Councilman Szabo critical of process
By Mary Ellen Zangara, Special Writer
Mayor Angelo Corradino cast the tie-breaking vote as the Borough Council adopted a budget Monday night.
The council voted, 3-0, with three abstentions, with Lou Petzinger, Sherri Lynn and Ed Komoroski voting for it and Steve Szabo, Sue Asher and Richard Onderko abstaining. Mr. Komoroski is the only Democrat among the six.
The unusual situation of three abstentions and the tie-breaking vote received the borough attorney’s verification Tuesday.
Business Administrator Gary Garwacke noted the estimated impact on the “average” home valued at $300,000 to be $100. He said the $13,114,832 total budget is about $185,000 less than 2011.
The tax increase is 3.4 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation.
Mr. Szabo, the Finance Committee chairman, told the council the budget adoption vote was “premature and an insult to all Manville’s taxpayers, regardless of political affiliation.”
He said the Finance Committee’s cost-saving suggestions were “totally ignored by our business administrator.” He said the process ignored the responsibilities of the Finance Committee.
”Since the committee’s recommendations were never taken into consideration, it is my opinion that this governing body is dysfunctional and our committee system is a total waste of our time,” he said.
Ms. Asher and Mr. Komoroski are also members of the Finance Committee.
Mr. Szabo said he felt no budget line items should have been increased, and line items were increased with no detailed analysis as to why.
He said the gasoline budget appropriation was increased by $30,000. The budget includes a figure of about $130,000, which is what the borough actually spent in 2011, Mr. Garwacke said yesterday.
Mr. Szabo spoke about the policy that allows employees with emergency-response duties to use borough vehicles for personal use commuting to and from work. He recommended all vehicles should remain in town except for borough business.
Mr. Szabo also suggested the budget be reduced $10,000 for the Recreation Department and fire departments and the police and Department of Public Works by $100,000 each. He said he would like to see no overtime for Saturday grass pickup, giving time off during the week.
He also suggested reducing the fee for weddings to $100 for the borough and $50 for the mayor; cutting all salary employees 10 percent, pulling the borough mechanic when not needed and putting him on the road and using money left over from unused snow removal for Recreation Director Rich Armstrong to help out the DPW.
Mayor Corradino said a number of Mr. Szabo’s amendments “could not be substantiated or justified, and his motion was never seconded by any council member.”
The mayor said Mr. Szabo wanted to reduce both police and Public Works by $100,000 apiece “without any idea of where the cuts were going to come from or what programs were going to be dropped.”
The mayor also said Mr. Szabo wanted to cut both the Fire Department and recreation budgets by $10,000 each “without justifying what programs were going to be cut or reduced with recreation and what apparatus the volunteer firefighters were going to have to give up with his proposed reduction.”
Mr. Komoroski, who favored the budget that passed, said Mr. Szabo’s “ideas were there, but there was no way to implement them. He came across with all these ideas but no way of supporting them.”
Mr. Komoroski also said Manville got hit hard because the town did not get all the money it expected from FEMA disaster funds.
”We only got 75 percent, and we had to pick up the 25 percent difference,” he said. “There were a lot of expenses last year, and next year is going to be the same thing. With everybody appealing their taxes, and we are going to lose 15 of our houses. Everybody is trying to cut down as much as possible.”
He also wants to start programs to increase town revenue. He said he would sell land Manville owns “and get that up on the tax records.”
Mr. Komoroski said he felt “not enough time was spent on the process. Government has to run like a business.”
”There were additional cost-saving measures suggested that were also ignored,” Mr. Szabo said. “I would like to send this budget back to committee and have our borough administrator re-calculate expenditures to result in a zero tax increase to all homeowners in the borough. It is the right thing to do especially after Hurricane Irene devastated our town. The taxpayers have suffered enough and deserve a break.”
One resident, Mike Janes, of the Recreation Committee, spoke about proposed recreation cuts.
Information from Lynn Whitenight reminded the council that last year the Recreation Department’s budget was cut by 45 percent, and the proposed budget cut would take an additional $10,000 and put the director of recreation on shared time with the Public Works Department.
Ms. Whitenight listed some of the repercussions she thought would come, including increases in pool badges; increased fees for the sports, adult and senior programs; eliminating arts and crafts at the pool during the summers; fewer lifeguards; and the possibility of the elimination of the egg hunt, Community Day and summer movie nights.