General Category => Hackensack Discussion => Topic started by: ericmartindale on August 10, 2006, 08:04:22 PM
Title: Shared Services
Post by: ericmartindale on August 10, 2006, 08:04:22 PM
Those who have followed the news surely have seen that Governor Corzine is undergoing a big push to merge school districts and municipalities all across the state of New Jersey. He thinks this is a way to help rein in the increase in property taxes.
Here's a prediction: It is INEVITABLE that some high-ranking official will suggest that all the sending districts to Hackensack should merge with the City of Hackensack so that there is one municipality and one school district.
That would mean Hackensack, Maywood, Rochelle Park, and South Hackensack would become one city. And throw in Teterboro, since it sends it’s few kids to the South Hackensack K-8 school. I guess we’d have a total population of about 60,000.
I’m going to give this whole merger issue some serious thought, although I’ll say two things for now.
(1) I’d be dead set against merging Hackensack with all of Bergen County, we’d have no voice and our rights would be trampled upon. Forget zoning and planning, and the rest of Bergen County will throw down a welcome mat for all social services to come to Hackensack.
(2) I like the idea of Hackensack picking up South Hackensack and Teterboro. We’d be gaining a lot of good housing stock and great commercial ratables. Plus we'd theoretically would have extra say over the airport issue. We'd get a good-size school on a good size school campus that currently only serves a town of 3000 people, if that. Plus a police station that could remain a precinct station. Plus a borough hall building that could be put to "community" use. I think we could absorb South Hackensack and Teterboro without any impact on our own municipal structure. I doubt their property taxes would go down, but ours certainly would.
As for other towns merging with Hackensack, I'm still thinking about it. And who gets stuck merging with Bogota, and having to deal with their crazy mayor.
What do people think of Corzine’s idea of merging municipalities? Is this a good idea? If so, what towns should be merged? Serious responses only, this is not an open invitation for jabs from hamburgler and average-joe.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Anthony on August 10, 2006, 10:24:51 PM
Is Corzine really looking to merge municipalities?
He might set the wheels in motion to regionalize police, fire, and school districts. To think he might be able to merge municipalities is absurd. The residents of Maywood, Rochelle Park, and South Hackensack will never give up their autonomy and will only regionalize if they’re forced to.
Everyone is looking for property tax relief, but at what cost? Nobody will sacrifice their hometown feeling to save a couple of hundred dollars in their property taxes. And that’s all regionalization will save is a couple of hundred dollars per year.
Why would anyone think the residents of these small towns would accept regionalization with open arms? I’m not sure of the specifics off the top of my head, but it wasn’t too long ago that Rochelle Park was exploring alternatives to sending their kids HHS.
How would Maywood, Rochelle Park and South Hackensack feel if they had to PAY a fire department, centrally located in Hackensack, to fight fires in Hackensack and very few in their towns? I can’t see the police chiefs in any of these towns giving way to Chief Zisa, nor can I see Chief Zisa giving up any of his authority with a regionalized police force.
Gradual implementation of regionalized services may work. Start with the DPWs during snow storms or garbage collection. Forget about police, fire and schools.
PS Hypothetically speaking, if Bogota was absorbed into Hackensack, the only council member that defeats Lonegan is Melfi.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: hamburglar on August 11, 2006, 02:27:33 AM
Are you trying to censor me, Eric? What makes you think I'm not comfortable with you deciding what towns that we should colonize?
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: ericmartindale on August 11, 2006, 06:13:10 PM
I'm merely exploring a hypothetical situation that could result from Corzine's attempts to merge municipalities and school districts all across New Jersey.
I think ANTHONY hit the nail squarely on the head. It's reasonable to predict that towns all across New Jersey will react the way he expects Maywood, Rochelle Park, and South Hackensack would react.
In fact, if they suggested Hackensack and Teaneck to merge, I'd probably react the same way. Certainly Teaneck would gobble us up, since they send more than double the number of voters to the polls in LOCAL elections.
Nevertheless, Corzine does in fact want New Jersey to have far fewer than 566 municipalities. So let's see how far Corzine gets with this initiative.
I'm also hoping that our editor will start posting news articles about Corzine's drive in this string, whether they directly mention Hackensack or not.
Hamburgler, I really do want your input on the merits of the issue. When you are not on the attack, you occasionally have intelligent things to say. Feel free to post.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on August 12, 2006, 11:56:19 AM
I'm also hoping that our editor will start posting news articles about Corzine's drive in this string, whether they directly mention Hackensack or not.
If I don't post it, anyone can. Just paste the link to the article within post.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: ericmartindale on August 13, 2006, 09:40:23 AM
Here’s an excerpt from James Ahearn’s column in the Sunday August 13, 2006 issue of The Record. See page O-2:
“The second bicameral committee, with an agenda of government consolidation and shared services, heard a Republican member, Sen. Joseph Kyrillos of Monmouth, propose something really radical: creation of an independent panel like the ones the military uses to choose bases for closing. This panel would decide which towns and school districts would continue to exist and which would be merged with others. Then the legislature would be allowed an up-or-down vote, all or nothing, the whole list or none of it."
Ahearn then goes on to comment that he doubts the Legislature would approve such a concept.
