Morristown Budget, School Referendum and Infrastructure Work Lead the Week
The June 7-12 roundup also covers Morris Educational Foundation grants, a state health care bill, NJ Transit delays, a prosecutor’s detective charged after a crash and two Randolph water-main projects.
MORRISTOWN, NJ – Local budgets, school construction plans, health care legislation, commuter delays, law enforcement charges and infrastructure work shaped the biggest Greater Morristown and Morris County news from Sunday, June 7, through Friday, June 12, 2026.
The week’s main developments centered on public systems residents use or pay for directly: municipal government, schools, trains, roads, water lines and state law. Some decisions are final, including Morristown’s municipal budget adoption. Others are still moving, including the Morris School District referendum and a state bill involving legal protections for reproductive and gender-affirming health care.
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1. Morristown adopts a $60.6 million municipal budget
The Morristown Town Council adopted a $60.6 million municipal budget on Tuesday, June 9, approving a spending plan that includes a 3.25 percent municipal tax rate increase.
The town’s budget presentation lists total financial budgets of $60,571,500 for fiscal year 2026. For the average residential assessment of about $635,841, the municipal operating portion of the tax bill is projected to rise by $207 for the year, or about $17 per month.
Public safety remains the largest operating category in the budget, followed by insurance and public works. The budget presentation also identifies salary and pension increases for police and fire, insurance costs and public works needs among the town’s major cost drivers.
The budget includes a $3.65 million capital program, with funding for roads and engineering, parks and recreation, pool improvements, parking, public works, technology, police, fire and town hall projects.
The same council meeting also included approvals connected to the upcoming FIFA World Cup, including a free community watch party at Pioneer Park at Headquarters Plaza on June 19 and outdoor alcohol sales by the Dublin Pub from June 18 through June 20. The Morristown Farmers Market is scheduled to return to Municipal Lot 10 on June 19 and continue on Sundays through Nov. 22.
2. Morris School District moves $158.4 million bond referendum toward September vote
The Morris School District Board of Education unanimously approved ballot language on Monday, June 8, for a $158.4 million bond referendum that will go before voters in Morristown and Morris Township on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The district says the plan would fund improvements across 10 schools, including HVAC work, air conditioning, roof and window repairs, restroom renovations, fire alarm upgrades, classroom additions, science lab modernization, media center improvements, auditorium work, cafeteria expansion and replacement of the Morristown High School pool.
The official referendum page lists the proposed improvements at $158.4 million and says the state would provide $46.4 million toward eligible costs if voters approve the proposal.
The estimated tax impact would be about $38 per month for the average Morristown home assessed at $634,443, and about $41 per month for the average Morris Township home assessed at $560,000.
The district has framed the referendum as a long-term facilities plan for aging schools. Morristown High School dates to 1916, and the district has said no new district schools have been built since the 1970s.
3. Morris Educational Foundation awards $42,050 in grants
The Morris Educational Foundation awarded $42,050 in new grants for programs in the Morris School District, bringing the foundation’s school-year grant total to more than $189,000.
The latest grants will support three programs: dramatic play materials for kindergarten knowledge units, cultural arts programming for all 10 district schools and the FMS Falcon Flight Crew Peer Leader Program.
The foundation says it serves 10 schools and about 5,700 students in Morristown, Morris Township and Morris Plains. The grants fund staff-requested programs not covered by the district’s operating budget or local tax dollars.
The grants add to a week in which education funding remained one of the main local storylines, with the district preparing voters for the September bond referendum and the foundation continuing private fundraising for classroom and enrichment programs.
4. State health care protections bill advances in Trenton
A New Jersey bill that would expand legal protections for patients and providers involved in reproductive health care advanced again in Trenton during the week.
A2218, the Assembly version of the bill, was reported out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee with amendments on Monday, June 8, and received an Assembly floor amendment by voice vote on Thursday, June 11, according to legislative tracking. The bill has not become law.
The measure would secure protections for patients and providers accessing or providing reproductive health care services and establish a New Jersey right for residents to engage in reproductive health care activity that is restricted in other states. Prior reporting on the bill has also noted provisions involving certain gender-affirming care, patient privacy and limits on cooperation with some out-of-state actions involving care that is legal in New Jersey.
The legislation is politically charged because it involves abortion access, gender-affirming care, out-of-state legal actions, privacy and protest activity. Supporters have described the proposal as a shield for patients and providers. Opponents have raised concerns about speech, parental rights and the bill’s legal reach.
The next step is continued Assembly consideration. If approved by the full Assembly, the bill would move closer to the governor’s desk.
5. Commuter rail delays, vehicle & brush fire, power outages
NJ Transit riders traveling into and out of Penn Station New York faced delays on Monday, June 8th and Wednesday, June 10, due to two seperate fires.
On Monday, a brush fire between convent station and Morristown Station caused some delays and closed Normandy Parkway and Madison Avenue while crews extingusihed the fire. The fire sparked on top of a down utility pole that caused a wide spread outage in the Washington Headquarters area.
Later in the week, on Wednesday, NJ Transit warned of delays of up to 45 minutes into and out of Penn Station New York due to a Portal North Bridge subcontractor vehicle fire and smoke condition near the tracks.
6. Somerset County chief of detectives charged after March crash
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office announced that Francisco Roman Jr., the 54-year-old chief of detectives for the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, was charged in connection with a March 20 crash in Somerville.
Roman has been suspended without pay, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutors said Roman was driving a 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe owned by Somerset County on South Bridge Street when he allegedly struck a parked Mercedes-Benz. The driver and a passenger in the Mercedes-Benz were injured, and three additional parked vehicles were damaged, according to prosecutors.
Somerville police responded to the crash, and Roman allegedly showed signs of impairment. Prosecutors said he was arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence, issued a DWI citation and released.
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office later took over the investigation. On June 8, Roman was charged by summons complaint with two counts of fourth-degree assault by auto.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
7. Randolph water-main work will close parts of Pleasant Hill Road and Millbrook Avenue
Two water-main replacement projects are scheduled to begin in Randolph on or about Friday, June 12, bringing full closures, posted detours and limited access in work zones.
On Pleasant Hill Road, a Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority contractor will install a 12-inch ductile iron pipe water main to replace part of an existing 24-inch pre-stressed concrete cylinder pipe water main between Mel Drive and Spring Brook Drive. The project is scheduled to run through Aug. 31, with work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Pleasant Hill Road work will require a full closure of the affected portion of the road. Properties within the work area will have limited driveway access during construction, according to Randolph Township.
On Millbrook Avenue, Randolph’s Water & Sewer and Department of Public Works staff will replace part of an existing 12-inch ductile iron pipe water main along the frontage of 630 Millbrook Avenue, near Freedom Park. That work is scheduled to run through July 17, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The Millbrook Avenue project will require a full closure between Schoolhouse Road and Carrell Road, with detours posted. Access to Freedom Park will remain open from Carrell Road to Millbrook Avenue, and access to the township museum building will be limited.
Together, the week’s news points to several decisions and disruptions residents will continue to follow through the summer: Morristown’s new budget, the school referendum campaign, pending state health care legislation, rail reliability, criminal proceedings in the Roman case and road closures tied to Randolph’s water infrastructure work.