Colts Neck Budget and Our Taxes!

Colts Neck residents voiced concern over the 2026 budget number. The budget is meaningless when the governing body pulls $3 Million from the cash slush fund to balance the books.

The surplus balance as of 12/31/2024 was $ 5,660,810.92 and $3 million was needed to balance the budget. $3 million in unexpected spending is more than poor performance…it is reflective of slipshod leadership.

The cash management slush fund is common in government but our high balance is excessive. Reducing the balance would be a benefit to tax payers.

When asked for budget details, where the money will go or line item spending, we were told to look it up at the State level. The lack of transparency is appalling !

Elected Official Dan Buzzetta had the gall to say the budget was reduced and services were not cut. There was no indication how many millions of dollars will be withdrawn from the cash slush fund in 2026 at year’s end to address the budget shortfall.

Part of the Township Administrator’s job description, as noted under Township Code 46-6K, is to make the Elected Officials aware of State and Federal grant opportunities…free money! Has Colts Neck applied for grants this year or is the Township Administrator skating toward her retirement at the end of this year?

Residents can’t recall the Township Administrator informing the Committee, in a public meeting, of available grants. A grant team was suggested by a resident, as the Township Administrator has missed the mark again.

Home Land Security, New Jersey Division, closed their grant funding on January 11th 2026. Their grant may have been an opportunity to secure funding for the police replacement firearms or for the additional Board of Education school buses traffic safety cameras. The Governing Body refused to respond.

Leaf Composting Grant must be filed by September 1,2026. It is cheaper to compost leaves and sell the top soil…then pay dumping fees! Eliminating the dumping fees would be a significant cost savings. The Governing Body refused to respond.

Since our dedicated fire department members, member of the Planning Board, Zoning Board and others are not paid, how about our elected officials giving back their salary. Two elected official declined to accept their salary. Mike Viola, Tara Buss and Frank Rizzuto failed to respond!

The Colts Neck Sports Foundation asking for $260,000 is outrageous. A $35,000 score board, $30,000 bleachers and the $20,000 wind screen is excessive.

$10,000 buys a highly attractive scoreboard. This is Colts Neck…not Yankee Stadium or the Home of the Little League World Series.

Who pays to maintain the $35,000 scoreboard? Do the $30,000 bleachers come with cushioned heated seats and USB connector as a charging station?

The Parks Director spoke of renting out the fields at $25 to $32 per hour. It would take 26.5 years for the Return On Investment on the requested improvements at Laird Field. In the model, there is no time for Colts Neck children to use the field on the weekends! Committee Member Rizzuto turned away laughing. Finances and field time for Colts Neck's children is not a laughing matter!

Tara Buss recently wrote a State Agency, the All Inclusive Special Needs Children’s Park at Five Points will not move forward. Supporting transparency…Buss should have stated her position on the public record…as should the Laird field project details.

The 200 special needs children in Colts Neck deserve some love from the town budget to support their needs! It certainly isn’t coming from Parks and Recreation, from the Sports Foundation or from our elected official’s.

April 7th at 7 PM, at Conover School, an Affordable Housing meeting will take place to discuss the Court Ordered 857 units to be built in Colts Neck. Our elected official spent almost $500,000 on fighting Affordable Housing and lost!

Be prepared to hear, “we did our best”, “The Judge was wrong”, “No attorney wins every case”, “like you we are disappointed” and “we will fight on with an appeal”.

Kevin M. O’Brien

Colts Neck NJ