MATAWAN — In an attempt to stay within the borough’s fuel budget, the Matawan Borough Council passed a resolution restricting borough employees from taking home municipal vehicles at the June 21 meeting.
Only the borough fire chief and deputy officer for emergencies for the Department of Public Works are exempt from the restrictions. The fire chief requires the car to get to scenes quickly from his own home and the public works officer needs to use a sanitation truck during overnight hours, according to Mayor Paul Buccellato.
At the June 9 meeting, Buccellato said that as of June 13, about 55 percent of the borough’s total fuel fund had been expended, leaving the municipality with $35,000 for fuel purchases through the remainder of the fiscal year.
A lack of exemptions for the Matawan Police Department brought the only two “nay” votes for the resolution, which passed by a vote of 4 to 2.
Council member Toni Angelini said the township’s two police lieutenants should be permitted to keep the vehicles home, in case they are also required to report to an incident quickly.
“I think it serves the borough well to have our lieutenants be able to respond to the scene directly from wherever they are with a borough vehicle,” Angelini said.
“I feel that the chief of police should have a vehicle,” Councilman Joseph Urbano said. “It’s unfortunate that he lives far away, but he should be entitled to a vehicle. ”
The council also turned its attention to other borough matters at the meeting.
Councilman Urbano said he had been in talks with the Department of Public Works to post the scheduled days and locations of street cleaning in the borough on the department’s website. Residents could check to see if their streets were cleaned and tell the department if it was missed or found the cleaning unsatisfactory.
In another cost-saving effort, Bascom said she is in the process of reviewing a proposal from the Borough of Helmetta to contract Matawan’s animal control services. Currently, the services are provided by the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Bascom estimated the borough could save roughly $10,000 by switching contractors.
“The MCSPCAcharges us a flat fee, but this would be per incident. Our incidents are so low now that it would probably be better,” she said.
The council also voted to move its next meeting to Thursday, July 7, at the Matawan Municipal Community Center.