Brick Adopts Budget, Tax Increase In Party-Line Vote Amidst Financial Worries

Brick Municipal Building / Photo: Daniel Nee

The Brick Township council, in a party-line vote, adopted its 2026 annual budget this week amidst concerns from Republicans over a property tax increase and dwindling cash reserves in the township’s coffers. Democrats defended the budget proposed by Mayor Lisa Crate, leading to a short spat between members of the two parties.

The annual operating budget, which was proposed by Crate, a Democrat, in March, will see appropriations rise to $126,243,931, about 2.8 percent higher than the previous year. Crate, at the time, said the budget increase was generally in line with rising costs over the past 10 years, during which the annual budget averaged just above a 2 percent increase each cycle. The budget included a municipal property tax increase of 3.2 cents per $100 of assessed real estate valuation, which works out to about $98 annually for the owner of an average-priced home.

The budget was adopted in a 4-3 vote, reflecting the council’s four-member Democratic majority. Republicans opposed the spending plan primarily over its inclusion of a large amount of surplus funding that was used toward the operating budget, bringing the township’s reserves down to their lowest level in 14 years. This year’s spending plan utilized $16,108,085 in surplus funding – the highest amount in 16 years – and will result in the fund being reduced to $2,964,444, according to figures cited by Councilwoman Lisa Reina at the meeting.

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Reina also said she was concerned that the township’s surplus reserve, as a percentage of the total budget, will be reduced to 2.34 percent. Such a low percentage could threaten the township’s bond rating, she said.

“We may have difficulty covering temporary budget imbalances as a result,” said Reina. “When our reserves are depleted, we’re vulnerable to economic downturns. We will have lower credit confidence, and also potential for property tax increases.”

Fellow GOP Councilman Gregory Cohen also voted against the budget, citing figures provided in presentations from various department heads that indicated they ended the previous year with their own surpluses. He questioned why some of these same departments saw their budgets increase.

“I’m not saying that we need to cut the current spending level in our current budget,” he said. “I’m saying that we don’t need to necessarily increase what we’re increasing in the new budget. If we came in under budget, there is no reason in the world that we need to be increasing any of those department budgets.”

Democratic Councilwoman Derrick Ambrosino offered a defense of Crate’s proposed spending plan, prompting a short row with his GOP colleagues after stating that voting against the budget was voting “against” the township’s police department, public works department and road improvements.

“Voting no is voting against funding the most important elements of Brick,” he said. “It’s voting against providing the proud men and women of the Brick Township Police Department with the resources they need to keep us safe. It’s voting against funding the hard working and dedicated emergency services team members that do the same. It’s voting against continually improving our roads, our parks, our garbage, and our recycling collection.”

Ambrosino opined that spending increases were required due to increasing fuel prices, statewide energy costs, and a $2.1 million increase in employee healthcare costs.

“It feels as though each time there’s a disagreement in the perspective, there’s a public scolding for having a dissenting opinion,” said Reina. “And I don’t appreciate it. I respect your vote, and I would ask the same in return, that you respect mine. All of the things that you listed, I am in favor of. I am also in favor of fiscal responsibility.”

In an ironic twist, the allowance of cash reserves to drop to low levels served as a prime catalyst for the Democrats’ dominance in Brick politics for more than a decade. After residents grudgingly approved a 24 percent tax increase in a referendum to make up for a shortfall in 2011, former GOP Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis decided against seeking another term. No Republicans would be elected to the governing body for a decade to come.

Asked by a resident how surplus funds would be replenished, Business Administrator Joanne Bergin cited two items: the impending start of the sports dome complex on Route 70 beginning to pay an annual fee to the township in 2026, and the potential sale of township-owned land off Route 70 to Bancroft Neurohealth as part of the township’s affordable housing plan. The fee paid as part of the sports dome’s tax abatement in 2026 will likely generate $504,799 in its first year, according to township records, and just over $1 million in its second year. The payments will begin once the business is awarded a certificate of occupancy. Bergin did not detail the expected revenue that would be generated by the potential land sale.

Charts detailing the financial agreement between Brick Township and the owners of a sports dome facility. (Source: Official Documents)

“All you can do is look to the future and see what’s in the plan, and work towards things,” said Bergin. “You know, we are very diligent with watching our expenses and living really, really tight when we need to.”

Ambrosino and fellow Democrats Vincent Minichino, Steve Feinman and Melissa Travers voted in favor of adopting the budget. Republicans Reina, Cohen and Perry Albanese voted against it, leading to its adoption by one vote.