PRINCETON: Shared services, consolidation report available

By Victoria Hurley-Schubert, Staff Writer
   A full house at Princeton Township’s Municipal Complex last week heard the results of months of work by the Joint Shared Services Consolidation Commission (JSSCC).
   A detailed explanation of the “Consolidation Options and Impacts” report was given by CGR, the firm hired by both municipalities to guide the process. The 75-page document explains each option the JSSCC and its subcommittees have considered or are in the process of considering for each municipal department. The report has eight sections: form of government; debt handling; general municipal services; police; public works; facilities; codes and ordinances, and planning and zoning.
   A copy of the report can be downloaded at www.CGR.org/Princeton.
   It explains how the commission came up with total projected savings of $3.321 million if all the recommendations the commission suggests are implemented.
   The areas of greatest savings are: police, $2.1 million; public works/engineering/Princeton Sewer Operating Commission, $442,000; finance/tax collection, $217,000; administrator, $206,000 and clerk, $199,000.In the government section, each form of governance considered is detailed and then further compared on a chart for understanding of how the commission came to accept the borough form of government as it’s recommendation.
   General municipal services covers every department from elected officials, court, construction to joint services. Some departments have no changes recommended at all, especially those that are self-supported by fees, such as construction.
   To achieve savings, the departments will endure staff reductions, which are detailed with reasoning and cost savings. Each department has detailed explanations of each option considered, from a straight merger of departments with no staff reductions to the furthest extreme of savings the commission thought was possible, but this option was not always the recommended one.
   Police and public works are broken out with their own sections and organizational charts. Police details five possible options for consolidation only with staffing extremes from the current full roster of 60 personnel to whittled down version with 46 sworn personnel. Model one is the idea recommended by the borough police. Models two through four are plans for the departments to consolidate and reduce numbers to 51 sworn personnel. Model five is a detail of a minimum staffing of 46. The section also addresses facility and transition issues. If consolidation fails, shared police services are not recommended; only shared dispatch is.
   Public Works options include details on staffing plans from a headcount neutral choice to inter-departmental restricting with engineering oversight. Facilities plans cover a merged baseline through development at Princeton Sewer Operating Committee sites and beyond.
   There are also options summaries for other areas.