ROBBINSVILLE: Formal sewer deal on tap for township

By Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
   ROBBINSVILLE — The township is poised to enter into a formalized shared services agreement with Hamilton to maintain its sewer system.
   The Township Council is expected to vote Thursday on an amendment that would authorize Hamilton to operate and maintain the Robbinsville Township Wastewater Collection System on an annual basis for the foreseeable future.
   Hamilton Township has been maintaining Robbinsville’s system after two Division of Utility employees responsible for it left the division in October.
   Director of Public Works Dino Colarocco said one employee resigned and the other retired and declined further comment. A published report says the two men were fired. Township Administrator Mary Caffrey could not be reached for comment.
   According to the ordinance, Hamilton Township has agreed to provide the service in an amount not to exceed $129,000 annually.
   For the former employees’ salary and benefits, the township was spending $13,333 per month, Mr. Colarocco said, which is $2,583 less than the maximum monthly payment under the shared service agreement.
   He added that for October, November and December, the township spent $7,340, $4,112 and $5,734, respectively — an approximate $22,800 in savings from paying the employees for that three-month period.
   ”We are utilizing a company — per se — that is not profit-driven,” he said. “Whenever you go outside, businesses and corporations are all profit-driven.”
   The state also would look favorably upon a shared service agreement, and grants would be made available, Mr. Colarocco said.
   ”With all this talk of consolidation and municipalities merging, this is a good thing to get into,” he said. “Hamilton maintains 30 (pump) stations on their own. To add our nine to their 30 makes more sense than having our own employees maintain them or going to an outside company.”