Morristown’s council on Tuesday introduced a $52.5 million municipal budget that will tap surplus funds to avert tax increases for residents.
“They say that surplus is a rainy day fund. And by golly, it’s raining,” Mayor Tim Dougherty told the council via teleconference.
Dougherty also said he will coordinate with a task force of business leaders called Morristown Strong about reopening businesses that have been shuttered during the pandemic.
And officials said they issued zoning violations Tuesday to the owner and operator of a controversial “sober living” home that received a state license last month.
THE BUDGET
During a half-hour speech, the mayor cited prudent management for a budget he said maintains services while posing no tax hikes. “Because I know that many of our taxpayers are hurting right now, I don’t want to add the additional burden of a tax increase if it can be avoided.”
He cautioned, however, that anything can happen if the coronavirus crisis persists.
Town officials still are gauging the pandemic’s local economic impact. The May deadline for residents’ quarterly property taxes has been extended to June 1. Hotel taxes usually generate $600,000 to $700,000 a year; with hotels closed, those revenues almost certainly will take a hit, according to town Administrator Jillian Barrick.
And the town anxiously is waiting to see if $2.8 million in anticipated state aid comes through. “If we don’t get that… it would be a major impact,” said Barrick.
The proposed budget taps $3 million in surplus, curbs official travel by employees, and includes a hiring freeze. Plans to add two police officers have been postponed, Barrick said.
Morristown still has a cushion of about $12 million, the administrator said. Some of the surplus is money from the town’s landmark 2015 tax settlement with Morristown Medical Center and its parent company, Atlantic Health, she acknowledged.
Barrick will present more budget details on June 9, when the council considers approving the spending plan.
Dougherty did his best to strike an optimistic tone, noting ongoing redevelopment projects, new parks, and long-awaited synchronization of traffic signals, which he promised for this summer. He could not promise any traffic by then.
The mayor gave shout-outs to residents and houses of worship for donating masks, money and food to pandemic relief efforts; and to town employees
“I want to thank you all for your dedication,” Dougherty said. “And let’s be honest, this disease does not discriminate. It has affected everyone, and many wonderful people have lost their lives. This disease has decimated our way of life and altered our daily living.”
Councilman David Silva remembered Nathaniel Scott, to date, the only COVID-19 victim in Morristown senior citizen housing.
Dougherty said the town must continue building on strengths that made it a desirable destination– diversity, businesses, a world-class theater.
“There’s so much to look forward to as our community comes back to life,” he said. Quoting Catherine DeVrye, author of The Gift of Nature, he compared the town’s people to “tiny seeds, with potent power to push through tough ground and become mighty trees.”
“Morristown is resilient,” the mayor concluded. “And we will endure this together.”
SHADY LANE
Residents of Shady Lane expressed outrage at the last council meeting about a “sober living” residence opening in their neighborhood of single-family homes. They raised concerns about safety, supervision of the facility, and their property values.
The state licensed the venture to house up to 10 people, and town officials at first were unsure whether that state approval trumps their ability to enforce municipal zoning laws.
It does not, they concluded.
Town zoning officers on Tuesday issued notices to the owner and operator of the sober home, asserting they are violating municipal zoning by operating a rooming house in a single-family zone, and by failing to submit a zoning permit application, Barrick said. (An application was deemed incomplete because it lacked the required fee, the administrator said.)
“Now they are put on notice that they must cease operation and comply with the zoning,” Barrick told the council. If they do not comply within 30 days or appeal to the zoning board, she said, they can be slapped with daily fines.
While the town is not empowered to evict the tenants, it could seek such an action in court, said town Attorney Vij Pawar.
The property on Shady Lane was granted “Class F” licenses last month as a “Cooperative Sober Living Residence,” a designation created in 2018 by the state Department of Community Affairs in an attempt to stem rising drug-related deaths.
“Vulnerable recovering individuals need support and operators need not feel like they are hiding in the shadows,” according to the DCA.
Through April, the number of fatal overdoses in Morris County and the state surpassed overdose fatalities from the same period in 2019, according to Sheriff James Gannon.
About 100 state licenses have been issued to Cooperative Sober Living Residences, according to DCA spokesperson Tammori Petty.
Asked who has jurisdiction for zoning issues at these residences, Petty told Morristown Green:
“It is the sole responsibility of the municipality that adopted the ordinance to enforce the provisions of the ordinance in a manner deemed necessary by the municipality.”
IN OTHER BUSINESS
To help struggling restaurants, the town has waived annual sidewalk café fees, noted Councilman Robert Iannaccone. Some 28 establishments had been paying $250 each, Barrick said.
Tentatively, the planning board is scheduled to resume its site plan review (via Zoom) for the M Station redevelopment on May 28, said Council President Stefan Armington.
The Morristown Parking Authority intends to resume enforcing parking regulations on June 1, reported Council Vice President Toshiba Foster.
Tuesday’s meeting ended with a moment of silence for Alfonso Pavo, described by Councilman David Silva as an advocate for the disadvantaged.
Pavo’s death (not from COVID-19) “leaves a great void in the Latino community,” the councilman said.
Hopefully the money saved with the schools closed and no appreciable snow this past winter, more money could go into the rainy day fund.