Money Borrowed 6 Years Ago Sparks Questions In Gloucester Twp.

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Gloucester Township Council is redirecting money to help complete a project that was underfunded, but some members of the public questioned why money that was borrowed six years ago hasn’t been used until now.

Council approved a proposed bond ordinance on introduction to reallocate $684,368 from a stormwater drainage improvement project to help fund the township’s Redwood Street Culvert project at its meeting Monday night at the municipal building.

Funding for both projects was authorized as part of a bond ordinance that was passed in 2014. The stormwater drainage improvement project proposal came in under the township’s expected cost, while the Redwood Street project came in higher than expected, according to Business Administrator Tom Cardis. Funding has been provided for all parts of the stormwater drainage project, and the excess is moved over to the Redwood Street Culvert project.

Monday night’s proposal would allow the township to shift the extra money from one project to another. The total cost of the bond ordinance is $1,750,000, with $1,092,733 now set aside for the Redwood Street Culvert project. The funding for the stormwater drainage project checks in at $657,627. A public hearing and final vote on the proposal will take place on Feb. 24.

Resident Pete Heinbaugh was concerned that the township has been paying interest on the borrowed money for the last six years. Because the bond is a New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust (NJEIT) bond, the money that is borrowed becomes part of the permanent debt and the township doesn’t pay interest on it, Cardis said.

On Wednesday, Cardis clarified that the township is paying interest on 25 percent of the borrowed money, but not on the other 75 percent. He expects the entire project to be completed under what the township estimated the budget to be for the project.