Also, Ahearn describes that Senator Bob Smith, a Democrat from Middlesex County, proposes creating 21 county school districts, one per county.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on August 13, 2006, 10:41:15 AM
Related story: Not all Jersey towns have it rough (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2OTczOTg5)
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: average Joe on August 17, 2006, 12:18:04 AM
just minding my own business..figured id see whats new on "hack/now"..lo and behold! "eric the conqueror" plans to annex austria..er wait..thats teterboro..yet doesnt want me to "jab"him..dont know who this "hamburgler"is..think its "hamburglAr "s cousin? dont know eric ,think these unsuspecting folks we re gonna take over have a right to know that YOU are part of the package?
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: ericmartindale on August 17, 2006, 09:55:44 AM
It's amazing how I personally can be blamed for the regionalization plans of the Governor and other state officials. I guess some people don't follow the news, and the first they hear about it is in my post.
I wish I could take credit for the idea, but I cannot. I will continue to post information on the topic as it developes from Trenton.
By the way, there is an excellent book on the subject by David Rusk entitled: Cities Without Suburbs (http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=72-1930365144-0). Rusk is the former Mayor of Albequerque, New Mexico.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on August 20, 2006, 10:55:58 AM
Latest story: Close look at school consolidation (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNCZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Njk3Nzk2Mg==) To turn sending-receiving relationships into integrated K-12 systems would pose other challenges. Consider Hackensack, a racially and economically diverse city. Its high school now receives pupils from largely white, suburban Maywood and Rochelle Park as well as South Hackensack. Maywood and Rochelle Park would resist full-scale merger. If merger were nevertheless ordered, the combined district would come under immediate pressure to integrate all the pupils. There would be immense commotion.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: average Joe on August 20, 2006, 07:04:30 PM
mr editor,i am mildly,tho pleasently,surprised to see you express a perspective/opinion on an issue...wonder if the "brains" in trenton, if mandated "regionalisation" is in the offing, will calculate bus transportation into the mix? beware the "simple" solution to anything...
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: ericmartindale on August 20, 2006, 07:23:10 PM
Oh brother !!!
The editor of this website posted an excerpt from n editorial column in today's edition of the Record. Nothing more, nothing less. He did not render his own opinion on the matter. The opinion was that of The Record's long-time contributing columnist.
Text in the Record's column shows that prominent people have long been talking about the very type of K-12 school regionalization scenario that I guessed would be considered for Hackensack and it's three suburban sending districts. In fact, it was under consideration long before I started this string on this website. At least they were talking about the school regionalization part of it.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on August 20, 2006, 09:15:14 PM
Average Joe:
Not sure how I feel about merging school districts. I just quoted that part of the editorial that mentioned Hackensack.
Overall, I think I'm willing to sacrifice some "homerule" if it reduces my tax burden. Municipalities should always be thinking about how they can share services without reducing quality of the service shared.
I do agree with this portion of the League of Municipalities' stance:
Home rule is synonymous with self-determination: remove it or reduce it, and you infringe on the rights of voters. If the voters of two or more municipalities choose to consolidate, we support them. If, however, voters choose otherwise, that right must be respected. It would be a huge public policy mistake to attempt to slay the property tax dragon by disenfranchising voters.
Source: Don't make home rule the scapegoat for high property taxes (http://www.nj.com/opinion/ledger/perspective/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1154408067172560.xml&coll=1)
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: ericmartindale on August 21, 2006, 09:01:35 AM
So you are saying that the best public policy would be for the voters in both towns to approve any potential merger.
What a Bummer. I was just thinking about dusting off my viking helmet to help lead the invasion, "Operation Bogota Freedom". I guess there will be no pillaging or plundering of neighboring towns'. This whole democracy thing is really becoming a drag....lol.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: ericmartindale on August 24, 2006, 10:11:41 AM
The dictator of Bogota had a very interesting op-ed piece on regionalization in the Opinion Section of today’s Record. Click here for the op-ed piece (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNCZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Njk4MDU3NQ==).
What Lonegan didn’t mention is that he is harboring Weapons of Billboard Destruction (WBD’s). Based on his past actions, there’s enough evidence to make the case to the people of Hackensack that Lonegan is plotting ethnic cleansing against all Latino people in Bogota. Maybe even all non-Irish people. Perhaps the time is right to convince the people of Hackensack to support “Operation Bogota Freedom”. We can even seize his valuable oil tank reserves along the Hackensack River….lol
All humor aside, actually Lonegan made a couple of good points. Cities of several hundred thousand people can get out of control in terms of spending and accountability.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on August 29, 2006, 09:38:15 AM
In today's Record:
Despite Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan ("Consolidation of services is not the answer," Other Views, Aug. 24), sharing services among local governments is an effective means in turning the tide of rising property taxes.
Over the past few years, municipal budgets have continued to escalate despite the best efforts of our mayors and councils to cut costs and save money for local taxpayers. One of the reasons municipal budgets are so high is the cost of individual municipal services. And in Bergen County, with our 70 municipalities, 68 police departments and 80 school districts, we have to provide a lot of services.
