Finance Committee Face Budget Questions At Public Hearing

The public volleyed questions at Springfield's finance committee during the public hearing over the township's 2010 budget on July 13.

Many of the questions concerned health care costs and staff salaries. But the biggest point of contention was the proposal to charge Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority as a separate utility rather than as part of property taxes.

A number of residents termed the separate charge, which entails a $250 minimum payment for all households, businesses and nonprofit organizations, a "double tax."

Committee members argued that the move was necessary; Committee member Jerry Fernandez argued that the choice was either to take the RVSA fee out of the budget or to raise taxes by 10 percent. Nonetheless, he said the objection to the proposal was reasonable. 

"I understand that the sewer utility is an added cost," Fernandez said. "It is."

The Committee later approved the proposed creation of a sewer utility in a unanimous vote.

The Committee provided members of the public with a "snapshot" budget summary (available online here). The document lays out the town's expenses in illustrative detail. But, judging from some questions at the hearing, some line items required some nuance in their explanations.

A resident noted there was a seeming spike in salary this year for the Township Clerk. Committee man Marc Krauss explained the increase was due to the overlap between the Kathleen Wisniewski retirement as clerk and Linda Donnelly taking her place. Because of the terms of her contract, Wisniewski has accumulated sick and vacation days that the township is responsible for paying.

Another resident asked about the $68,000 line item for finance and audit. Krauss said that by spending that money, the town ultimately saved $250,000 through bond refinancing.

Answers weren't so tidy for questions about healthcare costs, however. Fernandez noted that the Township was spending, on average, between $25,000 and $30,000 per employee. The contracts, he said, expire next year, and he said they hoped to cut down on costs.

The Committee voted later in the meeting to consider joining the state's health insurance system, a move that Fernandez said would save the township over $1 million.

Editor's note: the original version of this article said the township saved $200,000 in audit and finance. It has been corrected in the text. We regret the error.