Middletown Library Closing on Sundays??

I received a message from a friend telling me that the Middletown Library Board of Directors is considering closing the library on Sundays now.

According to my messenger friend, this Wednesday night, Nov. 15th, at their next board meeting, the board members will be holding a vote to close the library on Sundays. Here is a copy of the upcoming agenda.   

This revelation of closing on Sundays seems to add credence to the concerns that Mahat Macote had expressed about a revenue shortfall in the library budget  and possible ongoing shenanigans at the library, that I posted about earlier.

If any of this concerns you then I would suggest you make it to Wednesday night's meeting at the library and make your voice heard.

First The Library, Now Poricy Park ?

Not sure how many people have heard of this and i'm just throwing it out there as food for thought and wondering what the thinking was.

Every year the Township gives the Poricy Park Conservatory (overseers of Poricy Park) an allotment of dollars towards its annual budget. This money goes to support the Poricy Park Conservatory's operating expenses. This year's $25,000 allotment instead  was placed by the Township in the Capital Improvements budget, not the operations budget. This caused a deficit in  PPC's FY 2014 budget since they were not told about it until last moment.

So, let's think about this a minute and speculate a little.

Why would the township suddenly place money that is earmarked yearly for operating expenses into the capital improvements budget? One, it saves the town $25K in current cash. Two, assuming that "capital improvements" equates to debt issue, it allows an additional $25K to be raised in debt and moved outside of the 2% cap.

"Capital Improvements" may not mean debt issue, though. it could mean the delegation of town staff to do work at Poricy Park. Or it could mean that the township pays contractors of its own choosing in lieu of letting PPC decide. This puts control of the spending in township hands.

 Meanwhile the Middletown Arts Center keeps getting more money.....

The Bad News: New Jersey's revenue-estimating process - the bedrock of the state's annual spending plan - is broken.

The Good News: It can be fixed.

Revenue forecasting in the states Each year, New Jersey estimates how much money it will take in during the upcoming budget year. Lawmakers rely on that figure to know how much the state can invest in schools, roads, and other public services. While revenue estimating is a relatively unknown function of state government, it has entered the spotlight in New Jersey over the past few years as revenue projections have repeatedly been overly confident and inaccurate, leading to last-minute budget maneuvers and accounting gimmicks to keep the budget in balance.

New Jersey can make a big improvement in its budgeting and take a major step towards a more financially responsible budget by having the governor and the legislature - which both currently make projections independently - jointly produce the official revenue estimate.

This type of "consensus" process helps reduce political gridlock and increases the revenue estimate's value as a trusted starting point for writing the state budget. Adopting a consensus model would mean no more dueling revenue projections, no more ad hominem attacks on the estimators and an overall budget-making process that is far less political.

A new national report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities confirms the need for New Jersey to take common-sense steps to fix its revenue-estimating process. In the report's evaluation of how states come up with a revenue estimate for the annual budget, New Jersey scored only a 2 on a scale of 0-5 due to its failure to employ sensible and proven practices that create reliable revenue estimates to guide state spending. This means the state ranked as one of the dozen worst in the nation.

We think the Press of Atlantic City summed it up well in a favorable editorial:

"New Jersey should join the majority of states that make revenue projections in an open, joint process that results in numbers everyone can agree on. Certainly, such projections are an inexact science. But as it is now in New Jersey, politics and wishful thinking drive the process."

Let's hope lawmakers heed the call for a better budget process.

CHRISTIE STILL BURDENING MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES WITH HIS FAILURES SAYS CURRIE

6/25/14

(Trenton) — Today, before a select crowd in Camden County, Chris Christie’s truth-defying narrative took center stage, as the governor denied responsibility for an array of policy concerns.

Notably, to plug a projected $2.75 billion budget shortfall created by Christie's overly optimistic revenue projections, the governor wants to cut planned pension contributions. His approach is to break the promises he made to hard working New Jerseyans, dismiss Democratic proposals, blame others for his mistakes, and then to personalize the state's challenges.

“It's shocking and disturbing that Governor Christie has no proposal to repair New Jersey’s troubled economy, and that he is incapable of accepting responsibility for his actions. In his carefully selected public appearances, he tells a few jokes, and then spins fictional tales that serve his political purposes but not our needs,” said John Currie, Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. "Chris Christie needs to stop burdening middle class families with his failures, and start being truthful about the messes he created."

Governor Christie was willing to literally dance around his scandals on late night television earlier this month, but he refuses to acknowledge the severity of federal probes into his administration’s misuse of public funds, and prioritizes Republican campaign activities over New Jersey’s needs.

The fact is, Chris Christie’s policies have seriously undermined New Jersey’s economy, resulting in record six state credit downgrades, with further downgrades threatened, a massive hole in the New Jersey’s 2014 budget, the highest unemployment levels in the region, and a job creation rate that is ranked among the worst in the nation.

