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'Small' towns would take the biggest hit in aid cuts
(by Kathryn A. Burger - March 12, 2008)
Last Thursday, the New Jersey League of Municipalities held a briefing for officials from municipalities with fewer than 10,000 residents regarding cuts in state aid proposed in Governor Jon Corzine’s budget. Of the eight towns in the
Pascack
Valley , only two have populations of more than 10,000 – Hillsdale and Westwood.
Gene Vinci,
Park Ridge borough administrator attended the briefing, and offered some observations.
“The intention of the proposal is supposed to encourage small communities to share services and combine positions. The state has taken away $37 million in aid from small towns who are now eligible to receive grants of $34 million. The money is specifically for towns that consolidate services. What everyone said at the gathering was, ‘Why are they giving money out for something we are already doing?’ ”
It wasn’t made clear at the briefing exactly what would qualify a municipality for grant money, Vinci said. It was unknown if existing inter-local agreements and shared services would qualify or if the money would only be available to those towns that move toward merging with another municipality.
Vinci said
Park Ridge has been engaged in shared service agreements for many years, including code and sub-code officials; Tri-Boro Dispatch (which has now been regionalized); the pistol range, fuel depot, and the senior van. “You can combine more key positions. We’ve talked to Montvale about trying to do that with the DPW and there may be talks down the road. It’s not like we’re sitting back and doing nothing,” Vinci said.
“My feeling is don't bother with grants – just give us aid. Why grants that are subjective? They should continue our aid and give us some recognition for the services we are already sharing,” Vinci said.
The cuts are not yet finalized, but the budget has to be approved. “We are hoping there will be some pressure applied to legislators by their constituents, Vinci said.
To that end, the NJLM has provided a sample resolution opposing the proposed budget for its failure to treat property tax relief as a priority. Municipalities are being encouraged to pass the resolution.
For more information about the state budget proposals, cuts in aid, and ways to oppose them, visit www.njlm.org.
Kathryn A. Burger's e-mail address is burger@northjersey.com.
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