In what he says is just his preliminary look at ideas for cost-savings as the council prepares to set up its pre-budget discussions, Councilman Charles Morgan spent considerable time on July 13 going through the bills and claims list and raising questions, including questioning one bill payment to Township Attorney Michael Herbert’s firm.
Morgan was the sole “no” vote on paying the attorney’s bill, as other council members said they saw no problems with any of the bills on the list.
The bill was for about $100 to the Herbert, Van Ness, Cayci, and Gooddell law firm for Herbert’s consulting services to the township in a matter pertaining to an investigation into the motives behind a nonprofit organization set up by West Windsor Mayor Shing Fu-Hsueh, which Morgan had questioned during the election season.
Morgan said he believed the township should not have been paying the bill for Herbert to perform the work associated with the mayor’s project.
Called into question at that time by Morgan were contributions of $57,000 to the West Windsor Township Community Foundation in the course of one year, 2003. Questions were also raised about the timing of the organization’s subsequent grants to community groups, including the West Windsor Arts Council and Friends of West Windsor Senior Citizens during an election season.
When contacted about the questions in the spring, the mayor had said he had the idea to create the nonprofit organization eight years ago after he was first elected, and organized a group of people to carry it out. Hsueh says money was granted to various West Windsor-only 501c3 organizations only if those organizations went through the process of submitting proposals.
Hsueh then referred questions to Russell Schenkman, a resident and an attorney based at 13 Roszel Road, who served as the foundation’s president.
Schenkman said the biggest contribution — $50,000, he recalls — came in 2003 from Tyco, the corporate conglomerate that is headquartered at 7 Roszel Road. Other companies contributed about $6,000. Between 75 and 85 percent of the donations that were made were made in a single donation by Tyco, and other contributions totaled 20 to 25 percent of the donations made to the organizations, he said.
After receiving an E-mail from West Windsor resident Hemi Nae asking questions about the foundation, Hsueh restated information provided by Schenkman. Hsueh also disputed Nae’s suggestion that the foundation lay dormant for five years, pointing out that contributions were made as late as 2006.
In his response to Nae, Hsueh also said that Morgan had written to Schenkman, asking for information about the foundation. Morgan had proposed his own idea for a community nonprofit foundation during the budget season — a measure that he said could offset taxes for residents — but the council did not include the proposal in its adopted 2009 municipal budget. Morgan had suggested the 501(c)(3) nonprofit trust could be used for township projects, including enhancement of the senior center, the Greening of West Windsor environmental fair, and the West Windsor Farmer’s Market. By having a 501(c)3 set up, corporate sponsors could donate money to the causes, he suggested.
During the July 13 meeting, when Morgan questioned why the council should approve the bill to Herbert’s firm for the conference call, Herbert said he called Schenkman as a result of Morgan’s request for him to look into the matter. “Had I not done it, you, no doubt, would have charged me with not doing my job,” Herbert said. “You created a problem. I looked into it.”
The bill for Herbert’s services, says Interim Business Administrator Robert Hary, was for a half-hour conference call costing about $100.
Still, Morgan made a motion to approve the bills without payment to Herbert’s firm and without payment of $30.62 bill to FML Graphics print shop for 60 copies of a map of the parking lot at the Windsor Haven residential development, an item on which he also had questions.
No one seconded his motion. But Councilwoman Linda Geevers motioned to include payment to Herbert’s firm in the list of bills, still omitting the bill for the map copies (for further information), and the vote came out with a 4-1 vote after Morgan’s colleagues said they did not see a problem with paying Herbert for a council member’s request.
The other items on the list of bills that Morgan questioned included a bill for bottled water for Public Works employees, $500 to wash engines and undercarriages of township vehicles, and a bill for a glass bead dispenser. He also asked when the township last went out to bid for a new quote on life insurance for township employees, for which the township currently pays 23 cents per $1,000.
He also questioned why the township was paying for trips to the Intrepid, and the purchase of karate belts, both of which are funded through the township’s independent Recreation Trust Fund, a budget-neutral item, reported Interim Business Administrator Bob Hary. Hary said the township residents who utilize the recreation programs in town pay for their involvement in them, which is where the money for the recreation trust fund comes from.
Hary and Council President George Borek also explained that the washing of the engines and undercarriages was regulated by the state Department of Environmental Protection, and that township officials were trying to work out a shared services agreement with Hamilton to have the work done at its facility. Borek also explained that the glass bead dispensers are used for line striping on roadways.
Hary looked into the bill for the 60 maps of the Windsor Haven parking lot, since he was not specifically sure during the meeting why the maps were needed. Then, during the July 20 meeting, it was approved, along with the rest of the bills and claims for that meeting, after Hary determined that the 60 black and white copies of the maps were used by the Planning Board in relation to an application for Windsor Haven parking lot changes. Normally, this charge is covered by escrow fees, but the council waived those fees for Windsor Haven in February, Hary said.
Morgan also questioned during the July 13 meeting why the township was paying a total of $44,771.74 to the state Department of Environmental Protection with regard to wetlands acquisition.
Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh and Hary both explained that the money came from developers, and that the money needed to be given to the DEP to cover the cost of replacing the wetlands that were impacted by the realignment of Meadow Road. Municipalities are required by state law to replace or cover the cost of replacing wet lands that are impacted by development or construction.
