The Village of Camden’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously July 14 to authorize $4.18 million in additional bonds for the village’s wastewater treatment plant project, pushing the total authorized financing to $19.38 million. The resolution is subject to a permissive referendum, and the window for residents to force a public vote runs through mid August.
The Village of Camden Board of Trustees voted 4 to 0 on July 14, 2026, to authorize an additional $4,180,000 in bonds for the village’s wastewater treatment plant construction project, according to the meeting minutes recorded by Village Clerk Lynnette Carver. The vote raises the total amount of debt the village has authorized for the project to $19,380,000, up from the $15,200,000 ceiling set in 2023.
This story came from public records we pulled ourselves
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Mayor Jeffrey Oatman, Deputy Mayor Jeffery Kelley and Trustees Erin LaPlante and Shawn Prievo all voted yes on Resolution #4 of 2026/27, with no trustees opposed or abstaining, the minutes show. Trustee Prievo made the motion; Kelley seconded it.
The project is not new. The village first authorized $7,000,000 in bonds for the wastewater treatment plant on April 10, 2018, according to the resolution’s text, which the board read into the record as part of the “whereas” clauses required under state finance law. On December 12, 2023, the board authorized an additional $8,200,000, bringing the prior ceiling to $15,200,000. The July 14 vote adds a third layer of borrowing authority on top of those two.
The resolution states the plant is being built “on the site of the existing Wastewater Treatment Facility at Route 69,” along with improvements to and reconstruction of portions of the village’s sewer collection system, including new furnishings, equipment, machinery and site work.
The financing runs through the state’s Local Finance Law. The resolution sets the “period of probable usefulness” for the project at 40 years, the maximum allowed under that law’s schedule for wastewater treatment facilities, and pledges “the faith and credit” of the village to repayment. If the debt isn’t covered by other revenue, such as user fees or state grants, the resolution requires the village to levy an annual property tax sufficient to cover principal and interest.
Before the bond vote, the board also acted on two related financing moves. Resolution #5 of 2026/27 authorized Cedarwood Engineering Services to prepare a Water Quality Improvement Project grant application on the village’s behalf, and Resolution #6 authorized Cedarwood to prepare a separate application under the state’s Water Infrastructure Improvement Act. Both resolutions carry identical language stating that “affordability for the Village’s residents and property owners is a significant concern in advancement of the proposed project.” The bond resolution itself specifies that if grant money comes through, the amount of bonds actually issued “shall be reduced dollar for dollar.”
The bond increase had already been recommended a day earlier. At the July 13 meeting of the Village’s Water and Sewer Board, commissioners voted to recommend the Village Board approve the higher bonding figure and grant applications. Water and Sewer Resolution #2 of 2026/27, recommending the bond increase, passed with commissioners O’Hara, Sauer, Clarke and Dust all voting yes and none opposed. The Water and Sewer Board separately recommended, in Resolutions #4 and #5 of 2026/27, that Cedarwood prepare both grant applications, votes that also passed without opposition.
The resolution also spells out how the village could sell the bonds. It delegates authority to the Village Treasurer to advertise, conduct and award the bond sale, including selling the debt directly to the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation or the U.S. Department of Agriculture, two lenders that commonly finance rural and small-municipality water infrastructure. The resolution further authorizes the treasurer to sign project finance agreements with the state Department of Environmental Conservation or the Environmental Facilities Corporation to help arrange the financing.
The project’s environmental review is already settled, according to the resolution. The board determined the wastewater plant work is a Type II Action under Part 617.5(c)(1) and (2) of the state’s regulations implementing the State Environmental Quality Review Act, a classification meaning the project has been found not to carry significant adverse environmental impact and does not require further SEQRA review before construction proceeds.
Because the bond resolution is subject to permissive referendum, it does not take legal effect right away. Under New York Village Law Section 9-902, a resolution subject to permissive referendum sits for 30 days after adoption. If, within that window, village residents file a petition with the Village Clerk signed by registered electors equal to at least 20 percent of the number who voted in the last general village election, the bond authorization must go before village voters rather than take effect automatically. Counting 30 days from the July 14 adoption date puts the petition deadline at roughly August 13, 2026, a window that was still open as of this writing. If no qualifying petition is filed by then, the $4,180,000 bond authorization becomes final without a public vote.
