It's a new year, but same old budget woes for towns, including Jersey City

by The Jersey Journal
Thursday January 01, 2009

With state aid drying up and his city facing a $30 million budget gap, Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith says in today's Star-Ledger that cuts in the city's fire and police departments is a certainty for the new year.

In the same article, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy says that slashing public safety services would be a last resort to cope with budget shortfalls in his municipality.

But to avoid these tough choices he's counting on the Legislature to go along with Gov. Jon Corzine's proposal to postpone pension payments due in April. This idea lost steam in December when it didn't have enough votes to pass in the State Senate.

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N.J. towns may cut services to meet shrinking budgets

by Katie Wang/The Star-Ledger
Thursday January 01, 2009

The grass may be greener on the other side, but it probably won't get cut much at local parks this year.

And good luck getting a human voice on the phone to answer questions at City Hall. Chances are there may be fewer employees around this year to help residents with their needs.

As mayors across the state assess their finances against the backdrop of a deep recession, many are considering cutting services that directly touch the daily lives of residents. This could mean fewer trash pickups, less park maintenance and slower snow removal from streets.

"I think mayors and governing body officials are bracing themselves for what can be the most difficult time in recent memory," said Bill Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities. "What we have here is a perfect storm."

That storm, said Dressel, is brought on by the heavy reliance on property taxes to pay for services that are required by the state. But if tax revenues and state aid dip, as they are predicted to, then mayors will be left scrambling to provide basic government functions -- without raising taxes.

Dressel said it is critical for the Legislature to approve a proposal by Gov. Jon Corzine to temporarily cut pension payments that municipalities are obligated to make in April. Under the proposal, pension payments will be restored to 100 percent over three years.

The measure stalled in the state Senate in December after it became apparent it did not have enough votes to pass. Opponents fear deferring future payments will exacerbate a $28 billion shortfall in the pension fund.

Even if the Legislature approves the pension holiday, Dressel said cities and towns will still have to make difficult choices.

"The shortfall (in tax revenue) is so dramatic that they not only have to take this, but they probably have to seriously consider layoffs and modest property tax increases," Dressel said.

Most municipal officials said they are not yet sure what types of changes, if any, will be made in their services to residents. Others said they are already mulling over the possibilities -- just in case.

In South Brunswick, for example, Matt Watkins, the township manager, said there may no longer be a receptionist in City Hall to greet the public and answer their questions this year. Other possible cuts loom in the parks, on the streets and in the worse case scenario, programs for students or seniors.

"Things that people are used to having quick responses to ... parks taken care of in a better fashion, snow removed quickly ... all of that will be necessarily diminished because you won't have the manpower to have that many people on," Watkins said, describing what can happen if the township is forced to make layoffs.

"But the fact is, with this kind of dramatic change, we're having to look at significant things that will have to be done differently," Watkins said. "That hurts the senior citizens, the children, everybody's daily life in town."

Robert Bowser, the mayor of East Orange, said the time is ripe for municipalities to seriously considering sharing services in order to save money. In December, five Morris County towns announced they are merging their municipal courts.

Corzine's administration has pushed for towns to merge services by threatening to cut state aid to small towns if they do not start sharing manpower.

"Everybody thinks they're alone, but they're not," said Bowser. "They're in this thing together."

Bowser said several years ago, East Orange looked into reducing trash pickup from three days to two, a move that would be unpopular with residents. This year, that plan will get a second look.

"We will probably look at that again," Bowser said. "We have to take a look at all that stuff."

In Bayonne, the situation is much more dire. After years of plugging budget deficits with one-shot revenue sources, the city is now facing a $30 million hole in its $123 million budget.

The city is considering reducing the size of its police and fire departments for an estimated $3 million savings, according to newly elected Mayor Mark Smith.

The city is also considering closing a recreation center, satellite library branches and requiring all city employees to live in Bayonne. That move is expected to reduce the size of the municipal work force.

"There will be service cuts and layoffs this year and in years to come if we are to close the gap between what we take in and what we pay out," Smith told the city council at a Dec. 17 meeting.

In Newark, Mayor Cory Booker has asked all departments to trim their budgets by 10 to 15 percent. The cuts may affect the city's libraries, which are slated to shorten their hours at two branches. A third branch may close altogether.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said cutting services, especially police and fire, is a last-resort option for him. Like others, Healy said he is counting on Corzine's pension proposal to go through.

"The last thing we want to do is slack off on city services," Healy said. "We need police, fire, garbage pickup, road service. We're going to do everything we can do to ensure we can maintain services at the level the public expects and are entitled to."

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