CHRISTIE MAY BE GOING AWAY SOON, BUT NJ'S BUDGET SHORTFALL ISN'T

For Immediate Release:

(Trenton) -- John Currie, Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, is highlighting the fact that Governor Christie is skipping town as an staggering $807 million budget shortfall looms.

As news stories highlight, New Jersey’s already-low credit rating was recently downgraded for the fifth time during Chris Christie’s tenure, in part due to the "scale and belatedness" of the $807million hole in the state budget. One might expect that under these circumstances, their governor would be rolling up his sleeves, meeting with legislators, and looking for ways to improve the state's “sputtering" economy. However, if one's governor is the scandal-plagued Chris Christie, that expectation would be wrong.

As the Associated Press reports, “trailing in fundraising, Maine Gov. Paul LePage hopes a visit by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie this week will raise campaign cash - and rally his conservative base.” Apparently, when the going gets tough, the toughs go to... Portland, Maine.

"With all due respect to my friends in New England, right now, New Jersey's governor should be focused on ledgers and liabilities, not lobsters and lighthouses. He needs to get his priorities straight. The budget situation in New Jersey is real and it is not going away," said Chairman Currie. "It is time for Governor Christie to drop the fundraising junkets, and start getting down to business -- the business of fixing our state's troubled economy."

NJ WATCHDOG: Christie tries to solve budget crisis with 'problem'

For immediate release:


The irony of New Jersey’s latest budget crisis is getting thick in Trenton as Gov. Chris Christie turns to Lou Goetting for help.

Christie is scrambling to plug an $800 million gap before the state fiscal year ends in less than two months.

“I’m going to use every tool at my disposal to get a balanced budget,” Christie declared at a press conference last week. “There’s nothing off the table.”

One of those “tools” is Goetting, Christie’s deputy chief of staff and budget guru, sources told NJ Spotlight. However, Goetting personifies a problem that helped cause the mess.

Goetting – pronounced “getting” – gets $228,860 a year from state coffers – $140,000 in salary plus $88,860 from pension. New Jersey Watchdog investigations have found he is one of many double-dippers who collect two sets of checks despite Christie’s pension reforms.

Such excesses have contributed to a $51 billion shortfall in New Jersey’s public retirement system. Trying to keep pension funds solvent for the future, Christie and the Legislature agreed to mandate increases in the state’s long-neglected annual payments.

The next installment of $1.55 billion is due before the fiscal year ends, as required by state statute. That is also the state’s deadline to come up with $800 million to balance its budget, as required by the State Constitution.

If anyone knows how to manipulate the system, it’s Goetting. In addition to his double-dipping, he has received $370,000 in golden parachute payouts from public institutions.

The story is online at http://newjersey.watchdog.org. The direct link is http://newjersey.watchdog.org/2014/05/05/christie-budget-crisis/.

Quote of the Day ... $Billon Shortfall

"You can't bully the numbers. Attacking the messenger is the sign of someone who knows he's wrong, doesn't have the facts, and is unwilling to correct his mistakes. Rather than delaying funds designated for property tax relief, Governor Christie should make millionaire's pay their fair share and ease the burden on working and middle class families."  -- Democratic gubernatorial candidate and State Senator Barbara Buono following today's report by the Office of Legislative Services that the Governor's budget will be short by $1 billion.

OLS Revises Revenue Numbers Down … Again; Will Leaders Step Up to Stop the Tax Cut Madness?

by David Rousseau  |  Published in NJPP Blog: As a Matter of Fact ...


The news on the income side of the state’s bank ledger got even worse yesterday, with the Office of Legislative Services (OLS) notifying budget committee members that FY 2012 revenue is $50 million to $100 million below its estimates of just two weeks ago. As New Jersey’s potential shortfall reaches $1.5 billion, will the growing chorus calling to reject any tax cut grow louder?
 
May revenue collections from the major taxes came in “somewhat” below OLS’s expectations – expectations that were already more than $600 million below the Christie administration’s most recent projections.

The biggest surprise to OLS was the sales tax, which was actually 2.3 percent lower than last May, bringing the year-to-date growth in sales tax to 2.4 percent. In order to reach the administration’s target, sales tax would now have to grow by 8.3 percent in June; to reach OLS’s target, collections would have to increase by 7.2 percent. That’s asking a lot of any month.

Likewise, income and corporate business taxes are showing slow year-to-date growth (2.4 percent and 1.8 percent) and would have to increase at a much quicker pace in June (4.3 percent and 15 percent) if this year’s revenue targets are to be hit.

With the poor May numbers now in hand, OLS says revenue for the current year will be $50 million to $100 million below its forecast from just two weeks ago. If you adjust next year’s revenue for the new projected shortfall, the overall gap could increase between $100 million to $200 million. This could bring the shortfall to a total of $1.5 billion more than the governor originally estimated, and $800 million more than what the treasurer suggested it would be two weeks ago.

To their credit, Senators Codey and Lesniak have already gone on record saying that now is not the time to reduce state revenues. In addition, Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Prieto has repeatedly raised concerns about the validity of the “New Jersey Comeback” and cited the need to be cautious about any revenue reductions.

