Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh submitted his administration’s proposed $37,798,000 budget on February 7. If approved by the council, the total municipal tax levy will be $23,135,095, an increase of 2 percent over last year.
At a press conference, Mayor Hsueh, along with Business Administrator Marlena Schmid and Chief Financial Officer Joanne Louth, explained the 2014 proposed budget. “We anticipate that expenditures will rise $496,500 over last year, while our projected increase in revenue, of $42,821, is very small. This presented a challenge in formulating the 2014 municipal budget,” said Hsueh.
Nonetheless, the budget remains within the state-mandated 2 percent property tax cap, without using any of the exclusions allowed by the state. “The governor’s levy cap calculation permits the ‘amount to be raised by taxation’ to increase significantly above 2 percent because of exclusions and prior years’ levy cap bank; however, our proposed tax levy of $23,135,093 is well within the state-mandated cap without the need to consider permitted exclusions and cap banking,” the mayor added.
Some of the expected increases in expenditures can be found in salary and wage increases for township employees, which represents 34 percent of the budget. The wage and salary component increased by 1.15 percent but does not take into consideration funding of any new positions. In addition, pension contributions, payroll taxes, insurance rates, and sewer operating expenses are all expected to increase.
Anticipated capital expenditures include sewer, sidewalk, and road repair/replacement projects; parks development and improvements; and equipment and vehicle acquisition and repair. The total capital expenditure amount for 2014 is $6,147,200, of which $2,405,000 are fully funded projects and $3,742,200 will need to be bonded.
Said the mayor, “This is the fourth consecutive year that I have proposed a capital budget which has less than $4 million in debt. This is important, because it limits the amount of interest we need to repay. Our lack of sizable debt, as well as our fund balance reserves, are part of the reason that Standard and Poor’s has awarded us with triple A bond rating status.”
For example, added the mayor, “assuming our capital projects debt to be $4 million a year, over 15 years the township realizes over $100,000 in savings on interest payments alone because we have a bond rating of triple A rather than double A. This is real money. When I took over as mayor, we had no fund balance; we operated from paycheck to paycheck. It took us six years to accumulate some reserves and to finally qualify for triple A bond status.”
“It has long been a mandate of my administration that we refrain from a policy of up and down ‘spikes’ in our budgets and tax levies,” Hsueh said. “Thus far, we have been successful in accomplishing these objectives due to sound long-term financial planning and my resolve to continue to adhere to financial policies and practices aimed at keeping West Windsor an economically desirable community.”
CFO Louth endorsed the need to maintain a sizable fund balance. “People think that the fund balance is a surplus that is there to be spent. That is not the case. The fund balance is there to sustain West Windsor through troubled local and global economic times. We do use it as revenue to support the annual budget, but if we use too much of it, we lose it. If it is not replenished, it is gone forever. It is a buffer in case we do not collect all of the revenue owed to us, or if we have unexpected expenses.”
“Our full fund balance as of January was approximately $6,600,000. Our reserve fund balance is approximately $2,200,000. In the past few years, we have been using more from the reserve than we have replenished it. In other words we are using more than we are bringing in, and we will need to replenish it in the long term.
“In addition, said Louth, “by using a one-time ‘fix’ to balance the budget in any given year, you are actually raising tax rates for the following years. For example, in 2010 the township used a one-time revenue fix of $600,000 to reduce the tax levy for that year, and then the tax rate jumped the following year.”
The Council has begun hearing budget reports from the various departments at public budget sessions. On Friday, February 21, at 10 a.m.; the Council will begin to hear the remainder of the presentations from the division of senior and social services; health and recreation; public works; administration; finance; the open space division, and land use.
The Council will hold a special public budget review session on Monday, February 24, at 7 p.m.
Sidewalk Matters. At the February 18 meeting Council and the administration praised Department of Public Works (DPW) workers for their diligence in clearing streets and publicly-owned sidewalks. The Mayor and council members also thanked George Borek for his efforts to ensure that the township has enough salt on hand (see story, page 16).
Schmid also thanked the public for its help in clearing sidewalk and its patience during the past several snowstorms as the DPW crews worked to clear roadways. She added that DPW also needs residents to help clear snow from storm drains, because keeping the drains clear will greatly reduce flooding as the snow begins to melt.
The DPW will also be getting a new compactor truck. Council approved the purchase of a 2013 or newer cab and chassis with 29 cubic yard high compaction rear loading body compactor truck, which will be provided by Bergey’s Trucks at a cost of $214,900.
Said Schmid: “This truck replaces a 1989 compactor that has recently needed substantial repairs, in excess of $7,000, to keep it operational. The DPW desperately needs a new compactor truck to maintain the township’s leaf removal program. Compactor trucks are critical for collecting brush and yard debris.”
“This truck has a low-entry cab, which is particularly useful when crews are working in cul-de-sacs. Although trucks with low-entry cabs are more expensive than higher-entry models, this type of cabs greatly reduces injuries to DPW employees, and has become very popular in the industry because of this safety factor. This is why we felt it was important to purchase a compactor with a low-entry cab.”
The Council authorized the annual shared services agreement with Hamilton Township to provide certain public health services relating to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) at a cost of $1,100. It also approved a six-month professional services agreement with Health Education Services to provide state-mandated health education programs and services, at a cost of $9,350.
“Jill Swanson, who is the township health officer, will also look into whether in the future we can enter into a shared services agreement for this program, which would defray some of the cost,” said Schmid.
In personnel matters, the Council introduced an ordinance to amend the salary and wage plan for the position of bus driver, in the hopes of being able to fill the position for the senior center bus, which has been vacant for several months. The township has had to utilize A-1 Limousine drivers, who have the necessary CDL license, to provide busing for the senior center, in order to maintain this service for seniors.
“The position is part-time, and does not provide benefits, but requires the operator to have a commercial driver’s license (CDL),” explained Schmid. Our last driver resigned, and, even though we have spent a lot of effort trying to recruit someone, we have not been able to fill the position. We have posted it internally twice, through the state League of Municipalities, on the township website, and in the Trenton Times and no qualified applicants have responded. We even reached out to school district bus drivers, but they cannot fill the position because the times conflict with school busing.”
The township conducted a survey and found that neighboring towns paid a salary for this type of position in the range of $14 to $18 an hour, whereas West Windsor only pays $11.92 to $12.96 an hour.
“We felt that salary was definitely a factor in our inability to find a qualified driver to fill the position. So we are seeking to amend our employee wage plan by changing the salary range to $14 to $18 an hour for this position, in order to be commensurate with neighboring towns.”
“This position is three days a week, seven hours a day. Ideally, we would like to hire more than one driver so that we can rotate their shifts. If the salary increase is approved, we are hopeful that we can fill this position.”
Public hearing on this ordinance is scheduled for Monday, March 3, which is also the date of the next regularly scheduled council meeting.
The council also approved the reappointment of Jeffrey I. Rubin as municipal prosecutor at a salary of $30,000.
Finally, Council honored the promotion of police officer Mark Lee to sergeant, and also swore in of five new patrolmen: Carlos Abade, James Collins, Frank Zicha, Edward McQuade, and Sean VanNess.