However, it wasn't always this way. Just 120 years ago, there were only 14 townships in Bergen County, and these townships shared among them a handful of school districts. Then, in 1894, the Legislature passed a law that made each township a separate school district and required taxpayers to pay, pro rata, existing debts of the old districts and all future debts for new districts. This created a rush of 1894 "boroughitis" in Bergen County in which 23 "boroughs" were carved from the original townships.
I believe this period is when Bergen residents started to become very comfortable with the concept of "home rule." We like the idea that we know our police chiefs by their first names, that our fire department and ambulance corps volunteers are our neighbors, and that we can see our town's municipal logo on the side of our own Public Works trucks. The reality is that this level of service costs a great deal more than if we were able to share some of the operating costs of municipal services with other government entities.
I believe that the current economic climate requires us to work together for the common good. Lonegan has promoted a regional high school and shared police force, road maintenance and municipal court services for Bogota. He should return to his roots and join me in the fight to eliminate duplicative government services.
Dennis McNerney
Hackensack, Aug. 25
The writer is Bergen County executive.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: ericmartindale on August 29, 2006, 11:54:55 AM
I'm wondering if McNerny has read "Cities Without Suburbs" by David Rusk. The central theme of Rusk's work is to promote city/county consolidations. During a consolidation, the borders of the primary city expand outwards to encompass the entire County. Believe it or not, this is commonly done throughout the United States, it's just not done in the northeastern region.
After the consolidation, there are no more municipalities, and either the city of the county government can itself be eliminated. They become one in the same. Rusk goes to great lengths to explain that such consolidations are crucial to advance both economic prosperity and integration. Rusk discusses both economic and racial integration, and he documents quite conclusively that the CONCENTRATION and ISOLATION of poor minority groups into older urban neighborhoods is the root cause of high crime and various social ills, including failing schools. I believe Rusk is correct on that point, and for those who have doubts, read the book. Although such a position could be (and has been) attacked by liberals and minority leaders in places such as Richmond, Rusk is no conservative - he is a self-described liberal. His statistical comparisons between "similar" metropolitan areas (consolidated and unconsolidated) around the United States is quite shocking and eye-opening.
In huge areas of the country, city/county mergers are not some crazy new idea, they are the NORM. Rusk documents that these are the healthiest and least crime-ridden metropolitan areas. Rusk believes that city/county mergers essentially "open up" the rest of the County to integration, thus diluting the concentrations of poverty in the urban center at the core of the County.
Now lets get back to reality. Rusk has detailed EXACTLY what the rest of Bergen County doesn't want. They don't want economic or racial integration. Instead, the rest of Bergen County wants all the poverty and social services to be concentrated into Hackensack. In fact, our County Administrator, Tim Dacey, openly supports all poverty and social services even further concentrating into Hackensack. And he ridicules the idea that Hackensack opposes it. Dacey's vision is the norm in Bergen County, and that is why Rusk's grand ideas will never fly in Bergen County. If the State were to move in this direction, Bergen County towns would surely lead the opposition
And if for some unknown reason a city/county merger were to happen in Bergen County, I personally believe that the rest of the County would continue to "gang up" on Hackensack. It would be business as usual with one crucial difference: Hackensack would be without any level of local government to resist the onslaught of new social services and poverty programs. And without any local control over zoning and planning, the situation would rapidly deteriorate.
Unless there would be some level of local authority remaining in Hackensack, I would never support a full city/county consolidation between Hackensack and Bergen County. Nevertheless, I do support the idea of Hackensack absorbing South Hackensack and Teterboro, and I believe it would amount to a massive reduction in tax bills paid by Hackensack homeowners.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on September 29, 2006, 09:15:39 AM
In today's "Your Views" in The Record:
What happened to those vast geographic entities shown in the Walker Atlas of Bergen County, printed at the time of our nation's centennial? Its Bergen County was composed of a few extensive townships. Palisades and Englewood townships, for example, stretched from the Hudson River to the Hackensack.
When large areas such as Hackensack evolved into railroad hubs and central dock areas for shipping, they acquired greater needs. They paved roadways in response to appeals from affluent residents. Farmers in rural sections to the north would not consider paying for those portions that traversed their homesteads.
The issues of who would pay for common services would eventually expand. In the end, neighborhoods incorporated so that they might be masters of their own fate. Some established themselves upon old boundary lines, others by religious or ethnic affiliations. It is a wonder more didn't incorporate, such as the Coytesville section in Fort Lee or the Spring Valley section in the heart of Paramus.
The concept of sharing municipal services being debated today is not new. In actuality, it proposes a return to the Bergen County system of more than 100 years ago. Only the questions have changed. Do we want your paid fire department? Do we want your police contract? Do we want your school system? No community wanted to shoulder an unfair burden 100 years ago, and that feeling has never changed.
The advantage we have is that today's problems are visible and recognizable. Our forbears were scared by unknowns and perceived inequities; we have the luxury of knowing answers and choosing our alliances. All we have to lose are our egos.
Michael P. Gorman
Oradell, Sept. 19
The writer is a member of the Bergen County Historical Society and the Hermitage in Ho-Ho-Kus.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: ericmartindale on October 05, 2006, 09:35:28 AM
The Record printed another article today, page A-6, entitled "Voters may get say on mergers". Bill Dressel, Executive Director of the League of Municipalities, gave support to the initiative, although it was only a luke-warm support. He wants the people in each town to have a say, if a merger happens. They are discussing putting together a panel that will review possible mergers, and then put the plan to the State Legislature for a single up-or-down vote within 2 years.
