For 10th year, no borrowing to pay for equipment either
By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
Scrimp and save. That’s the township’s fiscal mantra.
Township leaders will spend less money than recent years on long-life equipment and projects, and continue to avoid borrowing to pay for it.
The Township Committee introduced an ordinance Tuesday night listing 15 major purchases for police, rescue squad, road and parks departments. The total cost is $323,503, less than half what the township spent last year on such items.
The money will come from this year’s budget and won’t be bonded, which adds an interest expense over time.
”We take our fiscal responsibility very seriously on this committee,” said Committeeman Bob Wagner.
The most expensive single item is $64,200 to meet a state health department mandate to adapt the dispatching computer system to log ambulances’ calls, response and duty time.
About $45,000 will be spent on about 100 pagers for rescue squad members. The squad will also buy a 20-kilowatt generator (estimated at $12,500) that can power its East Mountain Road headquarters in the event of a severe emergency, said Nancy Haberle, the township’s chief financial officer. Last year’s late summer storms exposed that weakness.
The road department will buy a rotary vehicle lift ($42,500) that can raise even senior citizen buses so mechanics can get under them to make repairs. The equipment will avoid using a contractor and get equipment back in the road quicker, said Ms. Haberle.
A four-wheel drive truck ($35,000) and a dump truck ($40,000) will also be bought. They’ll come with plows so they can be used for snow removal, and the parks department may also use them.
The police department will buy two defibrillators to be carried in patrol cars ($3,200), computer hardware ($5,000), computer network security ($6,000) and replacement carpeting in headquarters ($20,000).
The parks and recreation department will replace a 72-inch grass-cutting mower and buy a tilt trailer for safer unloading of large mowers, Ms. Haberle said.
The township plans $376,125 in road improvements and $75,000 in sidewalk repairs because it will pay for the work with money left over from projects that came in lower-than-expected costs is previous years.
The top capital priority this year is the repaving of Hamilton from Route 206 to the railroad. A state grant will supplement the township’s savings to pay for the project.
The total spending on capital items is one-half of the amount spent last year and about one-quarter of 2010’s $1.2 million, said Ms. Haberle.
Spending less on capital items helped the township reduce spending in the annual budget by 5.8 percent, or $1.6 million, she said.
A long list of potential purchases was reviewed by a volunteer committee and recommended by the Planning Board.
A public hearing will be held on the proposed ordinance at the June 26 Township Committee meeting.