“Usually every time you have a new roadway construction, if you have to use the wetlands, the DEP will have to create additional wetlands in the region,” Hsueh explained after the meeting. “The formula is one to two, so if you take away one acre, you have to create two acres of wetlands in the area.”
Hsueh said that the realignment of Meadow Road required use of some of the wetlands, so the DEP will make the assessment in order to create additional wetlands. “All of this money basically comes from the developers,” Hsueh said. “They chip into a transportation-related trust fund in West Windsor, and we pay it to the DEP.”
One example of this is the wetlands created when the Meadow Road overpass across Route 1 was constructed. Some wetlands were destroyed, and West Windsor bought a piece of property on Clarksville and Meadow roads to create wetlands. Now, there are endangered species, like blue herons, who have made their homes there.
However, “we cannot use the money to buy the acreage in West Windsor,” at this time, Hsueh said. “Most likely, it will have to go somewhere nearby. West Windsor property is too expensive.”
Budget Meetings
Council President George Borek says he is still gathering information from his council colleagues before a date is set for the “brainstorming” session, as council members have dubbed it, to generate ideas for saving money and lowering the tax impact on residents in the 2010 municipal budget.
He said he expected to have a date set by the end of the week, after the News’ deadline. Setting a pre-budget meeting date, and the subsequent pre-budget meetings to follow, has been a priority since the council reorganized earlier this month.
“The first place to start is to get on the table every idea that should be discussed” during the pre-budget sessions, suggested Councilman Charles Morgan, as the council examined its options during the July 13 council meeting.
Typically, the council does not start holding meetings on the budget until after the new year, but council members, especially Morgan, have called for meetings to begin as early as the summer in preparation for the upcoming budget season, so that the issues and ideas for savings may be more fully vetted.
Borek said he felt that having the first meeting to determine which ideas brought to the table by each council member” are legitimate and which are not.”
Councilwoman Diane Ciccone, who was appointed to council in April in the middle of the budget season, said she sat down with the administration and they answered all of her questions in this past budget. However, “I would like to see a no-tax increase, and a scenario that shows what that includes,” Ciccone added.
Morgan echoed the sentiment, saying that he is “not interested in cutting any services,” but that council may be able to come up with alternative ways to save money if it is given a budget that includes no tax increase — and includes details of the areas and items that would have to be cut in order to achieve the goal. “We ought to be saying, ‘Come to us with one you want and one with a zero percent increase,’” he said.
Morgan also suggested that the council, in discussing their ideas for savings with the administration, come up with policies that the administration would then have to follow in creating its budget in order to “set policy the administration cannot ignore.”
“They have the privilege of setting the budget; we have the privilege of setting policy,” Morgan said. One such policy is to start collecting and keeping data to keep track of financial data, to help in “setting the stage for the people 5, 10, 15, years from now,” Morgan said, although council members and Hary said the township already keeps data like this.
Morgan also suggested that several dates be set for budget meetings, and then have council members send in their ideas so agendas can be created based on “what we think will pay the most dividends.”
Interim Business Administrator Robert Hary said that administration officials are constantly coming up with ideas and ways to cut costs, and that they do so every year beginning in September. The product of their discussions is put together into presentations the administration begins making to council in the winter during the budget season.
The rest of the meetings for discussion of budget items will be scheduled on dates separate from the council’s regularly scheduled business and agenda sessions. In the meantime, council members were asked to send dates they will be available for budget meeting in the near future.
Construction Fees. In other business during the July 13 meeting, council also discussed an idea put forth by Councilwoman Geevers — finding a way to correct what she says is an unfair burden to West Windsor taxpayers, who solely foot the bill for inspection and construction fees associated with expansion projects at Mercer County Community College.
Because West Windsor is the host community for the college, it is required by state law to waive fees associated with construction and expansion, Geevers says.
Hary said that in 2007, which is the most recent year the township has audited financial data available, the township waived over $200,000 in fees, not for just the college, but also to the school district.
“I don’t believe that it is fair,” said Geevers, adding that students come from all over the area, including from Pennsylvania, to attend Mercer County Community College, and that she feels the other towns and the county should be aiding in covering the fees that the township has to waive. “It should not be an expense of West Windsor Township.”
She suggested that the administration discuss the issue with County Executive Brian Hughes and state legislators.
“It clearly does create some type of burden,” said Hary, but the matter is directly regulated by state statute. He said township officials can continue monitoring the situation. However, since it is a state law, “at this point, the point is well-taken, but we are able to accommodate it,” he told Geevers.
Council President George Borek said that Princeton University makes contributions to Princeton Borough for impact to the town, even though their fees are waived, and he suggested township officials ask MCCC if it would do the same.
After the meeting, Geevers said she feels council should consider a resolution to state legislators asking for them to consider changing the statutes that allow for the waiving of certain construction or inspection fees for community colleges.
“The basic issue is the county is going to be undergoing expansion and renovation work,” she said. “All of those fees for inspections are being waived because of the law. That law needs to be changed because it’s not fair that West Windsor has to bear the burden of covering the costs for the inspectors. The community college should be paying for those fees just as anyone else in town who needs to have inspections done will pay for it.”
She said the contribution from Princeton University is considered to be a payment in lieu of taxes, and that West Windsor already has a similar system in place with the Princeton Theological Seminary, which owns apartments in West Windsor that house its graduate students. Because some of those students have children who attend the WW-P school district, the seminary makes a payment in lieu of taxes to West Windsor already, instead of paying taxes.
