In a meeting lasting nearly four hours, the Morristown council adopted a $37.2 million town budget that will increase property taxes by 1.9 percent.
Design changes intended to improve safety and privacy along Franklin Street also were approved, although some residents objected to the parking portion of the plan.
Council discussion of the budget proposed by Mayor Tim Dougherty’s administration ran longer than anticipated, and two council members–Raline Smith-Reid and James Smith–unsuccessfully pushed to schedule a workshop session on the budget.
When it appeared that the council lacked the necessary four votes to adopt the spending plan, the town clerk set up a conference call to include Councilwoman Michelle Harris-King, who was absent from the meeting.
She voted with Rebecca Feldman, Alison Deeb and Kevin Gsell for the budget. Raline and Jim voted no. Council President Anthony Cattano Jr. was absent.
Alison Deeb, a Republican, praised the Democratic mayor for a tight budget. “Are you sure you’re not a Republican?” she joked.
The budget will cost homeowners an extra $19 for every $100,000 of assessed value. Someone with a home assessed at $357,000, the town average, will pay about $68 more than last year for local government. Nine full-time employees and three part-timers were laid off, and 14 vacant jobs won’t be filled, according to the administration.
Plans to slow traffic along Franklin Street, near Morristown Memorial Hospital between Route 287 and Madison Avenue, were approved by a 5-0 vote, with Raline abstaining. Curbs will be widened, traffic lanes will be narrowed, and a series of red brick crosswalks will be installed this fall. A shared lane for bicyclists also is envisioned for the hospital side of Franklin Street.
The hospital will pay for most of the work, as a condition of the town’s blessing for the addition of two floors to a hospital parking deck, said Rebecca Feldman.
Plans also call for parking to be eliminated on the side of Franklin Street fronting the hospital. Parking on the opposite side of the street would be reserved via permits for area residents. This element of the project still requires council approval.
The idea is to get hospital employees and visitors to use the hospital’s parking facilities, not Franklin Street, explained Rebecca. Area residents complained last night about hospital traffic creating noise and litter. They cited safety hazards and privacy intrusions caused by motorists making K- and U-turns in their hunt for parking spaces along Franklin Street. Additionally, parked cars make it difficult for residents to back out of their driveways, residents told the council.
While several local residents commended the Mayor and council for key aspects of the Franklin Street plan, some raised concerns about the proposed creation of 10 street parking spaces in the vicinity of DeKalb Place. One Franklin Street homeowner, a young woman who is single, said she worried that assailants could hide behind cars that will park in front of her house.
Former council candidate Ed France urged town officials to prod the hospital to allow area residents to use its parking garages for free or at reduced rates. Inevitably, such a shared arrangement would pose conflicts, a lawyer for Morristown Memorial told the council.
