Scotch Plains Council Postpones Budget Vote

Corrections appended.

Residents filled two rows of the gallery, and a police officer was on-hand to maintain order, but the Scotch Plains Township Council ultimately did not vote on its proposed budget for the 2010 calendar year.

"The [New Jersey] Division of Local Government Services has not yet reviewed our budget," said Councilman Jeffrey Strauss at the council's biweekly meeting Tuesday night.

Every three years, the DLGS is required to audit the budgets of towns that are in "good financial standing" with the state, Strauss explained. For the other two years, those towns may perform self-audits.

Scotch Plains performed self-audits in 2008 and 2009, he said. As a result, the DLGS must review the 2010 budget before the council can approve it.

The council sent its budget to the DLGS on May 18. But on Monday, the DLGS informed the township's chief financial officer, Lori Majeski, that it had not yet reviewed the proposed budget due to a backlog of audit requests, Malool explained. Unable to move forward on the budget, the council postponed a vote until it reconvenes July 6.

Township Manager Christopher Marion, however, did present a PowerPoint presentation on the proposed budget. 

Expenditures and Revenue

The 2010 municipal budget for the General Fund calls for about $22.9 million in expenditures and revenue of about $20.6 million, Marion said. It will require an appropriation of about $2.3 million "from the township's fund balance to bring the budget into balance," he wrote in the PowerPoint presentation.

Taxes

The 2010 budget includes a 7.5-cent increase in the municipal tax rate from 2009, Marion said. For the average Scotch Plains home, valued at about $122,400, that translates to a municipal tax increase of $91.80.

This increase, Marion emphasized, stemmed "from a significant decline in revenues:" a 22 percent reduction in municipal state aid – or 6.3 cents of the 7.5-cent tax increase.

Salary Freezes, Hiring Suspensions, and Possible Workforce Reductions

The 2010 budget "imposes a salary freeze on all department heads and non-union heads," Marion wrote. He added that he is still engaged in negotiations with the Police Benevolent Association's bargaining unit.

The budget also suspends hiring for two vacant positions until 2011: an officer for the police department, and a part-time typist for the clerk's office. The budget does not include any plans for further layoffs or work-force reductions in 2010, but Marion warned that those could still occur in 2011.

"I can't say reductions in force are not a possibility," he said.

The budget also includes funding for "public safety and emergency management, spring yard waste pick-up, fall leaf collection, and curbside residential recycling," Marion wrote.

Roadwork, Drainage, and other Infrastructure Projects

The 2010 budget reserves more than one million dollars for infrastructure improvements. These include paving, survey, and reconstruction projects for the 11 roads proposed at the council's June 1 meeting; various sewer repairs and the installation of one new storm sewer; and a traffic study for the intersection of Rahway Road and Raritan Road. The municipal building will also upgrade its telephone system.

Predictions and Opportunities

Marion concluded his presentation by predicting what might appear in the 2011 budget. He speculated that further cuts to municipal state aid, combined with Gov. Chris Christie's proposed 2.5 percent tax cap, could force the council to eliminate more township services, increase utility rates, and raise municipal employees' contributions to health insurance and pensions.

Marion said that for the 2010 budget, he had originally anticipated an additional $100,000 reduction in municipal state aid. That reduction, however, ultimately turned out to be more than $600,000. "I'm not going to be caught like that again," he said.

To find cost-savings, however, Marion said he will continue to explore shared services proposals with neighboring towns – "not the kind of cooperatives that charge you a fee" – and improving internal purchasing procedures.

For the precise tax, revenue, and expenditure figures, tune-in to Patch later this afternoon. For more on what happened at the Township Council meeting Tuesday night, be sure to check back later this week.

Corrections: The DLGS initially informed chief financial officer Lori Majeski of the backlog, not Mayor Nancy Malool. The budget is for the 2010 calendar year, not the 2010-2011 fiscal year. And Township Manager Christopher Marion said he had originally anticipated a $100,000 additional reduction in municipal state aid, not $500,000.