Township Committee Hears Budget Needs from Department Heads

At a meeting before the Township Committee Wednesday morning, the Construction Department said it could cut roughly $80,000 from its budget, and the Police Chief made a case to reinstate three officers and purchase five patrol cars. 

It was the first of two public meetings in which department heads handed in lengthy confidential reports about how they spend their money, and asked how they can cut or create revenue while still maintaining the current level of service. The second meeting is on Saturday, at 8:30 a.m. in Town Hall. 

Committee members reviewed the reports and asked questions to understand priorities. Using the techniques called zero-based budgeting, departments were obliged to start from zero, and justify their budget request in detail. No action will be immediately taken on the reports. They also heard from the Tax Collector, Assessor and Clerk offices, which have smaller budgets. 

Construction Official Dennis Pino said he could find cost savings by sharing out even more services with neighboring towns, employing an online self-serve permits system he is helping develop for New Jersey, and getting rid of two little used cell phone lines. He said the department might also find a small stream of revenue by offering to do mandatory fire suppression system and elevator inspections for other towns. 

Police Chief John Mioduszewski said that he had 44 officers in 2010, but has recently lost four to attrition. He said he wanted to bring three men on board to replace them to keep overtime costs manageable, cover shifts, court duty and time-off requirements, and keep service at the high level the township residents expect, he said. 

"We've been at 40 now since Jan. 1," he said. "I don't know how it will be this summer." 

Mioduszewski said,  "With 43, I am comfortable with response times."

He said that the township mechanic recommended replacing five of the departments 15 well-used patrol cars for $150,000. "By November they are going to be unserviceable, meaning they will cost more to fix than to buy a new one," he said. 

The Chief said he could see potential savings by moving the faulty radio system to one using voice over the Internet instead of using phone lines. He also suggested the Township consider funding electronic ticketing systems or a license plate reader technology that can scan plates automatically as the patrol car moves about, and return information to alert officers to motor vehicle theft and identify unregistered cars.