Politics & Government

Budget Meeting Short on Solutions

The next budget meeting will be held January 9 after the official township meeting.

The Cranford Township Committee met with department heads on Monday to negotiate a way to keep the 2010 budget from weighing down taxpayer wallets while sustaining town services. This budget term looks to be a tough one with town officials expecting less state aid than previous years.

Commissioners asked representatives from the engineering, public works, fire, construction code, planning and zoning departments to suggest cost-cutting areas within their own budgets. The department heads provided more reasons not to cut their expenses than solutions to Cranford's budget problems.

"We've got to be able to perform a function," said Richard Marsden, town engineer. "There is a base cost we need, and I feel like I'm fighting the base cost."

Marsden noted that the engineering department had suffered a "big blow" when the Township Committee enacted a hiring freeze earlier this month, leaving the department short an aide.

Under the new hiring freeze, department heads can appeal their empty positions to the township administrator, who can then pass the concerns on to the Township Committee for final approval.

"I don't know how I can not have a technician to supplement our work," Marsden said. "Right now we're already getting behind. If you're saying that there's a hiring freeze, I will have to make it work. But recognize that certain things are just not going to get done."

Salaries make up most of the increases in the public works budget, said Wayne Rozman, public works superintendent.

The 15-employee portion of the department that maintains streets and roads alone costs the town roughly $1 million under the proposed budget.

Under the current and proposed budgets, 10 percent of each DPW employee's salary goes to snow removal. That doesn't count the thousands of dollars spent on salt. The town spent about $24,000 on salt on two 200-ton shipments, one in December, the other in January.

Leaf collection, another big responsibility for the department, takes up the equivalent of three employees working a full year, said Tom Grady, director of finance.

The DPW is not the only department with large employee costs.

Cranford's fire department proposed an increase of $20,000 in overtime for 2010.

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"Late in the budget process last year we reduced the overtime budget in an effort to squeeze the last possible dollar," said Leonard Dolan, fire chief. "Unfortunately this year we already spent about $26,000 in overtime. I'm afraid last year's rate won't be enough."

"You just don't know what your exposure is going to be," he added. "It takes one storm or a cold weather snap or a rash of fires and your overtime is taking a hit. We're at this point now just with sick leave and training."

Commissioner David Robinson asked why the department doesn't consider six-man platoons instead of the current seven.

Dolan said seven-man platoons already leave the department understaffed.

"Having to do the work that normally needs to be done at a structure fire with seven people is more than he can handle," he said. "If we get to a fire and have someone trapped, or someone who has to get out of a window, you're using three people just to set up the ladder. And then you're not getting a hose up there."

Roselle has six-man crews; Westfield, nine; Summit, eight; Springfield, five, said Dolan.

"At eight men we would have two full companies of men and you could do two tasks at the same time," he said. "At seven people you can get two tasks done with difficulty. If we have to work with five people, which occasionally we have to do with time off and other issues, we have our work cut out for us and it gets dangerous."

Dolan spoke well of Cranford's mutual aid agreement with the surrounding towns, but did not think that Cranford should rely more on neighboring firefighters than its own.

"Neighboring career departments are all at minimum staffing like we are," he said. "What if they can't respond because they're on their own? They're going to protect their own community first. Could be a false sense of security to something like that."

Though it isn't official, Dolan is anticipating a $42,000 grant to help defray specific equipment requests. He has been successful in receiving such assistance in past years.

The construction code department continues to be self-funded. Richard Belluscio submitted a budget without any increases from last year except for a mandatory 3.5 percent salary and wage increase. He also mentioned that one of his employees is retiring and that he intends to fill that statutory position with someone with the same salary, though slightly different responsibilities.

Planning and zoning departments recommended consolidating two part-time positions into one full time position with a stipend instead of benefits, allowing the offices to be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. (instead of 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. currently) and saving the town money in the long run.

"There's a direct relationship between customer accessibility and revenue," said Bellusio.

"The only downside is the pension issue," said Commissioner Dugan.

Town officials will meet with police and other departments after the official township meeting on January 9. The budget meeting will run until 10:30 p.m.

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