Message from Deputy Mayor Matt Adams | February 13, 2026
It is mid-February, and that can only mean one thing: Budget Season.
Your elected governing body, together with the Township’s administration, chiefs, and department heads, are crunching the numbers that will go into running our municipality in the next budget year.
Similar to a household budget, we cannot live beyond our means. That requires us to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and ensure taxpayer dollars are being allocated responsibly and transparently.
The budget process is one of the most important responsibilities we have. Our goal is clear: protect essential services, plan prudently for the future, be mindful of the tax impact and do everything that we can to improve the quality of life in Scotch Plains.
We kicked off the budget process on February 5 with a public workshop at Town Hall. Each department presented its operating and capital budget needs to the Township Manager and the Township Council.
The Township’s operating budget covers day-to-day costs. It includes everything from the maintenance on Township-owned vehicles such as DPW trucks, police cars, fire trucks and ambulances, to purchasing office supplies, paying the utility bill for public buildings, and funding salaries and benefits of municipal workers.
There’s also the capital budget, which funds long-term investments. These projects are usually financed with debt, grants, or dedicated reserves and are often depreciated over time.
Because Scotch Plains enjoys a Aaa bond rating – the highest credit rating a borrower can have from an objective, third-party rating agency – Scotch Plains has an extremely strong capacity to meet its financial obligations and a very low probability for default, making borrowing for large scale capital projects cheaper and easier.
That is increasingly rare for municipalities. The news is full of examples of municipalities teetering on the edge of insolvency and making deep service cuts. Thankfully, that is not us. Nonetheless, we have to be smart with the public dollars we spend, as we make Scotch Plains one of the premier places to live, work, and play in New Jersey.
Salaries and benefits, as well as contractual payments, comprise a large portion of the Township’s operating budget. Skyrocketing health insurance costs remain a constant financial hurdle.
We have taken a number of measures to ensure that the Township is participating in the most cost-effective insurance plans possible. Yet those rates are at an all-time high and are only increasing.
Employee overtime is also a burden because of factors outside of our control, such as the recent snow storm that required nearly 24 hours of work to safely clear our streets in time for schools and businesses to open.
Just like your home energy bill has gone up significantly in recent years, so too has the energy bills for municipal facilities. And certain aspects of our operating budget are statutorily prescribed. For instance, the library’s minimum operating budget is set by New Jersey law.
In response, the Township has adopted new revenue measures that significantly lower the taxpayer burden on the cost of some of the recreational and other improvements we have undertaken around town in recent years, like zoning for adult use recreational cannabis businesses on Route 22. Since we permitted recreational cannabis sales in 2021 on the highway, we have realized significant dividends.
By all objective measures, Scotch Plains has experienced relatively modest increases to the municipal tax rate over the course of a decade, which has been outpaced by the rate of inflation and other objective economic benchmarks.
Our taxpayers fund municipal services with just 14% of your property tax bill. The vast majority of your tax dollars is earmarked for the public schools and the county, with elected officials at the county level or on the board of education determining what you are taxed and how it should all be spent. With that stark reality in mind, it is nothing short of amazing to reflect on what we have been able to achieve. While the Township collects the tax dollars that go into the county and board of education’s budgets, the Township has no say on how those dollars are spent and what increases are applied to their portions of the overall tax assessment.
On the capital budget side of the ledger, for too long, certain capital projects were de-prioritized in Scotch Plains, and it showed through aged parks and other public infrastructure, out-of-date facilities, and gaps in technology, among other things.
As a governing body, we have reversed that trend in recent years, with unprecedented investments in our parks, public safety infrastructure, roads, and technology. And we did it with a constant eye on the impact to taxpayers and mindful that we could not take on new debt before first resolving old debt.
We have achieved a balance with our budget process in recent years that has put Scotch Plains on the map as one of the hottest communities in the state. Just look at our booming real estate market. Chances are that your home is worth a lot more today than what you paid for it because Scotch Plains is such a desirable community. For that trend to continue, we must stay on top of all that goes into making our town so attractive.
I would be remiss if I did not extend a huge “thank you” to our partners in government at the county and state levels for providing grants to help fund capital improvements that we have made over the past several years.
Senate President Nick Scutari, in particular, along with our State Assembly Members Linda Carter and Jim Kennedy have truly delivered for Scotch Plains in Trenton. Without their steadfast advocacy for state grant funding, we would not have been able to undertake anywhere near the level of improvements that we have made around town.
In the forthcoming budget, there will no doubt be continued investment in our parks, public safety, and downtown revitalization. At the same time, we have a close eye on the needs of our Department of Public Works, sewer infrastructure, and ongoing road re-paving.
We are also planning for the future. It is no secret that we are in the initial stages of a game-changing revitalization plan in our downtown district. Under Mayor Losardo and this council’s leadership, together with the hard work of our exceptional Township professionals, once stagnant revitalization efforts are now in full swing. What once was merely aspirational, is finally on the horizon. All the while, we are carefully and diligently navigating state law affordable housing mandates which present unique burdens and challenges to municipalities like ours all over New Jersey.
Between now and final adoption of our municipal budget in the spring, there will be many revisions, lots of conversations, and plenty of hard looks at every dollar of your tax money that is being spent. Know that my colleagues and I are laser focused on delivering the highest quality services to all residents, and to keep Scotch Plains moving forward.
It is expected that the municipal budget will be introduced in March and set for a vote on adoption in April. Should you have any questions about the budget process,
