Layoffs, new EMS deal sound likely
By Matt Chiappardi, Staff Writer
HIGHTSTOWN — While they haven’t yet made any of their promised cuts to the 2010 proposed budget, which carriers a 14-cent tax increase, Borough Council members now say they have a goal for where they want the fiscal plan to be.
And getting there will likely involve laying off borough employees and finding a different emergency medical services provider, according to the borough administrator.
The stated objective at Tuesday’s budget workshop meeting was to bring that increase down by 5 cents, to a 9-cent tax rate increase.
In order to do that, the Borough Council would have to cut $250,000 from the $6.3 million spending plan, which does not include any job cuts.
Borough Administrator Herb Massa said there is about $100,000 of what he described as “low-hanging fruit” that he would be able to suggest cutting from the budget proposal. However, when asked by the Herald, he said “it wouldn’t be appropriate now” to identify those targeted areas.
The rest of the reductions would come from layoffs and a new contract the borough is seeking to replace nearby Robbinsville as its EMS provider. However, when asked by the Herald, Mr. Massa would not say how many positions might be on the chopping block, how much money a new EMS contract would save the borough, or with whom the borough is seeking a new deal.
The current deal with Robbinsville costs the borough about $94,000 annually and is set to expire in early June.
Other council members proposed some new ideas and some familiar ones to cut costs in the borough.
Councilman Walter Sikorski suggested the borough sell its water and sewer plant, privatizing its operation.
Mr. Massa and Borough Chief Financial Officer George Lang said the idea has merit, but Mr. Massa said it’s not something that could be done right way.
About 45 minutes into the meeting, Councilman Dimitri Musing asked why the recommendations from a police feasibility study, ordered by the borough and East Windsor and unveiled last month, weren’t even being discussed by the council.
That report concludes that East Windsor could take over police services for the borough it surrounds, saving Hightstown $800,000. The borough would stand down its police force and East Windsor would have to hire seven additional officers to make the situation work, according to the study.
Mr. Massa said the study is not relevant to the current budget discussion because even if the council decided to go ahead, the earliest it could be implemented would be the beginning of 2011.
Mr. Musing didn’t see it that way.
”Maybe not, but it would make a difference,” he said. “If you were to tell me today that I’d take a 14-cent hit, but next year there will be some savings, I might say OK. It’s better than not knowing what’s going to happen year after year.”
Councilwoman Isabel McGinty said the borough might consider furloughing employees, an idea Mr. Massa said he’d look into.
Mayor Bob Patten suggested that the Department of Public Works could save money by not cleaning up and mulching downed tree limbs after windstorms. Public Works Superintendent Larry Blake has said in previous years that residents would simply throw the debris in the trash, increasing the borough’s tipping fees.
The mayor also suggested that each council member forgo the $3,600 annual salary. That idea was vigorously opposed by council members McGinty and Sikorski.
Mr. Sikorski, a retired teacher, said he wouldn’t be able to afford to go without his stipend because of state cuts to a senior citizens’ tax rebate he receives.
Ms. McGinty, an attorney, said her duties as a councilwoman cut into her ability to do business, and the stipend makes up for the difference.
If all six council members were to give up their salaries, it would save the borough $21,600.
Mayor Patten, after suggesting the idea for a number of years, gave up his $4,800 stipend for part of 2008 and the all of 2009.
If the council were to reach its goal and cut $250,000, the municipal tax bill would only rise $187.
As the budget proposal stands now, with a 14-cent tax hike, a homeowner assessed at the borough average of $207,500 would pay $1,818, an increase of $291.
The next scheduled public budget meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. April 28.
mchiappardi@centraljersey.com