The panel is also drafting legislation that will allow binding county referendums on whether or not counties should assume tax assessment and collection, animal control, and public health services from all the municipalitiies in the County. These are some of the types of services that proponents believe can be "regionalized", and would be run more efficiently at the County level, rather than have each town do it.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on March 19, 2007, 08:37:53 AM
Latest story: Hackensack to sweep Maywood streets (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDk2MzU5)
Good example of shared-services.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on May 13, 2007, 08:43:44 AM
Latest story: Saving your tax dollars (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MTM0Mzg1)
Hackensack and seven other towns -- Rochelle Park, Maywood, Elmwood Park, Saddle Brook, Garfield, Fair Lawn and Paramus -- formed the Central Bergen Consortium six months ago.
"All of us have home rule and local identities we're trying to protect," Lo Iacono said. "But the environment is changing. We're getting a number of indications from Trenton that there will be incentives [to share services]. That's giving all of us an impetus to explore the possibilities."
The towns hope to share public works equipment and make joint purchases.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on December 05, 2007, 09:03:29 AM
Latest story: Pascack Valley towns aim to cut costs (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjI5ODk1) Hackensack, Rochelle Park, Maywood, Elmwood Park, Saddle Brook, Garfield, Fair Lawn and Paramus formed the Central Bergen Consortium a year ago to look into buying police cars and health insurance as a group.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on September 10, 2010, 08:47:15 AM
Towns team up for recycling collection Friday, September 10, 2010 BY KARTHIK AGGARWAL Hackensack Chronicle STAFF WRITER
BOGOTA — An agreement between Bogota and Hackensack for recycling collection was announced last week at a press conference held jointly by Bogota Mayor Patrick McHale and Hackensack Mayor Karen Sasso at Borough Hall. Under the agreement, which began in July, Hackensack will pick up Bogota’s recycling for the next three years. Each Wednesday, Hackensack’s Department of Public Works collects either commingled recyclables or mixed paper from Bogota households.
"If more towns see that this is happening, more towns will get involved," County Executive Dennis McNerney said of the shared services agreement. "This is a positive. It may be a small step, but in the bigger scheme of things, just by seeing a Hackensack truck in Bogota it keeps the momentum going. We’re proud that these two — borough and city — stepped up."
"This is especially important now because of the Governor’s Best Practices initiative," McHale said, referring to Governor Christie’s recently released reform agenda on municipal government practices and spending.
According to a news release, under the shared services agreement, Hackensack’s DPW transports Bogota’s recyclables to Green Sky Industries, a recycling company in Clifton. Bogota receives all the revenue from the sale of the recyclables. Hackensack is paid for the service with revenue from the sale of recyclables, grant money or a reduction in the seasonal help budget of Bogota’s DPW. Hackensack is paid $1,250 per week for its services.
"For $65,000 per year, Hackensack is doing our recycling," McHale said. "It cost us well over $70,000, plus costs for personnel and wear and tear on trucks."
Sasso said that the arrangement is mutually beneficial.
"It benefits Hackensack because we’re able to bring some income in, and we’re also in a position then to more fully utilize something that we already have in place," she said, referring to Hackensack’s DPW. "We’re not adding an expense to ourselves. It’s a very symbiotic relationship."
"We’re in an economic time where it’s becoming more and more evident to every municipality that any opportunities that are there, you have to take advantage of them before you actually are struck with the need," she said of shared services.
Sasso added that Hackensack would be open to sharing other services beyond recycling with Bogota.
"There are many opportunities that haven’t been explored yet that we’re always willing to take a look at," she said.
At present, Bogota has shared services agreements with Ridgefield Park for salt storage and gasoline supply, McHale said. The borough is also exploring a joint truck washing facility with Ridgefield Park and will use a recently awarded $30,000 county grant to study merging police departments with Teaneck.
"We have been sharing services. You’re seeing it everywhere," McHale said. "With 70 towns in the county, it’s time that we start sharing."
E-mail: aggarwal@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: just watching on September 11, 2010, 07:31:36 AM
I don't think it made the papers, but a month ago Hackensack took over some of the DPW duties for Maywood as well. Not sure if it is garbage collection or recycling.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on December 21, 2012, 10:48:02 AM
City joins municipalities in shared service study (http://www.northjersey.com/news/184377401_City_joins_municipalities_in_shared_service_study.html?page=all) Friday, December 21, 2012 BY JENNIFER VAZQUEZ NEWS EDITOR Hackensack Chronicle
HACKENSACK — With the hope of minimizing cost, while gaining a more effective and efficient infrastructure in services, Hackensack will join Bergenfield, Bogota, New Milford, Englewood and Teaneck —in a community collaborative under the name "Northern New Jersey Foundation" —in applying for a Bergen County grant for the purpose of studying a shared endeavor.
Through this collaborative effort, the foundation has applied for a Shared Services Feasibility Study Program Grant, totaling $19,200, to be awarded and administered by the foundation on behalf of all the municipalities that make it up.
