Lambertville, West Amwell and other towns could save money by sharing services such as recycling or public works functions.
By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
Lambertville, West Amwell and other nearby municipalities are discussing sharing government services, such as recycling or public works functions.
If the discussions are fruitful, they could lead to significant cost savings, according to local officials.
”We could do more efficient services, or more services, for the same amount,” Lambertville Mayor David Del Vecchio said. “I’m open to looking at it.”
So, too, is West Amwell Mayor Ron Shapella.
”It promises a better system than what we have now,” he said. “The promise is out there.”
Both mayors cautioned the investigation into shared services is in its infancy. After these early discussions, studies must be performed to determine actual costs and savings. To that end, municipalities like Lambertville and West Amwell would be looking for state grants to help finance the studies, Mayor Del Vecchio said.
”We’re just trying to get towns in the southern part of the county to take advantage by applying for grants and doing feasibility studies,” Mayor Shapella said.
Earlier this year, the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce Business and Government Council hired a shared services coordinator to get the ball rolling and begin reaching out to local officials. Michael Capabianco previously was employed as a borough manager and in upper management positions in Pennsylvania.
In July, representatives from Lambertville, West Amwell, Stockton and East Amwell and Delaware townships got together to begin the dialogue, especially concerning jobs performed by their public works departments, Mayor Shapella said. Also invited were school district officials, including those from South Hunterdon Regional High School and local elementary schools.
Another meeting will be held before the end of this month although no date has been set.
”It’s really starting to get off the ground,” Mayor Shapella said.
One main area under scrutiny now is trash and recycling. Lambertville and West Amwell have each separately considered beginning a “single stream” recycling program, meaning all sorts of items could be disposed of in one container. Right now, residents of both municipalities have to separate the different materials.
Lambertville already has a leg up in research related to the costs and requirements of such a program, and West Amwell is interested in seeing if its residents could benefit, too.
For slightly more than a year, an ad hoc committee in Lambertville has been investigating options and costs for a new recycling program that would add plastics to the list of items that can be recycled and also a single-stream program. No determination has been made yet. In June, bids for a new solid waste and recycling program were rejected for being too high.
In March, West Amwell also began looking into the single-stream concept.
”It costs a lot of money to buy equipment,” Mayor Shapella said. “Together, we can take advantage and save the taxpayers a lot of money.”
More than $10,000 in West Amwell’s budget goes to recycling costs, according to Mayor Shapella.
”If we could remove a lot of that from our budget, that would be a big help,” he said.
Lambertville’s early look at a cost-saving recyclable program said a new truck is needed to handle the single-stream method. An estimate placed the cost at about $170,000. Special carts would add about another $100,000.
The cost could be offset by selling recyclables, which can bring about $20 a ton. Further savings would come from reducing the amount of solid waste, which costs the city about $68 per ton to dispose of.
”There’s a chance the program would pay for itself and possibly create small revenue,” Mayor Shapella said.
He acknowledged Lambertville “set plans into motion” in terms of a new recycling program, but it could be good for West Amwell, too.
”This is something I hope we can take advantage of and really yield some savings for West Amwell taxpayers,” he said.
In addition to looking into the sharing of public works services, Mayor Del Vecchio also is interested in investigating the formation of a south county police force. Police and public works are the two biggest budget items Lambertville faces annually, he said.
During the last year, Lambertville held talks concerning a joint south county force with West Amwell, East Amwell and Stockton, but there has been no forward movement. Previous attempts to interest West Amwell and Hopewell Township failed, Mayor Del Vecchio said.
Lambertville spent more than $780,000 in 2006 for police salaries and wages. Public works salaries and wages were more than $206,000.
Mayor Shapella said he is interested in looking into the possibility of improving Hewitt Park with some sort of shared services with Lambertville’s Department of Public Works.
Families from both communities use the park, including soccer and baseball leagues, according to Mayor Shapella. But it needs work, including fixing the pipes that were damaged when they froze last year, he said.
Mayor Del Vecchio tried to put the concept of sharing services in a positive light, saying, “It’s not like growing up and getting something secondhand,”” such as when a little brother got his big brother’s hand-me-downs. “It’s sharing it. This is a bigger concept where it’s using a bigger tax base to buy an item or provide a service.””