The politics among Democratic legislators is getting trickier as Senate President Sweeney continues to push a Christie-Sweeney tax cut. What might have made sense in February, when the projected two-year deficit was a more manageable $500 million or so looks increasingly dangerous to the state’s financial health. In March, no one expected that we would have to borrow the money from our kids to pay for our tax cut. Now, the treasurer says that we must.

A true fiscal conservative would never support more borrowing for less revenue in a state still in the throes of the Great Recession. The latest numbers should make fiscal conservatives of Democrats and Republicans alike.

One Month to Go: What Updated Budget Information Means for Deliberations

 by David Rousseau  |  Published in NJPP Blog: As a Matter of Fact ...

Last week’s presentations to the budget committees by the treasurer and the Office of Legislative Services (OLS) complete the legislature’s public review of the governor’s proposed FY 2013 budget, and they will provide the framework for negotiations between the administration and legislators leading up to the June 30 budget deadline.

So what do the new revenue projections and spending updates mean for next year’s budget? The answer to that lies in the answer to a number of key questions:

What is the significance of the more than $600 million revenue difference between OLS ($1.3 billion shortfall) and the Christie Administration ($676 million shortfall)?

Based on the history of revenue estimating, it is safe to assume that both updated revenue estimates will be wrong. The questions will be by how far and in what direction.

In periods of economic recovery, the administration and OLS generally both underestimate actual revenue. This year, however, with the difference being so large, the actual collections could fall in between the two estimates.

While the more than $600 million difference in projected revenue represents only a 1 percent difference in revenue over a two-year period, it does represent the largest difference since 2001 when OLS was nearly $1.6 billion below the DiFrancesco administration’s estimates. The 1 percent differential is also similar to 2009, when OLS was $574 million below the estimates of the Corzine administration.

Despite its statistically small size, the difference is significant since it represents more than double the amount of the surplus estimated in the budget.

What are the potential consequences of using the OLS estimates?

If legislative leaders decided to adopt the non-partisan revenue estimates that are $628 million lower than the administration’s revised estimates, they would have to a similar amount in additional spending reductions and/or revenue to offset the loss. Due to the cuts that have been made by the Corzine and Christie administrations there are not many – if any – additional spending reductions that would not have substantial impact on state programs and residents.

An easy way to make up some of that money would be to nix the tax cut plans, at least for this year. But even doing that would only save the state $183 million next year – or less than 30 percent of the overall shortfall. The legislature would still need to find an additional $444 million in budget reductions or new revenues. This would not be an easy task.

Using the OLS numbers would severely impact the legislature’s ability to deal with other concerns in the governor’s budget. In fact, addressing some of the major concerns in the governor’s budget would likely be improbable since the legislature would first have to find the $627 million to cover the OLS shortfall, and then find additional reductions or revenue to fund any policy changes they may want to make to the budget.

It is interesting to note that the FY 2013 impact of the “millionaires’ tax” that was vetoed by the governor last year is about $800 million. If Democrats wanted to cover the shortfall this year, a similar proposal could easily do so, while providing an extra $180 million to address other policy concerns. But don’t hold your breath; even if the measure didn’t face a certain veto, Democrats would want any “fair share” tax to help fund popular programs like property tax relief or education, not to cover a revenue shortfall.

If the legislature adopts the OLS revenue estimates, and actual revenue collections during the year are closer or even above the administration estimates, the governor would then have this additional revenue to use in the FY 2014 budget (the possible reelection budget). In other words, the legislature would take the heat for any cuts or other actions they took to offset the shortfall, and the governor might get extra revenue for politically driven election-year proposals.

And if the legislature adopts the OLS estimates and they turn out to be on point, there is still no major downside for the administration, as it won’t have to make any cuts or adjustments – that dirty work will have already been done by legislators.

What are the potential consequences of using the administration’s estimates?

There are relatively no short-term negative consequences to using the administration’s revenue numbers, even though they are $628 million more optimistic than OLS’s. The administration is willing to risk that its numbers will be correct; if they aren’t, it won’t likely have to be dealt with – or even acknowledged – until the governor prepares his FY 2014 budget next February.

Politically, using the higher revenue estimates allows the administration to keep the same growth rates it had assumed in February, thus maintaining the illusion of stronger economic growth as part of the “New Jersey Comeback.” It also allows the administration to continue to push for its tax cuts, since it has already covered the shortfall in its revised plan.

If the actual collections are lower than the estimates, the administration will need to make adjustments to the budget to address the additional shortfall. Unless there is a major negative change in the economy in the next six months, any shortfall will likely not materialize until the second half of the year, and would be dealt with as part of the FY 2014 budget.

In the short term, the administration will have to defend these revenue projections to the rating agencies as they prepare their annual review of the state budget and make pronouncements on the state’s fiscal health. It should be noted that Moody’s recently stated that they expect revenue growth for FY 2014 would be similar to the growth in the current year. If that pans out, OLS says, there could be a total revenue shortfall of over $2 billion.

What estimates are likely to be used for the budget?

