The Red Bank Borough Council voted last week to introduce a proposed $19,223,635 spending plan that calls for furloughs, no raises for non-union workers, and possible layoffs for borough employees.
“This is an extremely difficult year,” Mayor Pasquale Menna said. “The budgets are — at every single level of state government and local government — going to be affected.”
Borough Administrator Stanley Sickels presented the budget during the April 26 meeting of the Borough Council.
Sickels said that although borough officials have been crafting the budget for months, it is still a work in progress.
The budget carries a 2.3-cent increase per $100 of assessed property value, from 46.2 cents in 2009 to 48.5 cents this year, adding approximately $94 to the annual tax bill of the owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $407,000.
The 2009 budget totaled $19,569,461. Overall, the budget decreased 1.8 percent from 2009 to 2010.
Sickels said there are many hurdles the borough must overcome, including a $517,144 decrease in state aid, a $44,493 increase in pension costs, a $115,748 increase in insurance costs over last year, and $905,000 in reduced surplus. That amounts to approximately a $1.5 million reduction in funds, a number Sickels said is equivalent to 8 percent of 2009’s budget.
According to Sickels, negotiations between the two unions representing many of the borough’s employees, the Policemen’s Benevolent Association and Communications Workers of America, need to be finalized to determine the official budget’s implications.
If the unions decide to accept the proposed 10-day furlough, lay-offs will be off the table, Sickels said.
“If the unions don’t agree to furloughs, lay-offs could be the next option,” Sickels said.
All borough municipal workers, except crossing guards, would be subject to the furloughs, a move that’s expected to save $302,000.
Sickels said the borough would continue to negotiate furloughs with the unions. An agreement must be made before the council adopts the budget on May 10.
In addition, the borough did not budget for its annual $60,000 contribution for the KaBoom! fireworks, an amount that covers police overtime.
The budget saves an additional $117,000 by not filling the vacancy created by the promotion of former police Capt. Steve McCarthy to chief earlier this year and by hiring an internal candidate, Pamela Borghi, as borough clerk, instead of a new hire. Non-union employees will not see a raise in 2010.
The borough also will forgo hiring seasonal public workers and special police officers during the summer for a combined savings of $31,785. Also cut from the budget is a $27,500 salary for a borough tree expert who recently retired and won’t be replaced.
Sickels echoed previous concerns raised by Councilman Michael DuPont regarding the burden the borough faces with 16.6 percent of its properties tax-exempt, depriving the borough of a potential $1.8 million in revenue.
“Red Bank is the hub. It’s the service center for the area,” said Sickels. “It’s placing an undue burden on the borough. Unfortunately, a lot of our nonprofits provide services to those outside Red Bank.”
According to Sickels, the borough has successfully renegotiated several professional vendor contracts and renegotiated health benefits contracts, saving $100,000 in 2009.
“Our four-day work-week saved us approximately $5,000 for the year,” Sickels added. “We reduced purchasing across all lines by 5 percent in 2009 and maintained those levels in 2010.”
Two days later, more than 100 people crowded into Borough Hall to attend the council’s Finance Committee meeting, where suggestions from residents were taken into consideration.
Former Republican council candidate Kim Senkeleski spearheaded an initiative that resulted in the collection of nearly 90 suggestions on how the borough could trim its budget.
Ideas for cutting costs and raising revenue included taxing nonprofits, consolidating borough firehouses and borough vehicle policies. Sickels said that nearly 20 of the submitted suggestions are under review.
The public hearing on the proposed budget will be held at the next council meeting, starting at 6:30 p.m. May 10 at Borough Hall, 90 Monmouth St.