Concerns Raised Over Sharing Pilot Revenue With Chatham Schools 

CHATHAM, NJ — Once more, concerns about the Chatham School District's potential financial gain from the borough in the wake of the development of a 259-unit housing project sparked discussion.

During the public comment portion of the borough council meeting this week, a local resident expressed her concerns about the borough's and school district's negotiations, citing a need for more transparency in the situation.

Chatham Board of Education President Jill Critchley Weber previously stated that the school district hoped to have conversations with members of the Borough Council about sharing the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) revenue from the River Road development.

Those potential conversations, according to resident Brigid McMenamin, are not in the best interests of borough residents.

"Just to be clear, we are talking about the so-called PILOT payments that the River Road developer has agreed to make to the borough instead of paying normal property taxes for the next 30 years. Those payments are our money, money that rightfully belongs to the taxpayers of Chatham Borough," McMenamin said.

She claimed that any money generated by the development should be used by the borough to help reduce the current tax burden on residents or to fund other pressing municipal needs such as fire protection, police and public works.

"The council should air the PILOT issue at meetings, getting the public ample opportunity to decide about whether to use all the PILOT money to reduce our property tax bills or maybe spend some of the money on urgent municipal needs," McMenamin said.

In her final remarks, McMenamin urged the council to step back from the negotiations, warning against setting a precedent that could jeopardize the school board's independence, leaving the schools vulnerable to party politics.

Discussions about the school district's budget concerns have been ongoing for several months, with local resident Bill Heap previously addressing the council, expressing his concerns about the borough's and school district's negotiations.

During a back-and-forth between Heap and Weber, accusations were leveled about the district's financial gain from the housing development.

Heap claims that the school board already receives adequate funding, claiming that "they get what they ask for."

Stewart Carr, a Chatham Township resident who raised the issue at the board of education meeting last week, brought his points back up again to the borough council on Monday.

Carr argued that the school board should not be asking the council to share municipal funds from the PILOT but rather should be asking for increased funds through a referendum.

"To take that money and go over to someplace else, cutting out the taxpayers, is not appropriate, and I would argue that it is outside your mandate as a delegated power," Carr said. "The people may say, 'hey let's just cut out all this bureaucracy and send the money over to the school district.' If that's the case, that's fine... At least let them know what the ins and outs of that are before you make decisions."