Fair Haven reduces it's municipal tax rate by 1 cent...

[Cranbury Conservative]

The Asbury Park press reported recently that Fair Haven New Jersey has been able to provide services to their municipality this year with a 1-cent drop in the municipal tax rate in spite of a $139,000 cut in State Aid.

Fair Haven is a community which is located in Monmouth C0unty and has a population of 5937 and is 1.7 square miles in size. The municipal budget for Fair Haven this year is $8.4 million dollars.

Two keys points of savings for the town which are mentioned in the article are as follows…

The Mayor and Town Council went back to the town’s departments and asked them to cut additional costs.

Additionally the town hired it’s own in house Engineer and at the same time had that person head the department of public works. Eliminating the public works head saved their community $30,000 dollars a year. Further the town will now have revenue through fees which previously have gone to an outside engineer.

Perhaps our TC can learn from this?

The entire Fair Haven article can be found online at:
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080802/NEWS01/808020344/1004/NEWS01

And on my Blog at:
http://cranburyconservative.blogspot.com/2008/08/fair-haven-new-jerseys-local-government.html

[James]

My personal opinion is that a town council should operate the town as though it was a public company and the residents were stock holders. Solid management, reduced expenses and we have a solid tax structure (i.e. solid EPS).

Since a town is not a business, the only way to achieve a positive financial standing is through reduced expenses and accountability from the department level up through the various boards to the Town Council level.

For example, it is my understanding that we have a contract to plow the school parking lot. If that is the case, and I don't know 100% that it is, then why can't public works plow the lot?

Also, it would be interesting to know when the contracts with the engineer, legal counsel, etc... were all negotitated and if the TC in light of the economy has looked at renegotiating them.

I missed the July 28th meeting for work reasons, but it seems to me that was the first meeting in a while that our town's attorney actually showed up as opposed to sending a colleague. I'd like to see our TC negotiate the legal fees so the law firm puts their fees at risk. If our designated representative Trishka Waterbury defers X number of meetings to a collegue then the firm losses X% of their fees. If we receive poor counsel, then there is X% at risk. Certainly schedules change, but the attorney in charge should be at 95% of the meetings.

I also understand our town engineer's fee exceeded a number of the towns surrounding us who are larger.

We need to look at the town as a company in poor financial health. While we have the tax revenue, we can't look at our residents to sustain tax increases every year say things are fine. Companies follow that same model by increasing prices beyond the value of their product find themselves out of business.

[James]

I just received a personal email from a friend asking me to clarify my statement on Ms. Waterbury's attendance and my example of for that service. It is not meant to be picking on her or the firm, just as a ready example.

Right now, according to meeting notes for 20 of 22 meetings (2 are missing on the cranbury site), Ms. Waterbury has attended 11 meetings of the TC this year. Her colleague has attended 9 (55% attendance rate).

If we assume she attended the other 2 then that is 13 meetings out of 22 (59%). If she did not attend those two meetings than that is 50% attendance.

IMO, when we retain an attorney and firm we are retaining the individual as that is who will lead any suit for or against the town. I am fine with the delegation and understand circumstances arise, but it has to be understood that there are service requirements within the contract the town negotiates and therefore minimum levels of participation by that individual. That is why I believe we need to put their fees at risk. That is not just for legal services, but engineering and other services as well.

[Traveler]

Prior to retaining the TC attorney wasn't there a job description that the attorney and TC had to sign-off on? If so, it would be interesting to know if one of those job duties required that the attorney attend ALL private and public TC meetings....just curious.

[Cranbury Conservative]

The Attorney issue is a fair point and definitely considers additional investigation.

Further I have spoken with long time residents regarding the engineering fees for the town and I have heard potential revenue numbers could be substantial if we brought this service in-house like Fair Haven did. We should at the very least be evaluating this as an option.

Going forward I am in favor of a complete review annually of all costs associated with all services to see if there are potential cost savings to the taxpayers of Cranbury. Of course any changes would be completed based on a positive return on investment to the community.

In general we need to be seeking as many ways as possible during these uncertain financial times to cut expenses where ever possible, pay down debt, and plan for potentially significant ongoing legal expenses due to the COAH / Affordable Housing rules and regulations.

