PRINCETON: Consolidation: What about the savings?

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   More than 40 people turned out early Saturday morning to make their opinions heard and learn about details of the proposed municipal consolidation or more shared services in the Princetons.
   Attendees heard an overview of the process and where the Joint Shared Services/Consolidation Commission (JSSCC) is in the process. They then broke into four groups for detailed discussion and questions on the four areas of study by the commission: governance, finance, public works and police.
   Attendees had time to rotate to two tables. As people settled into their groups, spirited debates began to arise as people unleashed their passions about services, costs of services and savings.
   ”This is a big subject and you guys are the leaders,” said Sheldon Sturges, managing director and co-founder of Princeton Future, the group that hosted the discussion at the Princeton Public Library.
   The main theme throughout the morning was “how am I best served and the quality of life issue,” said Dudley Sipprelle, a borough resident in attendance. If consolidation or more shared services did happen, he would not expect to see instant savings because of transient costs, but he would expect to see savings eventually as duplication is weeded out and efficiencies take over.
   This lack of savings was questioned by more than one resident.
   ”We’re not getting a sense there will be savings,” as salaries and benefits are equalized, said Yina Moore, who moved to the finance table after spending the first table session at public works. Ms. Moore is also running for mayor of the borough.
   Right now there is a lot of uncertainty, said Travis Linderman a borough resident, who talked about the debate the township was having about a new front-end loader that added a big expense to this year’s township budget. The question for the township is should it buy the machine now or wait, he said.
   But the discussion kept coming back to where there would be savings, which were consistently defined as how will this impact cost to residents.
   Savings, although they might not be seen in individual tax bills, can allow the municipalities to slow the rate of tax increases, plan for the future with a larger tax base and enhance services, said Township Mayor Chad Goerner, who was facilitating the finance discussion.
   Planning for the future is easier with a larger pool of resources, especially in light of a threat to the university’s voluntary payment, said Mayor Goerner, referring to the story in last week’s Packet about Borough Councilwoman Jo Butler’s comments.
   ”You’d better make your case that as a united group you’d be in a better position to twist the university’s arm,” added Marvin Reed.
   Another financial issue that was covered was debt.
   Through the finance subcommittee of the JSSCC, it was found that the difference between apportionment or combination of the two municipalities debt was negligible, so most members of the subcommittee felt that combining all the debt would be the best option
   ”If we’re going to get married, there shouldn’t be any prenuptial,” said Mayor Goerner, during the recap portion where he reiterated the thoughts of the two groups.
   In addition to questions about finances, the police table left with more questions than answers, which will help the JSSCC gauge the mindset and the issues the community is worried about.
   Topics of question included the impact of a merger on the unions; the future impact on crime; how do the officers feel about consolidation; and can the departments adapt to a merger.
   As far as implementing or managing a merged department, one agency could provide service and be the primary service provider and an agreement would be established between the two, similar to services that are already shared such as Recreation Department, where the township is the bank where it operates from and the other pays for their share.
   Some concerns of a shared department without total consolidation would be another layer of government and the creation of problems with authority and the police answering to two masters, said Robert Buchanan, Princeton Township police chief.
   The topic of shared dispatch also came up. (See related story)
   Police is the largest budget item in the two municipalities, with more than $8 million, including dispatch, and 60 employees between the two.
   Attendees also wondered if any thought has been given to a professional fire department in the towns.
   ”I think what is significant is putting fire department on the radar,” said JSSCC member Ryan Lillenthal, who was assisting with the police discussion.
   Both police and public works tables asked if management issues would be resolved before consolidation. JSSCC commission members assured the curious that, yes, for a recommendation to be made from the commission, plans would be drawn up so the public would know exactly what would be entailed in any plan they would be endorsing.
   The public works table also had residents that expect a minimum standard of services, with no degradations of what is in place now, in addition to concerns over surpluses, environmental issues and maintenance schedules.
   ”I think it’s vital they merge them (public works). They don’t talk to each other,” said Betsy Hoover, a borough resident whose driveway in is the township and is having work done on a culvert in her street.
   The governance table spent a lot of time explaining how the borough form of government was chosen and why it was selected and the process the governance subcommittee went thorough to make their recommendation.
   The next public forum, hosted by the JSSCC, is scheduled for May.