"We applied for a grant from the county to conduct this study," Hackensack Mayor Michael Malfi said.
According to Hackensack City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono the resolution that was passed during the council meeting is actually an endorsing resolution.
"The resolution is an endorsing resolution," Lo Iacono said. "This group is making an application to the county for a grant, which will fund a study of all our construction offices and try to establish a benchmark for what the construction office is costing each of these communities."
The resolution states that the grant request is to offer the entities, involved in the collaborative, service delivery alternatives that could improve the effectiveness, efficiency and cost of the construction offices in each town.
"The firm that is conducting this has some different ways to measure the costs and we believe it will provide useful data for the future of all municipalities involved," Malfi said "It may also help start discussions about shared services between the towns as well."
Lo Iacono explained the study that will take place.
"[The study will be able] to benchmark costs in terms of per capita, population, amount of construction, those kinds of units of measurement, so that we'll be able to compare, on some kind of a consistent basis, what our construction offices are costing us compared to those in, lets say, Teaneck or Englewood," Lo Iacono said. "This, of course, is an eye towards the future possibility of shared services, or consolidation in that area among different communities."
Englewood Mayor Frank Huttle is delighted with the foundation and the goals that could be attained through the study and is "exploring all opportunities" with Hackensack, neighboring Teaneck, as well as other communities.
"I'm pleased we have a private entity in [Northern New Jersey Foundation] that has been working with various communities, as well as Bergen County, in this study," he said. "We need a catalyst to more effectively run governments."
According to Hackensack's resolution, the entities involved in the collaborative have joined forces to "minimize the effects of New Jersey's fragmented municipal structure, reduce redundancies in services and infrastructure, and catalyze collective efforts to produce significant, widely shared, and lasting results to the effectiveness, efficiency, and cost of delivering local government services to the public."
"We need to take a hard look and take down the walls that are prohibiting us from joining together in services," Huttle said.
According to Huttle, results of the study should be made available within the upcoming months.
Email: vazquez@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6708
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on December 21, 2012, 10:49:38 AM
This topic is merges the "Other towns merging with Hackensack " and other related topics.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: just watching on December 21, 2012, 07:20:46 PM
I can tell everyone, as a home improvement contractor, that the bigger cities are more difficult to deal with in terms of the building departments. They take longer for everything, they don't care, and it's just a big bureaucracy. Is that what we want to make in Central Bergen County??? Imagine having to wait a week for the inspector to come look at footings, to measure the 36" deep before you pour concrete. Just did a project with footings in Maplewood, and the inspector came out in A FEW HOURS. That way the project can flow along. I actually dug the footings and poured the concrete in the same day.
By contrast, Jersey City has the worst building department in New Jersey. I dread having to do any work there. I don't want to work in Jersey City just because I hate the Building Department there. It takes 3 weeks to get a building permit, and you have to schedule an appointment just to talk to someone other than a secretary.
I thought the city wanted to make things MORE INVITING for developers and contractors to invest here.
I think the idea has some merit, in terms of small towns like Bogota. There's not enough going on to justify the salaries of the staff, and a nearby town like Teaneck or Hackensack could theoretically handle their load. Or maybe to combine Bergenfield and New Milford's building departments. But to combine Teaneck, Hackensack, and Englewood, and add the other towns, that would be a nightmare. In a word, it'll be Jersey City.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on January 29, 2013, 10:59:19 PM
Record Talk Radio to focus on shared services (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/recordtalkradio/2013/01/31/record-talk-radio-with-allen-rapaport-and-michael-shannon) Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 2:08 pm by John Ensslin
Join us on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. when our topic on Record Talk Radio will be the state of shared services in Bergen County.
Our guests will be Allen Rapaport, a Norwood councilman and Michael Shannon, founder and president of the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation.
Rapaport, currently serving his third term on the council, was appointed by Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan last year to lead a volunteer effort at exploring ways the county’s 70 municipalities can share services.
Shannon is involved in collaborative effort with six Bergen County towns to find ways to save tax dollars by sharing services. The towns involved are Bergenfield, Bogota, Englewood, Hackensack, New Milford and Teaneck.
Shared service is a hot topic in Bergen County where municipalities are struggling to stay within their two-percent revenue revenue cap and still provide services that residents expect.
However, much of the news on this topic of late has focused on the debate over the saving in consolidating law enforcement. In this program, we’ll look at some other area where towns have found ways to collaborate.
If you have questions you’d like me to ask during the program, send your suggestions along to me at ensslin@northjersey.com.
Click here to listen to the program live or hear it later as a podcast (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/recordtalkradio/2013/01/31/record-talk-radio-with-allen-rapaport-and-michael-shannon).
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on January 31, 2013, 11:21:08 PM
Shared service movement slowed by “fiefdoms” (http://blog.northjersey.com/bergenbeat/7074/shared-service-movement-slowed-by-fiefdoms/) Posted on Thursday, January 31, 2013 6:26 pm by John Ensslin
I had a fascinating conversation today with two Bergen County men who have spent a fair amount of time thinking and talking about ways the county’s 70 towns can save taxpayer dollars by sharing services.