Even though the Democratic leadership jumped to the estimates of OLS last June you should not bet the mortgage on the Democrats being consistent. Last year OLS had projected more revenue than the administration, so the use of those estimates allowed the Democrats to propose additional spending.

But “consistency” is not an adjective that can be used to describe decision-making by legislators. It is highly likely that this year, they will defer to the governor and use the estimates presented by the state treasurer.

Unless the administration reduces its estimates further based on collections over the next few weeks, the budget will likely be based on the administration’s numbers. With more money to play with, legislators can move forward with their own tax-cut plans, and possibly address other minor concerns that have bubbled up during the budget hearings.

Hold Onto Your Wallets, Middletown To Introduce Budget That Includes a 12.2% Tax Increase

Hold onto your purse strings and wallets ladies and gentleman, I got my hands on the proposed 2010 Middletown Municipal Budget before its introduction and as we have been saying for a long time now, it isn't pretty!

The budget that will be introduced during the Special Budget Introduction Meeting tonight at 7pm will total nearly $65M and will reflect a spending increase over last years budget of 4.9%, it calls for a 12.2% tax increase that will raise $5.55M to fund it!

As I said it isn't pretty, I spent a few hours reviewing it after I requested a copy of it from Committeeman Sean Byrnes, who was nice enough to forward it to me in advance of the budget meeting. In the email that accompanied the budget Byrnes wrote:

"...much of this was foreseeable, pension increase $1.8M, payback $800k from 2009, salary increases $1.5M, health care increase $1.6M, these total over $6.0M. No surprise. We knew this in 2009 and yet they refused all my recommendations including fixed fee legal retainer, bidding out engineering work, cutting Middletown matters, cutting Middletown day, contracting out leaf and brush, consolidating maintenance and refusing finance cmte. Even now we should be assuming the governors tool chest will pass and we should be planning accordingly..."

Why the big increase, what are the driving forces behind the budget? In addition to what Sean Byrnes stated, nearly every appropriation line item in the budget saw an increase of some kind even though most revenues streams dried up.

Not surprisingly, after the mayor took such a public stance against the MTEA after April's defeat of the school budget, taking his lead from Governor Christie and insisting that the teachers accept a wage freeze and contribute to their health benefits, the largest overall increase in the budget after the increase to the health and pension funds were Salaries and Wages paid out to employees who will enjoy an 8.9% increase over last year!

If you doubt what I say, you can print out a copy for yourself >>> Here and see for yourself.

If you plan on attending the budget introduction meeting bring a copy of the budget with you, along with your questions in order to ask the mayor why he and others on the Township Committee have done such a poor job in preparing for and planning this budget. If they would have heeded Sean Byrnes and former Committeeman Patrick Short's advice over the past year and leading up to the introduction of this budget, the situation we find ourselves in today may not have been so costly to residents.

Middletown Township Still 'Crunching The Numbers' As Budget Gap Widens

Excellent article written by Ryan Fennell of the TRT, the kid reports it straight with no spin and consistantly reports on important aspects of the Township Committee meetings without having to resort to press releases issued after the meetings are over.

By Ryan Fennell
The Two River Times

MIDDLETOWN - While no specifics have been released regarding the 2010 budget, the Middletown Township Committee intimated on Monday night that layoffs were imminent in order to bridge the estimated $4 million shortfall in revenue.

The Middletown Township Committee entered this year facing an approximate $4 million shortfall, which Committeeman Sean Byrnes now estimates to be closer to $6 million, in revenue for the 2010 budget. Since that time the Committee has hired a new CFO and consistently pledged to the township's residents that it was "looking at everything."

"We are now almost three weeks into April and we know as a Committee that we have a significant shortfall in revenue this year," Byrnes said. "The news is only getting worse and as of right now I don't think we've really executed on any plans. Our ability to see any kind of savings is hampered by the fact that time is passing."

Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger said that he has been in contact with Governor Chris Christie's chief of staff and has been assured that legislation is being crafted that would ease the situation for the township.

"He assured me that the 'mayor's toolbox', so to speak, that will allow us to absorb some of these cuts is still in the process of being formulated. We're hoping this will provide some relief and extensive policy out of Trenton that will allow us to get back on track." Middletown resident Jim Grenafege was not satisfied with the explanation and challenged the committee to offer concrete solutions or information regarding the budget. "Its just week after week there is nothing concrete happening," Grenafege said.

He asked that the committee provide numbers associated with proposals that have been offered by the committee that could potential cut the budget.

"We have a relatively new CFO and he's still crunching the numbers," Scharfenberger said. "We can't quantify anything that's been proposed when I don't have the numbers to quantify it against. These are sound proposals. There's no sense speculating."

Grenafege charged that the committee was speculating with the proposals. "They're speculation with no numbers associated with it. It's disingenuous to make these proposals without saying and here's what we expect to save."

Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante said that there are concrete things happening regarding the budget. "We've discussed a lot of options for saving money. A lot of them are painful. A lot of them are painful to individual people. It wouldn't be fair to speculate publicly about some of the things happening." Resident Jeff Blumengold asked why the committee hasn't at least started cutting the "low hanging fruit."

Scharfenberger noted that Middletown operates on a workforce of approximately 340 employees which costs the township $872 per person, a low figure for a municipality it's size.

"There's not a lot of low hanging fruit," Scharfenberger said.

Scharfenberger also pointed out that the Township experienced 15 retirements since January and could see as many as 20 by year's end. Scharfenberger said that these retirements have affected the budget and eliminated areas to cut.

"We had no idea that was going to happen," Scharfenberger said of the retirements. However, the Committee had expected and even encouraged its employees to retire in May 2009.

On May 18, 2009 the Committee unanimously adopted an ordinance entitled "Early Retirement Incentive for Eligible Township Employees."

The ordinance encourages employees eligible to retire under the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) with the offer of health benefits upon retirement after 15 years of service with the township, lowered from 20 years of service.

According to the ordinance any employee who is eligible to retire who has 15 years of service shall have the entire cost of health benefits assumed by the Township of Middletown upon retirement. The ordinance has a "sunset provision" that sets December 31, 2010 as the expiration date.

"The process is the problem," Byrnes said. "There is no process in place to get ahead of the things we're talking about. We knew it was going to be bad. It's very, very frustrating. I can't fathom how we haven't planned out for the problems we're facing."

"Now we will lay off people and those numbers are probably going to be bigger than they needed because we're starting later than we should have," Byrnes added.

"The silver lining in all the bad news we've been confronting is that people are starting to engage," Byrnes said. "People seem to be paying more attention to what's going on. That's a good thing. Part of the problem of what we're in now is people didn't pay attention and that is the key to getting out of the very dire situation we find ourselves in."

Letter: Is Middletown's Mayor Attempting To Divert Bond Money Away From Sports Fields

The following letter was received in my email last night:

Middletown is engaged in a controversy over the installation of artificial turf fields, but the debate is indicative of a much larger issue with how our Township spends taxpayer dollars.

The Township took out a bond in 2006 to fund the turf fields, but the money has sat idle, accruing interest on repayment, because Middletown failed to reach consensus on where to locate the fields. During a number of Township Committee meetings, the Mayor, Administrator, and Township Attorney all emphatically stated that the bond could only be used for the rehabilitation of fields at Middletown parks. However, objections to this usage have recently intensified, prompting Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger to announce he would call off the field construction and divert the bond funds to pay for shortfalls in the Township budget. I have serious concerns about the Mayor’s new course of action.

First, the Mayor appears to be acting independently of the Township Committee. Our committee consists of five members, one of whom is selected as Mayor to lead public meetings and sign local legislation. Nowhere in Chapter 4, Article II of our Township Code, which outlines the duties of Mayor, does it give that person authority to make solitary decisions on funding. A vote of the full Committee is required.

My second concern is that the Mayor, Administrator, and Township Attorney have been lying to residents about the potential uses for the bond money. First, they insisted the money could only be used for the turf fields. Now, the Mayor wants to try and amend the ordinance so it can be used for other projects. If Mayor Scharfenberger has not been deliberately misleading us, he, at best, does not care enough to understand the rules on spending taxpayer dollars; at worst, he is incompetent.

Finally, I am concerned about using bond money to patch holes in Middletown’s budget due to shortfalls in state aid. A single bond will not fix the fiscal reality our township must face as a result of the national economic downturn. The Mayor must stop looking for quick, politically convenient, fixes and present to township residents a fiscally sound plan that does not place us further in debt. Perhaps it is time to stand up that Finance Committee that Committeeman Sean Byrnes keeps calling for. When will Middletown’s Mayor start to listen to the Committee, which represents all taxpayers, and stop acting alone?

Don Watson
New Monmouth NJ

Speaking Of Budgets, Middletown's Is Done Through Osmosis

Back on Reorganization day in January, one of the many things that Gerry Scharfenberger addressed during is speech after being re-appointed as Mayor of Middeltown, was the upcoming budget process.

He told the crowd in attendance that the Township was facing a huge budget shortfall of nearly $7 million but not to worry because there was a plan on how to deal with it.

He state that even though ..."no one here is a super expert on finances by profession but if you sorta do it by osmosis..."

Which I suppose means, that if you sit around long enough thinking about it, to let it sink in you become a expert in how to deal with a $7 million deficit without a Chief Financial Officer to help in the process! Unfortunately however the process of osomsis isn't good enough now that budgets need to be submitted to Trenton by the end of the month.

Where's a Finance Committee when you need it? Oh that's right, Middeltown doesn't need one because Gerry and the boys can handle the budget process on their own.

Scharfenberger Admits "... a budget shortfall of several million dollars in the coming year."

Not many surprises happened yesterday at Re-Organization day in Middletown other than re-appointed mayor Gerry Scharfenberger admitted during his address that the Township was facing "... a budget shortfall of several million dollars in the coming year."

