Geese Police fall victim to borough budget ax

Councilman Collins speaks out against cut; funding may be restored

BY SHERRY CONOHAN

Staff Writer

EATONTOWN — The Borough Council trimmed another $42,600 from the proposed municipal budget to shave 4/10 of a cent from the tax increase and then formally introduced the 2004 spending plan at its Feb. 25 meeting.

The budget now stands at $17,680,862, an increase of $797,785 — or 4.73 percent — over the final figure of $16,883,077 for the 2003 budget.

The amount to be raised by taxes is $9,802,485 this year, compared to $9,092,743 for last year, an increase of $709,742. The tax rate for 2004 will go up by 6.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to 92.2 cents.

The tax rate in 2003 was 85.7 cents per $100 assessed valuation.

The owner of a home assessed at $150,000 will pay $1,383 in local municipal taxes this year, an increase of $97.50 over the 2003 level of $1,285.50.

To get down to the present figures, the Geese Police — a dog service that chased Canada geese from Wampum Memorial Park — was cut out of the budget for a savings of $12,000. Another $25,000 was cut by reducing the borough’s matching funds for a county open space grant, sought to acquire more land for Wampum Memorial Park, from $50,000 to $25,000.

The remaining cuts were made by adjusting various salary and wage lines.

The Geese Police, however, may stage a comeback.

Councilman John J. Collins said that although he would reluctantly vote to introduce the budget in its present form, he hoped his fellow council members would join him in restoring that item when they can. He noted the program had been operating for two years in Wampum Memorial Park.

"It was very, very effective … and maximized the use of that park," he said.

Council President Theodore F. Lewis Jr. expressed anger at the Geese Police being stricken from the budget. He said the governing body had never agreed to that cut. He said the cost amounted to 1/10 of 1 cent on the tax rate.

"I am troubled by the fact that was a unilateral decision," he said.

The final budget cuts were made by Chief Financial Officer Lesley K. Connolly, Business Administrator Michael L. Trotta and auditor Robert S. Oliwa, without consultation with the council, according to Lewis.

After Lewis spoke, Collins said he was thinking of amending the budget to put the Geese Police back in, and possibly a few other things as well.

"The Geese Police cost the average home $1.46 per year," he said.

The major increases in the budget, according to Oliwa, were $236,506 in police salaries, which includes the hiring of two new police officers and contractual wage increases; $99,685 in group health insurance, $45,679 in other insurance, and $68,041 for the first year that the borough — as with all municipalities — has to again make contributions to the state pension system.

The renewed contributions are being phased in over a five-year period, beginning with police this year and other public employees next year.

The difficulty associated with working with such a tight budget surfaced again with a plea from coaches in the borough’s recreation program for the council to take part-timer Davide Fuoco, on full time.

John DiGiovanni said everybody was upset that Fuoco was leaving his position to seek a full-time job with benefits elsewhere.

"People are upset because this kid brings nothing but positive to the program," he said. "He’s great for the community. "

Collins replied that in a year when the borough is laying off people — it’s eliminating 1 1/2 po­sitions — it can’t afford to bring Fuoco on full time with benefits.

"Just think about it," DiGio­vanni urged.

Collins also raised the question of whether, if the borough chose to make the job full time, it would have to be offered to the woman from the Planning and Zoning of­fice who was laid off from her full-time job. The woman was the last employee hired by the borough and under the union contract has the right of first refusal for a year to any borough job that happens to open up.

Sherry Caso, a member of the Recreation Advisory Committee, asked about out-of-state travel by Debbra Voorhees, the head of the Recreation Department, when, she thought, such travel had been banned.

Trotta responded that there was a ban on out-of-state travel by three department heads — himself, Police Chief William R. Barnshaw and the recreation director. He said he made an exception for Voorhees to go to a national recre­ation conference in Washington, D.C., since she is president of a statewide recreation organization this year. Trotta said he gave Voorhees time off to attend the conference and the borough and organization were sharing the cost.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on April 14.