Township Waiting on Aid to Finish Budget

Gov. Chris Christie's calls to cut municipal aid by up to $445 million leaves township officials wondering what the final 2010 operating budget will look like, as the size of Wyckoff's award will affect funding decisions.

The governing body's Finance Committee and township administration have been working on the municipal spending plan since the start of the year with an eye toward introducing it this month and adopting it in April. However, two lingering issues —state aid and the possible return of more than —complicate matters, leaving the spending plan, and it's tax levy, unsettled.

"It's still in flux on what any tax levy increase may look like," Committeeman Chris DePhillips said Tuesday at a Township Committee work session. After hearing of Christie's plan to slash aid to towns and schools, "we're left with 'what does this $445 million cut mean'... and we don't know the answer to that," he said.

DePhillips and Committeeman David Connolly, Finance Committee chairman, went over the budget as it currently stands with their colleagues on the governing body on Tuesday. The officials have been working with township Administrator Robert Shannon and CFO Diana McLeod to build the spending plan in a tough budget environment, with expected state aid cuts, contracted salary increases, and unavoidable expenses, such as utility and insurance costs.

"We don't have any fat. We're down to muscle," Connolly said.

The draft unveiled Tuesday projects a $16.9 million budget with a $11.1 million tax levy that would represent an expenditure increase of just 1.85 percent over the $16.6 million 2009 budget, DePhillips said. 

"It's hard to imagine a more efficient budget," he said.

The 2009 budget, which increased expenditures by 1.08 percent over the 2008 spending plan, incorporated a state aid loss in excess of $72,000. The award cut could be more severe this year; Finance Committee members are bracing for the possibility of a reduction from the state in excess of $180,000. 

Depending on how deep the cut is, DePhillips said today that the governing body would have to either look at across-the-board funding cuts or make specific policy decisions to make up for the loss while dealing with a 4 percent expenditure cap.

However, the governing body could be helped by the return of approximately $307,000 in library surplus that the library Board of Trustees had authorized to be sent back to the township. Should it come back in time, the money would be directly applied toward the tax levy, lessening any potential homeowner increase. However, the state librarian still must receive and sign off on documentation related to strategic plans for the money to come back to Wyckoff, and the state could take up to 45 days to complete its work once it receives all documentation. 

DePhillips said the Finance Committee went forward under the assumption that the library money would not be returned in time to affect the adoption of the budget.

Line-item review

The administration and Finance Committee have went department by department, vetting funding requests while trying to see where the township could save any money in the current budget cycle.

DePhillips said today that most departments will likely see flat funding in 2010, although some expenses could be reduced; for example, $2.5 million has been proposed for capital expenses, but Finance is recommending $700,000 be spent.

McLeod told the governing body Tuesday that it's "important to realize that the budget isn't made up of only expenses. We have to address the revenue side... and we're very limited on how we can collect and gain new revenues."

Governing body members discussed the loss of revenues from building permits and proposed looking at why the Municipal Court seems to take in less revenue than neighboring courts. 

Other discussions centered on being more efficient with the use of lighting at municipal fields, while Connolly spoke of the difficulty in trying to get even more out of a very lean municipal staff.

"Staffing is stretched to the limit," DePhillips said.

Committeeman Brian Scanlan proposed looking at installing solar panels at several municipal facilities to reduce utility costs, although McLeod said the savings in the short-term likely wouldn't justify the upfront costs of installation.

While the governor's plans to cut aid is ostensibly aimed at helping to reign in runaway municipal costs, most felt that Wyckoff has been running efficiently, making tough decisions line-by-line each year to keep the budget growth down while exploring shared service opportunities with neighboring municipalities.

"There seems to be no recognition that some communities have made these decisions previously," Shannon said. "I don't think Wyckoff gets any credit for that."

The township is currently operating under a temporary budget that provides for almost $4 million in appropriations drafted to keep the township operating into the spring.