This statement is really quite out of character for our mayor because for the past couple of months Committeeman Sean Byrnes and former Committeeman Patrick Short have been warning everyone about this on coming problem,while Scharfenberger and his fellow GOPer's have accused the Democrats of playing "Chicken Little" .

Last months workshop meeting received a lot of headlines in local papers because Byrnes and Short would not vote for borrowing money from 2010 's budget for an emergency appropriation to pay for medical claims in 2009 without first seeing a plan on how the township planned on closing, in Byrnes's estimation, a $5 million budget shortfall 2010. Byrnes stated during the workshop meeting that layoffs throughout all departments would be necessary without some type spending plan for the coming new year.

They ultimately voted to approve $800,000 of the emergency appropriation to pay the medical claims and deferred the remainder to discuss at the next meeting with the stipulation that the township needed to come up with some sort of spending plan before than.

At the December 21st Township Committee meeting Byrnes and Short once again refused to borrow money from 2010 to pay for the outstanding claims because nothing was presented during the two week period since the previous meeting to show them that the township was taking seriously the looming budget crisis.

Now upon his re-appointment as mayor he admits that there is a looming crisis and wants to assure everyone that he will do everything in his power to make the best of it by "...a continued freeze on all township salaries, the potential sale of unneeded township assets, increased worker contributions to health benefits, new interlocal agreements and the sale of the township swim club."

We've heard all this before from Scharfenberger and his GOP buddies, the only new proposal here is to sell the swim club and that was proposed 3 years ago by Patrick Short.

Last February Patrick Short and Sean Brynes submitted budget cutting ideas to the Township Administrator and the CFO and many if not all were rejected out of hand.

Last week Sean Byrnes issued a press release to highlight some additional proposals that he believes would save the township money for 2010 and years to come. They are practical and make sense. Maybe the Committee can use these proposals as a starting point when they begin to formulate the 2010 budget and not let partisan politics get in the way of doing what's right for the residents of Middletown.

Press Release: Committeman Sean F. Byrnes Calls For Sweeping Changes To The Way Middletown Does Business

Press Release

December 21, 2009

In Middletown today, Committeeman Sean F. Byrnes called for sweeping changes to the way Middletown does business. Since joining the Committee in 2008, Byrnes has continuously called for the creation of a Finance Committee to oversee the preparation of Middletown’s budget, evaluate expenses and investigate restructuring how services are delivered. However, his efforts have failed to garner support from Republican members of the Township Committee.

Citing the worst budget environment in the Township in 20 years , Byrnes called on his fellow Committee members to make dramatic changes to the way the Township does business:

“We find ourselves sinking deeper into debt with fewer tools for pulling ourselves out. Last year, we limped through the year relying upon one-time revenue line items, a request to exceed our cap on increasing tax levies to citizens, and a decision to defer $1.5 million in pension contributions. Yet, by year’s end, we still needed an emergency appropriation of $1.4 million, payable in 2010, to pay escalating health care expenses. I am estimating that we begin 2010 with a shortfall that approaches $5.0 million. We will need a specific plan, very early in the year to offset this shortfall.”

To address the looming budget shortfall, Byrnes has recommended exploring the following cost-saving measures:

1. Requiring all capital spending projects in 2010 to be competitively bid among 5 pre-approved engineering firms.
2. Retaining the Township attorney and other professionals to operate on a fixed fee monthly retainer basis and eliminate all hourly billing for all but complex litigation.
3. In 2010, combining the property maintenance functions within Public Works and the Parks & Recreation Department into one Department within the Department of Public Works, responsible for all property maintenance.
4. In 2011, combining the property maintenance functions currently operated separately by the Board of Education and the Township Committee into one department to maintain all property within the Township.
5. Eliminating the Sewerage Authority thereby eliminating the administrative, overhead and professional fees associated with the operations of this Authority.
6. Soliciting private contracts for 50% of the leaf and brush pickup in 2010 and a larger percentage in ensuing years.
7. Shifting to a once per week trash pickup in conjunction with mandatory recycling of paper and a campaign to encourage a far greater percentage of composting within the Township. Reducing the volume of paper and vegetable waste will substantially reduce the volume of disposable waste and the need for more than one trash pickup per week.
8. Offer early retirement to the more senior maintenance workers in the Parks & Recreation Department and Public Works Departments where salaries in the Parks & Recreation Department dedicated to property maintenance exceed $1.0 million.
9. Commence discussions with the Library Board to consolidate the Arts Center operation into the Middletown Public Library, which has a steady funding source and currently offers arts programming that is similar to programs offered by the Library.
10. Continue the initiative started by Committeeman Fiore to negotiate a new health care payment arrangement, as the existing self-insured relationship for claims has produced double-digit increases in costs that cannot be sustained.

On a County-wide basis, Byrnes has recommended a consolidation of police, fire and school administration.

