Articles Township government
Warren's PILOT Audit and the Agreements Behind It, Explained
What Warren commissioned and what the May 14 minutes say about HFA's presentation: six 2026 PILOT revenue lines totaling $1.91 million by LocalWhy's addition, and five agreement documents LocalWhy has not reviewed.
The audit contract
On January 6, 2026, at the reorganization meeting, Committeeman Daniel J. McCarey said the Township “will be going out to bid to hire a forensic accounting firm to conduct an independent audit of all PILOT programs.” He described the step as “the Township Committee’s fiduciary responsibility to the residents” and “not based on suspicion or mistrust.” No vote was taken that night.
The administrator, Mark Krane, gave an overview of the 2026 professional-services request for proposals (RFP) process on January 22. Ten categories were included. Bids were received on November 25, 2025. Contracts were approved at the reorganization meeting. The minutes do not list the forensic audit among the ten categories.
Resolution 2026-085 was adopted on February 19, 2026. It awarded a contract to Holman Frenia Allison, PC. The contract’s maximum amount is $49,400.00. The resolution listed two proposals: Holman Frenia Allison, PC at $49,400.00 and Mercadien at $75,000.00. Funds were certified in account 6-01-20-130-6102.
The resolution calls the work a “forensic audit of active PILOT agreements” and says only that “the Township solicited proposals.” It states no scope of work, sampling method, period covered or auditing standard, and does not name the agreements. The Township posted a contract-award notice in February 2026.
On the two printed figures, the ceiling equals about 2.6 percent of the $1,910,000 in PILOT revenue the 2026 budget anticipates (LocalWhy’s arithmetic).
What HFA presented
The agenda for May 14, 2026, listed “Pilot Program Audit” as a discussion item. Mayor Shaun Fine asked HFA to present. The minutes record the presentation in one sentence: “A copy of the presentation is attached.” No vote followed.
The minutes say a copy of the presentation was attached. LocalWhy has not reviewed the presentation. It needs a browser.
The Township’s own “Township Committee Meeting Highlights” page for May 14, 2026 lists budget adoption, business milestones, ordinance adoptions, the Hofheimer referendum resolution, the overlay contract and proclamations, and does not mention the PILOT audit.
During public comment on agenda items, Rick dePinho of Wilshire Road asked about the audit’s cost. The minutes record the question but no answer.
A recording of the May 14 meeting is listed on the Township’s TelVue player at 2:02:51. The player page gives no per-meeting link, and LocalWhy has not reviewed the recording.
PILOT revenue lines
The 2026 Municipal Data Sheet, Sheet 10, prints the six lines, the 2026 and 2025 anticipations, and the cash received in 2025.
| Payer as printed | 2026 anticipated | 2025 anticipated | Cash in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PILOT – Warren Crossing | $390,000.00 | $350,000.00 | $391,154.05 |
| PILOT – Flag Plaza | $80,000.00 | $80,000.00 | $80,781.97 |
| PILOT – Villas at Warren | $1,300,000.00 | $1,280,000.00 | $1,346,942.62 |
| PILOT – Heritage at Warren | $50,000.00 | $44,000.00 | $52,146.07 |
| PILOT – Diamond at Warren | $55,000.00 | $30,000.00 | $55,455.51 |
| PILOT – Warren LIHTC Urban Renewal LLC | $35,000.00 | $40,000.00 | $38,091.26 |
| Total (LocalWhy’s addition) | $1,910,000.00 | $1,824,000.00 | $1,964,571.48 |
The six 2026 lines are about 7.1 percent of the $27,058,362.93 in total 2026 appropriations (LocalWhy’s arithmetic).
The 2025 annual financial statement reports payment in lieu of taxes billing for long-term tax exemptions as $1,405,139.07. This is against $2,049,215.09 in taxes “if billed in full,” on an assessed value of $126,929,292.00. Its individual lines are Warren Crossing $381,069.60, Villas at Warren $939,125.23, and Flag Plaza $84,944.24.
The documents measure different things: anticipated revenue in the budgets, cash received in the data sheet, and billing in the financial statement. The record does not reconcile them.
Agreement rules and school share
Resolution 2022-191 recites the Long Term Tax Exemption Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:20-1 et seq.: 95 percent of annual gross revenue goes to the municipality and 5 percent to the county.
For multi-family residential PILOTs the Committee allows after the resolution’s adoption, it divides the municipal share 60 percent to the Township and 40 percent to the Warren Township Board of Education, with a proviso that the Board never receive more than it would have received without a PILOT.
The Township’s budget documents report PILOT revenue as municipal revenue and do not show payments to the Board of Education.
The Township’s public files contain the Warren LIHTC Urban Renewal LLC agreement for 80 low- and moderate-income rental units on Block 114, Lot 22.03, accepted by Resolution 2019-127 subject to NJHMFA approval; Ordinance 19-38 repealed Ordinance 18-14 and authorized the annual service charge. A 2019 Echoes-Sentinel report said the Township would receive 100 percent of that project’s PILOT rather than the usual 95 percent.
A PILOT for RUDR SJ Urban Renewal Redevelopment, LLC, Ordinance 19-36, was rescinded by Ordinance 20-22 in 2020 after the Township placed the redeveloper in default and found the project abandoned.
The agreement documents for Flag Plaza, Warren Crossing, Villas at Warren, Heritage at Warren, and Diamond at Warren were not among the records LocalWhy reviewed.
Unreviewed findings and records
The minutes refer to an attached presentation, which LocalWhy has not reviewed. No exceptions, recovery amounts, or recommendations appear in the resolutions, budgets, or agendas reviewed.
The resolution does not list which agreements were audited. It says “active PILOT agreements”. Six revenue lines appear in the 2026 budget, and four of their agreements were not retrieved.
The contract is “not to exceed” $49,400.00. No invoice, purchase order, or final cost appears in the records reviewed.
No item accepting findings, adopting a corrective action plan, or referring the matter appears on the Township Committee agendas for September 24, October 8, or October 22, 2026.
The Township website lists a page titled “PILOT Program Review.” Retrieval returns a sign-in screen, so it needs a browser, and LocalWhy has not reviewed it.