TOMS RIVER – Approximately $2.5 million in money raised for past projects will be directed toward current ones, officials said.
The $2,502,774.56 was raised from bond ordinances. Bonding is done every year, when a municipality borrows money for projects. Paying off the annual debt on that loan is considered by municipal officials to be more affordable than paying for a project’s total cost up front.
The ordinances dated back as far as 1995, and as recent as 2009. The smallest amount is for $195. The largest is $458,837.81.
The money had been raised for various reasons, business administrator Paul Shives said. It paid for stormwater projects, bulkheading, and various equipment purchases, to name a few.
After an audit, the auditor determined that these monies could be re-appropriated, Shives said. There are two options that the town could have chosen. They could have either dropped the money into surplus, or re-appropriate it toward current projects. The Township Council chose to re-appropriate it to current projects.
This $2.5 million will pay for about 15 percent of this year’s projects, Shives said.
There are several projects being eyed that this money might go toward, he said. One of them is to light the soccer fields at Riverwood Park. Another is to clean a stream in Silverton. Ambulances also need to be replaced.
The measure to redirect the money was introduced at a recent Township Council meeting. It has to be approved at a future meeting or it to go into effect.