“The taxpayers cannot sustain the spiraling salary, benefit and pension costs that follow the large administration that oversees the delivery of police, fire and educational services. We need our locally elected State representatives in Monmouth County to propose State-wide legislation that gives counties and municipalities the ability to engage in consolidation efforts and other cost-sharing measures. The current statutory and regulatory framework ties the hands of municipalities that might be willing to take bold steps to cut costs. ”

Mr. Byrnes also pointed out that two Township officials, Deputy Mayor Scharfenberger and Township Attorney Brian Nelson have been appointed to the transition team for Governor –elect Christie.

Citing the rare opportunity presented by the current economic climate and voter dissatisfaction, Byrnes said, “I am hopeful that Mr. Scharfenberfer and Mr. Nelson will seize this opportunity and advocate for sweeping changes to the laws that foster duplication and overlap of governmental services. As an example, the legal separation of Boards of Education and municipal government is too stark. There must be greater shared services between these public entities and even some degree or merger of some functions such as property maintenance, recreation, human resources and purchasing.”

“The old system is broken, everyone knows it, and we need to be creative and willing to re-design how services are delivered to taxpayers at the local, county and state level. If we do it right, the end product will look a lot different than what we have right now.”

It's Payback Time In Middletown: So Far Township Facing $4 Million Budget Shortfall For 2010 - Layoffs Pending

I attended the Middletown Township Committee Workshop meeting last night to hear what would be said about the Emergency Appropriation Resolution 09-277.

This resolution was for the purpose of borrowing ~ $1.5 million from next years budget to pay for worker's compensation claims and other employee medical benefits that the township did not budget for this year.

There was a lively discussion on the subject that lasted nearly an hour. Committeemen Sean Byrnes and Patrick Short questioned the Township Administrator about how and why, with less than 30 day left in the calendar year, did the township find that it needed to borrow such a large amount of money against next years budget when the projected budget for next year was already a few million dollars short.

The simple answer was the Township did not foresee that worker's compensation claims and other employee health benefit claims would be at such a level as to need more money than budgeted for in the previous year's (2008) budget. And after all, the bills needed to be paid.

The money that was set aside this year for health benefits and claims was ~ $2 million less than last year. The reason being was because recent trends over the past several years showed that health claims rose and fell from one year to next. With this in mind, the powers that be who shaped the 2009 budget decided to gamble on the trends downward slope and under funded the Township's health care plan.

In the 2008 budget ~ $6 million was appropriated for benefits but at the end of the year, much like this year, an emergency appropriation 0f $500,000 was needed as opposed to an ~ $1.5 million. I would say that their gamble did not pay off.

Committeeman Byrnes was relentless in his questioning and would not support the resolution as written without assurances from the rest of the committee that further review of township finances would be made before the end of the year. To get these assurances Byrnes only agreed to support a resolution for $800,000 of the $1.5 million emergency appropriation at last nights meeting. The other $700,000 will be appropriated through a new resolution at the December 21st committee meeting if Byrnes receives proper answers to his questions about how next years budget will be addressed.

The reason why Sean Byrnes is being such a stickler over the 2010 budget is because at this present time it is being projected by the Township Committee, that there will be a minimum of a $4 million shortfall in revenues next year with this resolution and by the time January or February comes around it could be a couple of million more dollars short.

When Byrnes pressed the Township Administrator over what plans he intends to present to the Committee to curtail costs next year the administrator, Tony Mercantante said that among other things, plans were in the works for employee layoffs starting in either January or February of 2010 but paper work must first be filed with the State before any layoffs could take effect.

With this in mind I have to ask once again, why not listen to Sean Byrnes and establish a nonpartisan Finance Committee that could identify problems like this in advance and work towards budget solutions before they become problems in the first place?

Update; Middletown Day 183 Without A Budget: Budget Meeting Scheduled

I have just received word that Middletown's current budget fiasco may soon be over.

The Township Clerk has sent out a notice via email that The Township Committee will be holding a public hearing and vote on the Calender Year Budget for 2009 on Monday July 13th. The meeting will be in the court room and will begin at 7pm.

One of the more interesting pieces of information that I have heard concerning the budget today is that former Township CFO Bob Roth, who was brought in by the township to look over the budget mess left behind by Richard Wright has been that Roth has been digging through old bond issues looking for left over monies.

One such bond was issued in 2006, it provided a reserve for possible tax appeals. It has been languishing all these years unused or forgotten about.

Bob Roth was Township CFO for nearly 20 years before Richard Wright took over last year, it had been said about Roth that he was the most logical person to have look at the township's books during this time of budgetary crisis because he would know "Where the bodies were buried".

Well evidently he found at least 1 skeleton during his digging, the bond from 2006 that he uncovered is worth about $600,000 and when it is added the $85,000 worth of budget cuts that Wright identified earlier this year, you now have about $720,000 to go towards the $2.4 million budget shortfall.

This one shot windfall still leaves a gaping hole to of $1.68 million to plug and means that Middletown will still be looking at a tax increase of over 6% to close it.

Layoffs and furloughs may be looming as I stated in a earlier post.

Keep in mind that the Republican majority in Middletown have acted as though they were unconscious of current economic realities that effect our state and country and that Committeeman Pat Short began to demand budget action back in January.