My guests on Record Talk Radio this morning were Allen Rapaport, a Norwood councilman who heads a volunteer county wide push for shared services and Michael Shannon, who been leading a similar effort within six of those towns.
When I asked Rapaport for his view of the state of shared services in the county, he outlined some success stories and applauded the work being done by the six towns working with Shannon.
But he also offered a candid assessment, which you can read in this edited excerpt.
“If I tell you that we’re close to really making terrific headway, I would be lying,” he said.
“…There is this feeling of fiefdoms, is the best way I can say it, that nobody wants to give up control, nobody wants to give up home rule, nobody wants to give up anything without some sort of say so.
“I know that there have been individual discussions with the county executive and staff with almost every municipality. She has sent out a letter about a year ago and got tremendous response from people coming in to speak with her and the staff about things on the mind of elected officials and possible opportunities.
“I must say that Michael’s group has been the only group – these six towns (Bergenfield, Bogota, Hackensack, Englewood, New Milford and Teaneck) – that are truly moving forward and with open minds.”
“I’ve visited a lot of towns and it’s ‘well when the county does this first, we’ll do X.’ And you know, that’s not really managing.
“…Think about your taxpayers, that’s what got you elected. You got elected not for business as usual, but how do we move forward into 2013, 2020, 2025?
“How do we continue to make Bergen County an area where young people can continue to move in and older residents can survive?
“And that’s my issue with a lot of elected officials, that we really need to look, not at business as usual, but what can we do going forward.”
________________________________ This book was referenced in the podcast: New Jersey's Mulitple Municipal Madness (http://www.amazon.com/New-Jerseys-Multiple-Municipal-Madness/dp/0813525667)
See also: The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (http://www.nnjcf.org/)
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Whitey on February 01, 2013, 10:59:23 AM
See below - A typical example of resistance to shared services
Consolidation talk worries Teaneck police dispatchers Friday, February 1, 2013
BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE STAFF WRITER The Record
Police dispatchers fear that they may lose their jobs if the township switches its dispatch service to the county from the current in-house operation.
But township officials say the discussions with Bergen County are still preliminary, and county representatives visited the Teaneck police headquarters on Wednesday only to examine the radio and telecommunications equipment and observe how the department is run.
The township initially planned to consolidate dispatch for the police and fire departments and ambulance services at the police headquarters — a move that would have increased the number of dispatchers to 14 from seven and allowed one firefighter to return to departmental duties.
However, when county officials said last month that they were considering providing services at the $12.4 million Public Safety Operation Center in Mahwah free to the municipalities, Teaneck expressed interest, Township Manager William Broughton said Thursday.
Since the center opened in 2010, only 20 of Bergen County's 70 municipalities have signed contracts to route their 911 calls through the center, including 11 that also receive dispatches for police officers, firefighters and ambulances.
"Economics is one part of the equation," Broughton said. "But it's also driven by the quality of service that they can provide."
Broughton said the county communications center provides services that are much more comprehensive than the township's Teaneck's. The county also has built-in backups that make its communications and radio systems more reliable, he said.
"It includes a high level of redundancy, and it may be a viable option for the township," Broughton said.
"If it's not free, we have to look at the cost. But because the county has said it may be free or some portion may be free, it's incumbent upon us as good stewards of the public's money to look at this. We have to examine it."
Courtney Challener, one of the seven police dispatchers, said her colleagues were first informed about a month ago that the township was considering switching, but they became more concerned when the county representatives showed up this week.
Although the dispatchers were told that if Teaneck switched, they could apply for jobs at the county center, there was no guarantee they would get those jobs, she said.
The county's starting salary is also lower, she said. Township dispatchers start at $43,653, under the union's contract, Broughton said.
But the dispatchers, some of whom grew up in Teaneck, were most concerned about how any possible switch could affect the public, she said.
The dispatchers know the officers and the township, which has a population of close to 40,000, and use that knowledge on a daily basis to quickly and efficiently respond to calls for assistance from both the public and from officers, she said.
"It's really not personal, I just don't think [the county] can handle it," she said. "We know they can take on the smaller towns, but Teaneck is a really huge town."
Police Chief Robert A. Wilson, who has toured the county facility, said he will not recommend any switch unless it's an improvement. The current equipment is aging, and some needs to be replaced, he said.
The county system "is certainly designed for doing large-scale multijurisdictional dispatch," he said.
"My real concern is to have this improved," Wilson said Wednesday. "We are not seeking the change for the sake of changing. It needs to be better. It needs to be as professional as possible. That's the goal."
Email: superville@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: irons35 on February 01, 2013, 01:45:57 PM
actually a county dispatch is not in the best interest of the citizens of individual towns. you will have delays in dispatching units where they are needed. it wont so much happen in single family homes IF they use their home phone where the ANI/ALI screen picks up the location of the caller(I use my cell in the house most of the time-as do many people). it will definitely happen with cell phone callers because a call taker in Mahwah has no idea where you are when you freaking out standing in front of Fred's market and there is a guy bleeding to death on the sidewalk. the local calltaker WILL because it is usually a police officer taking the call or a civilian in a room supervised by a police officer working other duties and they know exactly where Fred's market is and will immediately dispatch the call where it supposed to go. Cell callers are not easily pinpointably locatable in a fast amount of time. all you get is the location of the tower the person's call got picked up on. to triangulate the location between three towers to find a specific location takes a good amount of time, and when someone's dying in the street or getting chased out a window because fire is licking at their ass, they dont have time for that.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: just watching on February 01, 2013, 02:43:22 PM
Excellent point about 911 dispatch. A similar argument is used when discussing civilian dispatcher (who could actually live 10 miles away) vs. a real local cop.
