Cost-Cutting May Mean Township Layoffs

Officials estimate that they will be announcing a firm township budget plan in late March or early April. But the battle to prevent it from bubbling over the state-mandated 2-percent property tax cap is far from over – and it could mean staff layoffs.

 Township Administrator Marlena Schmid said the current model – posting a 17.5 cut in salaries and benefits across the board – presumes staff cutbacks at a Township Committee meeting on March 21.

"It assumes layoffs, and I don’t know how else I can state it," she said.

This was not the first time officials mentioned the possibility. At a public meeting March 15, Mayor Daniel Aschenbach faced into the TV-35 cameras and said the township could be facing "significant layoffs." He added that negotiations with different union groups has begun.

 "That process is proceeding," he said.

Aschenbach also listed several possible solutions that the Committee is currently exploring would could help minimize staffing cuts – among them sharing a sewer utility with other municipalities. 

Sewer Dollars

With the budget still $895,000 over the 2-percent cap, the sewer charges, just like everything else, is also out on the negotiating table. In fact, at a March 21 meeting Deputy Mayor Kevin Campbell said the committee needs to consider two budget models: One that includes sewer charges within the property tax and one that separates out the fee.

"On March 28, time is out. We have to have a budget with no holes," he said.

Sewer charges were peeled out last year in the summer from the main property tax into a separate bill, officials stating that it was an accounting maneuver that allowed the township to stay underneath the state cap.

However the township committee – then a Republican majority – voted to place the sewer fee back into the main tax pot in November after a resident outcry.

Some residents objected because the charges  not longer qualified as a tax deduction. Others said they wanted the sewer charges to reflect each household's use of the sewer system, adding that its a fairer measurement than basing the price tag off property value.

Schmid however objected to the ordinance that pushed the bill back into the property tax. On March 21 she reminded the Township Committee that she had found that plan a financially unsound one.

“I made it clear in November that with the sewer tax being put back in there was no way we could meet the 2 percent budget cap," she said.

Surplus Slam

A few weeks ago the Township Committee received an unwelcome surprise that further complicated the whittling down of the township budget. At a Feb. 17 meeting the auditor told officials that the surplus hovers around $58,000 – much less than the $1 million estimate officials had been working with.

About half of the loss stems from 13 unpaid settled tax appeals, finance commissioner Edward O'Malley told Patch in February. He added that it's common for the number of tax appeals to increase during recessions.

Another of the fiscal of the recession is less revenue from construction code permits. Township Treasurer Jeff Theriault told Patch last week that residents are less likely to spend money on renovations, which translates into a loss of funds for township coffers. Neighboring communities have been experiencing a similar issue, with Westfield officials noting the drop has caused a hole in their fiscal plan. 

"Because we were in a recession, people weren't improving their homes as in previous years. We didn't bring in revenue that we thought we were going to," he said, adding, "if you don't make your budgeted numbers it's another pull from the surplus bucket."

Sean Sullivan contributed to this article.