When Amber Al-Haddad inherited the public safety building project as the borough’s capital facilities director in 2018, she was told the building simply needed a paint job.

The now 34-year-old building needed, and still needs, much more than that. The assembly convened in a work session Monday night to discuss a phased rehabilitation plan for overhauling the water- and rot-damaged building, a plan it had requested of Al-Haddad at its Nov. 9 assembly meeting.

The latest proposal comes with an estimated price tag of at least $14.7 million, in three phases.

The first phase would address top...