also gave a presentation on the Springside Action Committee’s Restoration Project at Springside Farm, which is currently underway. A full story can be found elsewhere in this issue and online at HunterdonReview.com.

Ferry said the events committee changed the Easter egg hunt to an Easter Bunny procession due to COV-19 restrictions, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 27, with an itinerary to be determined.

City Councilor Leigh Ann Moore reminded residents that the 2020 Property Tax Rebate Program booklets have been mailed to eligible homeowners by the state with a filing deadline of November 1.

City Councilor Alan Schwartz praised Director Rick Roll and the Department of Public Works (DPW) “for doing an outstanding job of clearing, clearing and salting our roads during recent snow episodes.” He said the DPW spent nearly 520 hours from Jan.30 to Feb.4 salting, cleaning and plowing the road, spreading around 56 tonnes of salt. And apparently we are severely lacking in salt, ”said Schwartz. “They spilled a lot of salt, Rick ordered 350 tons of salt and received very little at this point.”

City Councilor Stephen Strange said nine police officers had completed blood-borne pathogen training, dangerous communication training and right-to-know training.

City Councilor Lynn Hughes said the Environment Commission and the Green Team are both working on updating our brochures and finding volunteers. “We are also looking for locations … for a nursery,” said Hughes. “We can get grants to get small, tiny trees, and then we have to deal with them before they’re big enough to actually come out into the borough and be part of our tree replacement plan. “

Administrator Fleming said she had met with the Highlands Council and the borough engineer and planner to discuss potential funding for other projects, including signage, stream erosion and planning for the first phase of the sewer plant.

“Maybe the highlands will cover the costs of setting up these plans for us, so that would be very helpful,” Fleming said. “They were very receptive to most of the ideas we had and we will give them a full list to see exactly how much they could fund for each of these projects. “

Mayor Michele Lee said she has had conversations with the county and the governor’s office regarding COVID vaccinations for the High Bridge area.

“The main issue everyone talked about today on this call was frustration with call centers and trying to get an appointment, which everyone understands, but the main issue is okay. sure anyone who thinks they know the supply. The tone of the appeal today from the governor’s office was that the supply is subject to change and that we will be in a much better position to start releasing these clichés.

The mayor noted that senior members of the community might not know how to get vaccinated, which is why Hunterdon Medical Center has developed an active outreach program.

“If you know someone ask them to contact Hunterdon Medical Center and it might help them move to a higher priority or maybe they need a ride or something like that. Mayor Lee said. “I know I spoke with some of the older people who weren’t sure how the process worked, and tried to help them make a few calls and they were able to get their immunization appointments. help everyone we can and it’s an evolving story as everyone knows.

Mayor Lee said the master plan review committee has completed the final version to be submitted to planning council for comment, after which it will return council for a vote.

The High Bridge Hills Golf Course Redevelopment Plan approved the last board meeting received approval for a study grant from the Highlands Council, meaning the borough could still be eligible for a county grant.

The next borough council meeting will take place on Thursday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m., via Zoom.