How about regionalizing health departments, social services, DPW, and most certainly centralized purchasing ??? And speaking of DPW, how about outsourcing the whole thing. Taxpayers can't afford the benefits and pensions for these guys. Time to cut that one.
And I would love to see a single regionalized school system for the entire County. That will take away somewhat (but not entirely) from the argument that the northern suburban towns have a better school system. Of course they would resist that with ferocity.
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on March 04, 2013, 01:20:39 AM
Budgets have more North Jersey towns considering sharing servies (http://www.northjersey.com/allendale/Budgets_have_more_North_Jersey_towns_considering_sharing_servies.html?page=all) Sunday March 3, 2013, 11:37 PM BY ALLISON PRIES STAFF WRITER The Record
Faced with stringent budget cuts and rising health care and pension costs, a growing number of towns, including Mahwah and Allendale, are on the verge of turning longtime public services over to the private sector.
(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*199/MC_0304A_outsourceJH_50.jpg) ELIZABETH LARA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Will Remigio picking up garbage in a residential area of Englewood Cliffs. The borough has outsourced trash pickup for several years, allowing the DPW's seven workers to focus on other tasks.
Many North Jersey towns have already made the move, with janitorial services, garbage and recycling pickup and snow plowing among the more popular services farmed out to contractors. Discussion of privatization is normally controversial, with critics claiming it puts people out of work and takes the service out of a town’s control.
A Mahwah proposal to outsource recycling was met with resistance last summer, but the Township Council — grappling with a possible 4.9 percent tax increase — will discuss the issue this week. And Allendale, which has used a private garbage hauler for nearly a decade, now plans to privatize the operation of its water utility.
“Years ago it was easy, you raised taxes,” Mahwah Mayor Bill Laforet said. “Today that’s no longer a luxury. People on the council … now are being asked to make choices that affect people’s lives. Not because they want to, because they have to.”
School districts, too, are looking for ways to save. Last summer, the Englewood Board of Education outsourced the jobs of more than 100 secretaries and professional assistants after months of heated protests.
The savings from privatization, officials say, come from eliminating salaries and health care and pension expenses. In some cases, towns can also sell off equipment — or avoid making future capital investments.
But the effort is not always successful, as some towns find private companies submit low bids in the first few years, and then the costs escalate. For instance, downsizing the public works departments that pick up garbage could mean having to contract out for snow removal because there are fewer people to share the seasonal workload.
In March 2010, Governor Christie formed the New Jersey Privatization Task Force to research how the state could save money. The group identified $210 million in potential savings if the state were to contract out golf course management and maintenance, inmate medical services and housing and uniform construction code enforcement and other services.
The New Jersey State League of Municipalities followed suit, offering help for municipalities looking to trim. Officials say there are no statistics on how many towns have gone with private companies.
“In these tight economic times, we have been a proponent of local governments looking at all options available to them in considering cost savings and greater efficiency,” said William Dressel, executive director of the NJSLM.
But, Dressel said, towns need to keep the quality of the service in mind.
“This isn’t just dollars and cents,” he said. “We’re not banging out widgets. We’re trying to provide quality-of-life services. You’ve got to be concerned if you’re going to outsource garbage; you want to make sure the garbage is going to be picked up on time, in a professional manner and in the same manner residents have received.”
Privatization is typically more attractive for smaller municipalities, said Gregory Fehrenbach, a consultant hired by the league.
A smaller town, for example, is more likely to contract out its network support services for information technology. “In larger municipalities, there is a lot to be done and it keeps the staff fully occupied,” he said.
There has been a great deal of dialogue in the past few years about privatization, Fehrenbach said, but the concept has been used for decades.
“In the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s and a little bit into the ’80s, municipalities didn’t have as much pressure because the burden of property taxes wasn’t that strong,” he said. Elected officials’ worry over the cost of government has grown since the first budget appropriation cap in the mid-1970s, he said.
“Then we’ve seen a gradual ratcheting up of sharing services, privatizing services,” Fehrenbach said.
For decades, towns such as Haworth, Oakland and Waldwick have had private solid waste pickup.
“We privatize because it’s cost-effective for the residents and I personally believe we should privatize if it’s effective,” Oakland Mayor Linda Schwager said.
Englewood Cliffs has outsourced garbage pickup for as long as Mayor Joseph C. Parisi Jr. can remember.
And this year, Borough Hall janitorial services were privatized for less than $20,000. No jobs were lost and no money was saved. But officials freed up the DPW’s seven employees to focus on other tasks.
“I’d rather have them fixing the roads or cleaning storm drains,” Parisi said.