Middletown GOP: What Do They Have To Hide?

An anonymous poster left the following comment to Friday's post Green Team - Finance Team, Can Someone Explain the Difference? I find it interesting that others are now starting to understand that business as usual can not continue in Middletown as it has for the past 20 years:

"This township desperately needs not only a Finance Committee but also a forensic audit done by an accredited firm with no affiliation with the politicians in this township.

It is clearly evident the republican majority in Middletown is trying to hide a great deal from it's citizens. This new attorney seems to be complicit in this endeavor.

It's the residents and their taxes that pay the bills.They are entitled to an honest,clear picture of finances in Middletown.The Republican majority clearly stonewalls any attempt at full disclosure!

Fiscal irresponsibility is the mantra of this bunch of ethically challanged individuals. WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO HIDE. The stench now reaks throughout the township...... "

The entrenchment of the Middletown Republicans has gone on long enough, nepotism and cronyism has lead to the current financial mess the township finds itself in, more so than any unfunded mandates that they like to blame on Trenton.

Because of their continued stonewalling of financial matters, the '09 budget is short on revenues by $2.5 million, will contain a 9.2% (or higher) tax increase and will be 7 months late.

All of this will force the township to send out estimated tax bills to Middletown residents which will lead to utter confusion, long lines and needless anger at the tax offices.

There are curently 19 advisory boards and commissions recognized by the township governing body, all with various volunteers and elected officials as members. Why a Finance Committee would be any different from any one of the other boards or commissions is beyond me.

Unless of course the Middletown GOP HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE !

The Pros and Cons of Artificial Fields at Middletown Middle Schools

Tonight there will be a special presentation by Middletown Township Administrator Tony Mercantante, to the Middletown Board of Education that will outline a plan to have artificial turf fields installed at the campuses of two township middle schools believed to be Thorne and Thompson. The meeting will be held in the auditorium of Middletown High School North. This plan is expected to be controversial so the public is strongly encouraged to attend the 6:30 pm presentation.

I’ve thought about this idea since I heard about it late last week, it is not necessarily a bad idea. If done right it would benefit both the school system and the township. The BOE has the expertise in managing and maintaining artificial turf fields already with the athletic fields installed at both high schools and if a mutually acceptable partnership could be worked out then the township gains by being able fulfill a goal of its Parks & Recreation Master Plan.

The P&R Master Plan recommended that the township consider the installation of 2-3 artificial turf fields to go along with the two high school fields if the differences between the BOE and the township could be worked out. By doing so, it would allow the use of the high school fields by the various sports leagues in town and the need for further fields in town would be negated.

Could the Town and the BOE work out such differences? It would be quite an achievement if they could. There are many questions that need to be answered like, who would be responsible for maintaining the fields? What about insurance liabilities? Who would be responsible for supervising or policing them during off hours? Who gets preference of use, the school system or sports leagues? Who replaces the carpet when it wears out in 10 years do to over use? What about lighting, concessions, locker rooms and bathroom facilities? All of these questions and more need to be answered before this project can move forward.

Why not spend that money, which is burning such a hole in the township's pockets on maintaining or improving the currents natural turf fields, or building new ones around town? Over a 20 year period the costs of a natural turf filed is less then that of an artificial turf field.

What makes the artificial fields more desirable is the fact that you can hold more events on them because of the superior drainage and surface, so the additional costs are justified by the number of additional games that can be played on them.

The lingering question in my mind however remains whether or not the township can afford to spend the $2-3 million needed for these fields in a time of economic uncertainty for the township. The township budget has a shortfall of $2.4 million dollars and we are looking at a 9.2% tax increase to make up the difference, to me the installation of any athletic field is a luxury not a necessity at this time.

Yet Another Example for Middletown to Follow In order to Reduce the Tax rate

Colts Neck has finialized it's budget according to an article in the Asbury Park Press.

The budget, which will is to be adopted on April 29th calls for just a 1 cent increase to the municipal tax rate. 

Colts Neck Mayor Ben Forester blamed the increase on the decline in state aid :

"In general, the challenges faced by the Township Committee in preparing this year's budget were much more on the revenue side, rather than appropriations," Forester explained. "The continued erosion of state aid, less available surplus, lower interest rates and a slightly lower tax collection rate were mitigated by reductions in most budgets, less capital spending and the use of additional surplus to offset the tax increase."

This just goes to show you that if you are willing to reduce spending  by looking for places in the budget that could be cut , as opposed to increasing or maintaining services such as Middletown, the need for huge tax increases to balance the budget would not be needed.

With a $7+million hole in this years budget, the Middletown GOP majority has to stop blaming others for the current mess the budget is in.  It's time to cut  spending. if that means that residents may not be able to enjoy Park and Recreation events, or have to get to the tax office before well before closing, then so be it. If not, then residents will be looking at a double digit increase to the tax rate in Middletown.

Good job Colts Neck, now lets see if Middletown can follow your lead.