The village’s population was 2,196 at the 2020 U.S. Census. Dividing the full $19,380,000 in authorized wastewater plant financing across that population works out to roughly $8,825 in authorized borrowing per resident, a figure CNY Signal calculated from the bond total and the census count; it is not a per-resident tax bill, since state grants, federal loans and monthly water and sewer rates are all expected to cover part of the debt service rather than property taxes alone. The resolution’s own language, requiring an annual tax “to the extent not paid from other sources,” makes clear that the property-tax exposure to village taxpayers depends heavily on how much grant funding Cedarwood’s applications succeed in securing.
The board’s own paperwork makes that affordability concern explicit rather than incidental. Both grant resolutions repeat the same sentence, word for word: that affordability for residents and property owners is significant as the project moves forward. Trustees have not said publicly how large a share of the $19,380,000 they expect the state and federal grant applications to offset, and the minutes do not include a projected water or sewer rate impact for village households. That detail, if it exists, was not part of the record CNY Signal reviewed for this story.
The rest of the July 14 meeting covered a mix of routine and personnel business. The board approved Chad Murphy’s transfer from the City of Sherrill Police Department to the Camden Police Department as sergeant, effective July 13, at a starting rate of $75,000, following a motion by Trustee LaPlante. Corporal Muha and Sergeant Murphy also reviewed the department’s police report with the board, which the minutes note is kept on file at the police department.
Trustee Prievo moved to appoint Cameron Oatman to the Water and Sewer Board Commissioner seat, effective immediately, filling out the remainder of a term through May 2028 previously held by Shelly Kelley. The board also accepted the resignation of Lucas Piersal, a village employee since April 2018, effective July 14.
Fire Department President Steve Hall told the board the department was “saddened by the passing of long-term member and former President Phil Denison.” Trustees then approved three new fire department members: Carter Keller, Kaitlyn Findley and Samuel Hamacher, on a motion from Trustee Kelley.
Trustees also voted to schedule a public hearing on a proposed local law that would raise the village’s parking ticket fees and allow the board to update those rates by resolution in the future rather than through a new local law each time. The minutes do not list a hearing date. Separately, the board reviewed reports from Codes Enforcement Officer Vincent DeBaise and Superintendent of Public Works John Heller, both filed as available upon request, and heard an update from Forest Park, where gates are now open dawn to dusk seven days a week and four new swings have been ordered.
Other capital work is also moving. The village’s sidewalk replacement program has updated its application forms and placed an advertisement in the Queen Central newspaper, drawing interest from what the minutes describe as “several interested parties.” On the separately funded Main Street Grant and Riverwalk capital project, the Department of Public Works is now constructing signage and beginning installation work along the riverwalk. A board discussion on trees along Main Street was tabled without action.
Mayor Oatman also gave the board a report on the village’s July 5 parade, thanking volunteers including the VFW for a hotdog giveaway, resident Heather Kent for organizing parade participants, and the children who took part, in what the mayor described as an event honoring the 250th anniversary of the United States. The board approved payment of Abstract #2, covering audited bills totaling $51,672.74, including $9,074 in capital project payments.
The Village Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for August 11, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at the Village Office, according to the posted public agenda. That agenda lists department reports from police, codes enforcement, the Department of Public Works and the fire department, along with an item labeled “Administration, annual resolutions,” but does not detail specific dollar figures or votes in advance.
Sources and verification
This story is based on the Village of Camden Board of Trustees meeting minutes for July 14, 2026, including the text of Resolution #4, #5 and #6 of 2026/27 and referenced Water and Sewer Board resolutions from the board’s July 13, 2026 meeting; the posted Village Board public agenda for August 11, 2026; New York Village Law Section 9-902 governing permissive referendum; and 2020 U.S. Census population data for the Village of Camden. All documents were published by the Village of Camden or the New York State Legislature and were retrieved directly for this report. The per-resident borrowing figure is CNY Signal’s own calculation, clearly identified as such above.
