No Compromise Reached Ahead Of Parsippany Budget Vote

PARSIPPANY, NJ — With the introduction of this year's $88.4 million municipal budget, Parsippany Township residents are currently facing yet another tax increase.

On Tuesday, May 16, the Parsippany Township Council will vote on this year's municipal budget.

Following two budget hearings in which various township department heads presented their operation plans for the upcoming year, explaining the figures in their section of the budget, Councilman Justin Musella argued that there was room for budget cuts.

Anticipating difficulty getting a majority on board with the proposed cuts, Mayor James R. Barberio and Musella sat down on Monday to allegedly work on a compromise.

Musella stated after the nearly three-hour-long meeting on Tuesday, May 9, that he disagreed with the notion that the budget had no room for cuts and listed specific items that he believed could be cut to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Despite his disagreement with that statement, Barberio and Musella agreed to set aside time to go over the budget and identify potential cuts that could be made within the township after a brief discussion.

According to Musella, that anticipated meeting yielded no compromise.

One of the revenue sources Musella was adamant about reducing was the elimination of nearly 24 vacant and non-essential positions, a stance that he believed his fellow council members would have backed him up on.

At the May 9 meeting, Musella made a point of comparing his colleagues' reactions to his proposal to cut vacant positions this year versus their reactions in 2019.

Council members Mike dePierro, Paul Carifi, Jr. and Loretta Gragnani all stated in 2019that the then-mayor's second consecutive tax increase budget demonstrated fiscal irresponsibility.

Carifi, Jr. argued at the time that the township had 13 unfilled positions and proposed to the council that those positions not be filled, saving taxpayers $862,000 in salaries, benefits and pension payments.

"I made my budget proposal at the meeting and there seems to be no appetite on the part of my council colleagues to entertain any cuts for any reason," Musella said.

Following their meeting on Monday, Barberio reaffirmed his belief that the budget was not capable of any cuts.

"The budget the Township Council will be voting on tonight is a fiscally prudent, structurally balanced budget that corrects the course of the past and puts Parsippany back on sound financial footing," Barberio said. "After consulting with our BA, CFO, Auditors and pertinent department heads, it was clear that the proposed cuts were not realistic and would have a harmful impact on our town."

Musella expressed his disappointment, stating that he expected a good-faith negotiation but that it never occurred.

“I believe that he disingenuously voiced the desire to compromise at last week's public budget hearing to save his face, but reneged on that willingness behind closed doors only to use that meeting to school me on why he can't reduce spending,” Musella said.

According to Barberio, Gragnani and himself met with Musella on two occasions and did their "best to help him understand how budgeting works."

"Like all of our residents, the township feels the effect of the national economy and current extraordinary inflation, but this budget does not kick the can down the road like some have done in the past and like some would want us to do," Barberio said. "This budget does not play politics with people’s lives."