Township of Washington

This Recruitment Plan outlines the Washington Township Police Department's goal to attract qualified individuals and achieve an overall racial and gender composition that mirrors the communities it serves. The plan emphasizes recruiting a diverse workforce across various demographics. Key activities include engaging with minority organizations, participating in career fairs, utilizing social media, contacting police academies, and advertising in local media markets. The plan is subject to annual review and evaluation to ensure objectives are met.

The meeting included a review of Ordinance 2025-23 concerning amendments to the code section regarding Fences, Walls and Sight Triangles, specifically addressing fence height and setback requirements. Several applications underwent review for completeness or public hearing. The public hearing for the Grau application was continued to a future meeting. The Tsoukalis and Meleo applications were deemed complete, scheduling public hearings for February 4, 2026. The public hearing for the Alpaugh application regarding a ground-mounted solar array was concluded, and minor site plan approval was granted. A public hearing was held for the Monahan application concerning an addition to a preexisting non-conforming residence, which resulted in a motion to grant a use variance and continuation of preexisting 'C' variances. The Board also reviewed the 2026 meeting dates.

The meeting included the approval of bills totaling $2,503,514.02. A proclamation was issued honoring Barbara Pierson for receiving the W. Cary Edwards State Volunteer of the Year Award for 2025. The Committee held public hearings and subsequently adopted several ordinances: Ordinance 25-22 concerning the Chapter on Dogs; Ordinance 25-23 amending regulations on Fences, Walls, and Sight Triangles; Ordinance 25-24 appropriating $35,000.00 for an Engineering Department vehicle funded through Capital Improvement Funds; and Ordinance 25-25 fixing the 2026 Salary Ranges for Township officers and employees. Resolutions approved included the renewal of Group Dental Insurance with Aetna for 2026-2027, the refund of a permit fee to Thomas Bocko, the transfer of tax sale payments related to delinquent Oxford sewer charges, the cancellation of 2025 delinquent tax amounts and overpayments less than $10.00, the redemption of a tax sale certificate for a property on Route 31 North, the authorization of necessary budget transfers for 2025 appropriations, the refund of a permit fee to PermitFlow, Inc., authorization for salaries and wages for a new Police Officer effective December 18, 2025, and the authorization for the purchase of a 2026 Chevrolet Trailblazer for the Engineering Department. The Committee also approved RFP recommendations, rescheduled the 2026 Reorganization Meeting to January 5, 2026, approved the 2026 Municipal Office Holiday Closings, authorized a contract for deer carcass removal, and accepted a letter of resignation from Sgt. Jonathan Kuligowski. An Executive Session was held to discuss matters concerning attorney-client privilege, pending litigation regarding the Affordable Housing Fair Share update, and personnel issues.

The Reorganization Meeting involved the administration of the Oath of Office to re-elected and newly elected Committee members. Key actions included the election of George Willan as Mayor and Ralph Fiore as Deputy Mayor for the year 2026. The Committee introduced Ordinance 26-01 to reauthorize the Open Space Trust Fund, setting a separate tax line item not to exceed two cents per one hundred dollars of ratables, with the fund ceasing to exist at the close of business on December 31, 2027, unless extended. Numerous resolutions were approved, including authorizing Township officials to sign checks, establishing a Cash Management Plan, adopting the 2026 Temporary Budget, establishing annual petty cash funds, setting regular meeting dates for 2026, designating official newspapers, and authorizing agreements with entities for payroll services (R&L DataCenters, Inc.), municipal advisory services (Phoenix Advisors), Township Attorney (Michael B. Lavery), Special Tax Litigation Counsel (DiFrancesco, Bateman, Kunzman, Davis, Lehrer & Flaum, P.C.), Alternate Special Litigation Counsel (Lavery, Selvaggi & Cohen), Bond Attorney (Hawkins, Delafield and Wood, LLP), and Auditing & Accounting Services (Nisivoccia, LLP). Appointments were also made for Public Defender (Donald Farino), Municipal Prosecutor (Norman W. Albert, Esq.), Professional Planning Consultant (Heyer, Gruel & Associates), Public Agency Compliance Officer (Peter H. deBoer, Jr.), Fund Commissioner (Peter H. deBoer, Jr.) and Alternate Fund Commissioner (Ann Kilduff) for the Statewide Insurance Fund, Risk Management Consultant (Otterstedt Insurance Agency), Health Officers (Kyle Smith and Jeffrey Gordon), members of the 2026 Safety Committee, and members of the Local Emergency Planning Committee. Additionally, resolutions established policies for interest on delinquent taxes, notification procedures for tax appeals, procedures for paying claims, a 2026 municipal fee schedule, a 2026 Uniform Construction Code Fee Schedule, 2026 Municipal Engineering Services fees, and the 2026 vegetative waste procedures and fees.

The meeting included the continuation of a public hearing for Application #2024-06, with the applicant granted an extension of time. Completeness determinations were made for two applications: Application #2025-06 (Monahan, Denise), where specific waivers were granted and the application deemed complete with a public hearing scheduled for December 3, 2025; and an amended variance application (#2024-07 & #2025-07 for Carle, Michael) to add a deck, where waivers were granted and the application deemed complete, also scheduled for a December 3, 2025 public hearing. A third completeness review for a solar array application (Alpaugh, Sara) resulted in granting completeness waivers, classifying it as a minor site plan, and scheduling the public hearing for December 3, 2025, despite the Board noting scheduling conflicts. The public hearing for Tenleytown Holdings, LLC, Application #2025-04, concluded with the adoption of a resolution and the addition of the hearing transcript as an attachment. New business included instructing the Secretary to request proposals and fee schedules for Board professionals for 2026.