[Cranbury Conservative]

Hee is more about the savings Fair Haven has seen through bringing the engineering services in-house...

By SUE MORGAN

He's been on the job little more than seven months, but Rich Gardella, 35-year-old, spike-haired Fair Haven employee, is saving the modest-sized bedroom community big bucks and giving the town tighter control over construction than its had in years, officials say.

He's doing it the old way: by wearing multiple hats. As the Borough Engineer, Public Works Supervisor and planning board engineer, Gardella draws up schematics for sewer basins, reviews plans for every home and business addition, and makes sure the leaves get picked up on time and ballfields get mowed. He also pulls duty inspecting construction sites.

In fact, he's saving the town so much money that it just gave him a raise.

Last month, the borough council voted unanimously to give Gardella a $5,000 salary bump, to $95,000 a year, a move that some said was premature. Resident Chris Hempstead cautioned the council to be sure that Gardella proves that he is worth the extra money.

Moreover, members of the governing body say he's already instilled a renewed sense of oversight and accountability across several departments while improving services and DPW morale.

Part of the savings associated with Gardella's hire last December resulted from the consolidation of functions. In addition to stepping in as engineer, he replaced DPW supervisor Tom Curcio, who was let go after two years on the job. Curcio had been making $83,000 a year and was seeking a raise.

Gardella also stepped in as the planning board engineer to review applications for development. That shaved another $30,000-a-year expense, says Mayor Mike Halfacre.

At the same time, the borough ended its longtime reliance on civil engineering firm T&M Associates of Middletown. Outside engineers still need to be brought in — "some of our engineering needs can not be met by a 'single man' shop," says Halfacre — but a public bidding process per job ensures the town is getting a good price and "still saves us money over the prior system," he adds.

As part of the change, there's more money staying in town in the form of escrow fees for inspections posted by anyone doing construction work in the borough. In the past, those funds would be paid to the contract engineer. Now, they're "staying in town," the mayor says.

In 2006, Fair Haven paid more than $600,000 to T&M as well as to other firms. Part of that sum was engineering costs borne by the town, but a significant portion of it represented fees paid by homeowners and builders to have their plans reviewed and construction work inspected.

"We're no longer spending that money on outside firms," Halfacre said. "We're keeping the escrow fees."

Halfacre puts the overall savings to the town associated with Gardella's presence "well into the six figures."

"Add to that... the value of having someone 'on-the-job' here in town to supervise all projects, and it really is a win for us," he tells redbankgreen via email.

What I usually tell people is that combining these functions just keeps on delivering beyond expectations, both on the bottom line and in results. The raise was a no-brainer when you look at both the tangible and intangible benefits we have realized from the move results.

Morale among public works employees, once noticeably low, has been boosted since Gardella came on board to oversee the department's day-to-day operations, several councilmen pointed out.

Accessibility, and the convenience of knowing where to find the individual who engineered a given public works project is also an advantage over using an outside contractor, said Councilman Jon Peters.

.....

The entire article can be found at:
http://www.redbankgreen.com/redbankgreen/2008/08/fair-haven-savi.html

[publius]

Years ago, small towns did have one person who did several jobs. Anyone who watched The Andy Griffth Show would know that. It makes sense to combine positions wherever possible. Use part time staff, or have flexible hours to reduce the need for space would make sense. I don't want anyone to lose their job, especially those who do their job well, but, we should make cuts wherever possible for the good of the whole.
We should NOT use a hatchet, but a scalpel!

[Guest]

I'm sure there are ways Cranbury could cut back on spending without even feeling the pinch. Since the TC has a limited financial knowledge, perhaps the should elicite help from our own community. There are several of our neighbors with financial expertise in a variety of areas. Afterall, they have a stake in the community too - and it might even save them money too.

[Traveler]

Perhaps the TC could reach out to some of these "financial experts" to try and form an ancillary financial committee of some sort. The committee could be commissioned to offer financial guidance/direction to the TC when it comes to community budgetary concerns or overall cost cutting efforts.

[Jeff M.]

I really don't like the idea of more subcommittees and expansion of roles for people who are not elected officials. IMO we already have too many groups that influence the TC. I would like to see the town's CFO have more creative influence with the TC and ways to save money. Afterall, that is what a corporate CFO function does.