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Under the proposed budget and its 10% cut
to local state aid, the pressure is on for Mayors and
municipal governments to fill the gap of lost funding
without reducing the quality of their constituent
services or raising taxes. New Jersey is home to 566
individual municipalities, the smallest of which will
be hit hardest. Governor Corzine’s budget proposes the
elimination of $22 million to communities with
populations less than 5,000 and approximately $15
million to towns with populations between 5,000 to
10,000.
To counter the cuts included in his
budget, Governor Corzine has proposed $32 million to
be granted to municipal consolidation projects. Over
the past few years, the State has invested in varying
incentives intended to encourage municipalities to
consolidate or share their services with one another.
Now, Governor Corzine is sending the message that
operational consolidation and shared services are
absolute necessities if Mayors wish to avoid the
effects of state aid eliminations.
This situation, however, does has a silver
lining in that it provides New Jersey’s communities
the opportunity to assess their fiscal situations and
discover what savings and operational enhancements
could be gained through shared services. Instead of
fighting the proposed cuts, Mayors need to take
advantage of this initiative, most particularly the
proposed $32 million in available funding, to explore
options with their neighboring communities or their
county government.
The potential to consolidate, share,
coordinate, or merge public services can be found in
virtually every department of municipal government.
For example, municipal courts can account for a major
portion of a budget, especially in smaller
communities. Maintaining court facilities, employing
the required amount of court personnel (judges,
prosecutors, clerks), and retaining the records and
video arraignment that is required of a court system
can all be fiscally straining. The solution is a joint
municipal court, where a number of small communities
equally fund a regional court system or participate in
an established system of a larger municipality.
Along similar lines, merging public safety
departments is another way to generate major cost
savings. Sharing 911 answering and public safety
dispatch, consolidating patrol services and creating
regional training facilities are a few of the many
options in this area. Joining together local
departments not only reduces duplication of resources
and personal, but increases public safety through its
coordination over a broader, more unified area as
opposed to individual units. In the very near future,
State Police may begin charging communities for their
coverage. Taking advantage of a joint police force or
enlisting the use of an established County Sheriff
Department are two local alternatives to avoid further
dependence on increasingly more costly State
assistance.
Especially in the area of
telecommunications, the cost of updating systems to
stay consistent with the constantly-evolving
technologies can become an overwhelming burden on
individual municipalities. Those costs could be
deferred through development or participation in a
County-wide Public Safety Answering & Dispatch Point.
Mayors could create a computer network with
surrounding towns and achieve savings through joint
internet access, software purchases and upgrades, and
Information Technology personnel.
Public Works departments account for
another large piece of municipal budgets but can
easily be coordinated between multiple municipalities
or a county. Vehicle and equipment purchases, trash
removal, road work crews, and building and grounds
maintenance can all be shared. Even if Mayors purchase
their own equipment, utilizing a joint vehicle
maintenance service can greatly reduce cost and
increase efficiency.
A popular trend in many New Jersey
counties has been the consolidation of public health
services into a single County Health Department, which
is better funded and better capable at responding to
regional health issues. Participating in County,
municipal, and school district purchasing co-ops takes
advantage of bulk purchasing discounts and savings.
Other possible areas to consider for consolidation
include animal control, code enforcement, and library
services.
Downsizing, consolidating and sharing
local government operations does not require
municipalities to entirely sacrifice the services they
provide to their citizens, but rather greatly improve
them. Instead of viewing consolidation as a forced
fiscal measure, Mayors will hopefully approach this
situation as an opportunity to enhance the value of
their public service and provide a better quality of
life to their citizens. |
