Council minority called for array of budget cuts
Repubs, one Dem oppose filling vacant municipal positions
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

"I just felt that the taxpayers deserved a break if they could get it from these cuts … ." - Bob Volkert Councilman

OLD BRIDGE - Not every member of the governing body was satisfied with the new municipal budget approved Monday.

"I think we should do more with less," Republican Councilman Rich Greene said. "That's the bottom line."

Greene, along with Republican Councilwoman Lucille Panos and Democratic Councilman Bob Volkert, shared ideas on how to decrease the budget, mainly by leaving various municipal positions vacant or doing away with them completely.

At a Dec. 10 Township Council meeting, Greene and Panos shared their recommendations, which they said were arrived at with help from Republican Councilman-elect Brian Cahill. Their goal was to limit the tax rate increase to 1 cent instead of 2 cents, they said.

A 1-cent increase is equal to $333,976 in the budget, according to Shah.

"Seven jobs have been vacant since July," Greene said. "Why don't we maintain that for the rest of the [fiscal] year, and save the taxpayers some money? We've gotten along fine without them since July."

"You have $100,000 sitting in a corporation, which is the EDC, which hasn't had action all year long." - Lucille Panos Councilwoman

Greene and Panos said that if the seven positions were left vacant for the rest of the budget year, it would save $135,788 over the six-month period, as the vacancies had done over the previous six months, since Mayor Jim Phillips instated a hiring freeze in March. An additional $92,000 could be saved over half a year by eliminating the director of community development position, as well as the assistant business administrator position, they said.

"Those [two] jobs, I know were created when Jimmy became mayor," Panos later told the Suburban. "Those were politically created jobs."

Phillips refuted Panos' claim regarding the assistant business administrator position, saying it came about when two positions - director for the Community Development Block Grant program and a project manager in the engineering department - were done away with.

"We consolidated those positions into one job, and we called it the assistant business administrator," Phillips said.

At the Dec. 10 meeting, Township Attorney Jerry Convery pointed out that the mayor is the only one who can do away with municipal positions. But Phillips said that if salaries for the vacant positions were excluded from the budget, he could not fill them.

"We still may not fill them," Phillips said. "If there's a way we can take these full-time positions and turn them into part-time equivalents, we'll do it."

Greene and Panos also recommended that the town's Economic Development Corp. (EDC) have its fund reduced from $96,000 to $21,000, bringing a savings of $75,000 to taxpayers. Panos said the EDC cancelled eight of its meetings this year, and the only things their funding has gone toward have been fees for insurance and attorneys.

"You have $100,000 sitting in a corporation, which is the EDC, which hasn't had action all year long," Panos said.

Council President Pat Gillespie, a Democrat who serves as chair of the EDC, objected to Panos' statements, saying the group has met throughout the year. He went on to say that if Greene and Panos' recommendation for the EDC was followed, it would bankrupt the group.

"If there are other boards … that would like to put their entire budget on the table, please tell me," Gillespie said.

According to Gillespie, Panos took a stance against the EDC since it became involved in the Crossroads redevelopment plan.

"It's a political payback," Gillespie said. Greene backed Panos in her claims.

"We're paying attorneys' fees for an entity that doesn't even meet," Greene said.

Phillips said that because the EDC has a $50,000 loan to be repaid, there must be at least that much left in its fund. Panos said later that the remaining $47,000 should be given back to the taxpayers to provide some relief.

Although the $97,000 in the EDC fund remained untouched, its board agreed to relinquish the $45,000 in funding that it was slated to receive through the budget.

Other proposals by Greene and Panos were to reduce allocations for the business administrator by $20,000; for human resources by $25,000; and group insurance by $100,000.

If the suggestions made by Greene and Panos had been approved, it would have represented a savings of $447,788.

The otherwise-Democratic council voted down the Republicans' recommendations Dec. 10, though Democrats Kevin Calogera and Volkert abstained from the vote, both saying they would like the suggestions to be looked into further.

At a special meeting Monday, Volkert had some suggestions of his own.

"There were seven vacant positions," Volkert later told the Suburban. "Some of them I felt that we need to fill by the beginning of January, and some I thought we could leave vacant until the end of June."

Volkert recommended that a road department vacancy, a clerk position in the court violations bureau, and a dispatcher position with the police department be filled. He said that if the other four positions were left vacant until the end of June, it would represent a savings of $71,000 over a six-month period.

In concurrence with Greene and Panos' recommendations, Volkert said he wanted the director of community development position eliminated. If that title were given back to the engineer, Volkert said, it would save $52,000 plus benefits over six months.

Volkert also suggested that the deputy clerk position be eliminated for a savings of $30,000 plus benefits.

"In that department, there are six employees," Volkert said. "I felt it was topheavy in management."

If all three of Volkert's recommendations had been accepted, it would have represented a savings of $153,000. Combined with the state aid of $150,000, they would have saved taxpayers close to a penny on the tax rate increase, Volkert said.

Volkert's recommendations were also voted down by the majority of the council.

Though Greene's and Panos' recommendations differed from those of Volkert, all three of them voted against the budget.

Phillips said the police dispatcher position must be filled, because of an increase in 911 calls, and the position in the roads department should also be filled in a timely fashion. The vacant clerk position in the court's violations bureau needs a replacement because a Supreme Court case in progress is challenging the validity of police-administered breath tests on drivers suspected of being intoxicated. The case has put drunken driving hearings on hold, Phillips said.

"There's a tremendous backload of DWI cases that have to be heard," Phillips said.

Officials against eliminating positions or leaving them vacant cited the possibility of having to pay for more overtime hours on the part of other employees if the recommendations were followed.

Despite a lack of support from his fellow council members, Volkert held to his position.

"I just felt that the taxpayers deserved a break if they could get it from these cuts, because the positions that I proposed to eliminate would not have affected the services to the residents of Old Bridge. But apparently, my co-council people saw it differently," Volkert said.