Budgets on the Mind of Residents at Mayor's Brown Bag Lunch

With tax day just behind us and the upcoming April 20 school budget vote just ahead, it's no surprise that money issues were raised during Mayor Spitzer's Brown Bag lunch this Saturday.

Meeting at the The Hills Highlands Clubhouse, Mayor Scott Spitzer lunched with several Hills residents to hear their concerns and share recent township news. Mike Simorka and Bob Sariego, President and Vice President of the Hill Association respectively, were also at the meeting.

Municipal expenses, the school budget and property taxes were uppermost on residents' minds. Vance Hadnett, describing himself as "a concerned tax payer," was "of the firm conviction that this town, and every other town in the country, need to reduce expenditures."

Hadnett had several suggestions for the mayor for reducing expenses including the closure or redeployment of the police substation in The Hills, sending a letter to all municipal employees to turn off idling cars, and being more "green." He was confident that there were probably another 40 to 50 places to cuts.

The mayor promised to look into the police substation issue, which may not be a cost due to donations, but also took the time to explain the many green initiatives already underway in Bernards Township; water-saving faucets in township buildings, energy saving LEDs for traffic lights, hybrid car usage by township employees and the solar panel installation planned for the Sewerage Authority.

Understandably, Spitzer is sensitive to resident concerns regarding fiscal responsibility. Residents will vote on the proposed school budget this coming Tuesday, April 20. If the budget does not pass, it will come to the desks of the Mayor and the Township Committee.

Not wishing to comment prematurely, the Mayor stated, "I want to wait until it comes before us, then we can ask questions." The township committee does not have line item veto power. If the budget comes to them they will determine "the number" and the Board of Education would then re-craft the budget to meet that number.

In response to concerns over other municipal expenses, the mayor defended the township's fiduciary track record, explaining that the "town" portion of the budget has been flat for 3 years, "the best in New Jersey bar none," Spitzer said.

He admitted, however, that this year's planning will be daunting. Both state pension plan and health costs have risen in double digits. Meanwhile, state aid was decreased by approximately $500,000. "It's going to be challenging. There's no magic tonic," Spitzer said.