I n spite of unavoidable financial challenges, officials have promised that Middlesex County will come out on top in 2011, in part due to several new initiatives and costsaving measures.
County officials have announced they will be scaling back expenses by $2 million this year through workforce consolidation and an expansion of shared services.
“I pledge to you that this Middlesex County government will embrace the challenges and the opportunities of 2011,” Freeholder Director Christopher Rafano said during a recent presentation. “I firmly believe that no county in the state is better positioned to come out of the national financial crisis better than Middlesex County.”
A number of programs and initiatives implemented in 2010 have laid the foundation for a successful year, he said.
On the subject of economic growth, Middlesex County Engineer John Reiser said there are more than 200 development projects in different stages of design and construction around the county. Rafano said that the combined total of $883 million in new construction projects has ranked the county No. 1 in the state. Major developments such as New Brunswick Gateway, the new University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro and Edison Towne Square will not only ensure further sources of tax revenue, but also provide thousands of job opportunities, he said. The New Brunswick Wellness Center project alone will create 350 construction jobs and 370 permanent jobs.
The freeholder director said that $13 million in federal stimulus grant funds for infrastructure and $2.5 million in stimulus funds for retraining displaced workers have also helped the county.
“Through these efforts, Middlesex County is laying the foundation for sustained economic growth and a reduced unemployment rate,” Rafano said.
Still, he said, changes to the administration are inevitable.
“We must fundamentally change the way we do business,” Rafano said. “This can only be achieved by changing the management structure that oversees the daily operations of government. This means starting at the top.”
Rafano requested that County Administrator John Pulomena immediately implement an initiative that will cut down the number of department heads and consolidate departments.
“Ultimately, this will drive operational efficiencies to all levels of our organization,” he said.
While most reductions will be achieved through attrition, Rafano said officials will look at all possibilities. He did not specify which departments would be affected.
Though the work force will shrink over 2011, the county will also step up its efforts in shared services and other initiatives. Rafano plans to enhance emergency communications by encouraging municipalities to join the county’s state-of-the-art 800-megahertz radio system.
“A county emergency system will not only improve radio communications in each individual town, it will also save municipalities millions of taxpayer dollars as they prepare to comply with FCC mandates,” he said. “By joining our system in this shared-service opportunity, municipalities will avoid the costly overhaul of upgrading their existing systems.”
Rafano said the county will work to establish a shared-service agreement with Mercer County for youth services, expanding a program already established with Somerset and Monmouth counties. The deal has already generated millions in revenue for Middlesex County, he said. In addition, Rafano said he intends to continue a shared-service agreement with the federal Marshals Service for the housing of federal inmates from outside the county at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick. The arrangement has generated $4 million in new revenue thus far.
The county is also in negotiations to house juvenile offenders from Mercer County at the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center in North Brunswick to generate additional revenue. The facility, originally intended to accommodate juveniles from Middlesex and Somerset counties, currently takes in offenders from Monmouth and Gloucester counties.
In continuing an initiative to provide senior citizens a continuum of health care, the county plans to open a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified 180-bed nursing home in Old Bridge. The 104,000- square-foot building has been under construction on a 14.8-acre site at Texas and Marlboro roads in Old Bridge and will be dedicated to the late Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel.
Technology upgrades are a major focus, as the county plans to accelerate the implementation of a geographic information system (GIS) throughout its operations, as well as incorporate e-signatures into governmental tasks.
“It will touch and improve every aspect of county government,” Rafano said. “This collaborative strategy across all departments and agencies will result in our ability to deliver services at new levels of effectiveness and efficiency.”
Also, Rafano said, county officials will continue to pursue their goal of preserving 10,000 acres of open space by 2012. The county has thus far secured 7,200 acres, 5,000 of which are farmland.