Three years ago, Lodi hired a landscaper to handle duties once performed by its DPW, Borough Manager Tony Luna said. The move saved $50,000 a year and cut two employees from the payroll. The borough plans to continue the practice.
Allendale officials say they plan to save $193,000 a year after their water utility operation is privatized.
The borough would retain ownership of the infrastructure and its rate-making structure. But the daily management has become a burden on the small borough.
“All the [Department of Environmental Protection] testing, training, etc., have become very, very onerous,” Mayor Vince Barra said. “We spend an enormous amount of time trying to keep up with it.”
This month the council will make a decision on the plan, which mandates the current supervisor be employed by the high bidder — United Water. A part-time clerk and a temporary position will be dissolved. The move should stabilize water rates for residents who have seen 5 to 7 percent annual increases for a decade, he said.
“Fiscally, it absolutely works,” Barra said.
Montvale has whittled its DPW to five employees, Mayor Roger Fyfe said. And last year, the borough researched completely outsourcing the department — a possible savings of $700,000 in the first year, he said. That plan hasn’t been implemented.
“They don’t mow the lawn, collect garbage. They plow some but we also have contractors,” Fyfe said. “It just happened. One job after another.”
Fyfe said even cutting costs on equipment can be huge.
“Everything they need to do their jobs is expensive. A snowplow is probably $15,000. A big dump truck can run $70,000.”
But not every effort is welcomed with open arms.
In Mahwah, some officials and residents were concerned about losing the personal touch.
DPW workers proved to be invaluable during recent storms, assisting disabled homeowners and performing other tasks. And the employees often back up the borough’s daytime emergency service responders.
“They’re out there all the time,” said Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio, who opposed the effort. “Leaf season, plowing — they’re always out on the road. I think they’re our road keepers. If they see something wrong, they notify the administration.”
DiGiulio said towns have other options.
“When people retire, combine jobs and pay them a little extra,” she said. “If we eliminate step and grade and longevity, we could come out of this OK.”
Mark McCart, a labor relations representative for the Hackensack-based United Public Service Employees Union, said Montvale and other towns who rely heavily on outsourcing are putting themselves in a vulnerable position.
“I think what people need to understand is that the private sector is a wonderful thing,” he said. “But they’re here for profit. … Eventually, if we keep going on this path, government is not going to be there when they need them,” McCart said.
It was “all hands on deck” during superstorm Sandy, he said. “Nobody has titles. It doesn’t matter if you usually work in the water department or are doing lawn cutting. People are moving barricades or blocking roads. You can hand a guy a chain saw and say, 'Go cut up that tree and get the road clear.' ”
Paramus had growing pains when it outsourced janitorial duties two years ago.
“We were accustomed to a certain level of service and with the new contractor it wasn’t always up to our expectations,” Mayor Richard LaBarbiera said.
Paramus still outsources the maintenance work, saving about $200,000 annually, he said. But it hasn’t done any other privatizing.
Not outsourcing the management of Paramus’ golf course “is probably the best thing we never did,” the mayor said.
Email: priesa@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on May 25, 2013, 11:59:11 AM
Hackensack to take part in Government Services Index study (http://www.northjersey.com/news/208770261_Hackensack_to_take_part_in_Government_Services_Index_study.html?page=all) Friday, May 24, 2013 BY JENNIFER VAZQUEZ NEWS EDITOR Hackensack Chronicle
Hackensack will join Bergenfield, Bogota, Englewood, and Teaneck to fund a study that will provide a comparative analysis on municipal costs. The municipalities comprise the Northern New Jersey Community Collaborative — an entity of the Northern New Jersey Collaborative Foundation.
NNJCF assists communities in meeting their needs by forming partnerships businesses, local governments, schools and non-profits.
The study is a benchmark project known as Government Services Index (GSI). It will provide a "per capita cost of service delivery by municipality and by municipal function…to help guide choices and priorities related to future sharing arrangements among the [municipalities participating]," according to a resolution passed on May 7 by the city council.
NNJCF consultant and advisor for local government restructuring and shared services Linda Murphy said the intention behind the study is to create an "effective benchmarking tool in comparative information" — with the information gathered, municipalities can have a better grasp as to what services they can improve on, and perhaps join in a shared services venture.
"The study will give [all municipalities participating] an opportunity to measure the cost of delivering our services to our residents," Hackensack City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said.
The resolution proclaims that, although the estimated cost of the GSI project is set at $12,700, Hackensack, along with the participating communities, will each contribute $1,500 to fund the study. The Foundation will fund the remaining $5,200. Though the municipalities and Foundation are paying for the study, NNJCF, initially, sought grants to assist in the cost of the GSI project. However, it did not receive aid to offset the expenses.
"Receiving the grant was [the Collaborative's] original hope," Lo Iacono said. "We wanted the grant to underwrite the cost of the study. Unfortunately, that did not happen."
However, according to Englewood City Manager Timothy J. Dacey, though receiving a grant would have been great, the fee per participating municipality is not alarming.
"I believe [NNJCF President] Michael [Shannon] and NNJCF went to the county to try and get grants for this study, unfortunately they did not get any, but what each of us has to pay is not a lot," Englewood City Manager Timothy J. Dacey said.
According to both President of NNJCF Michael Shannon and Murphy, the results of the comprehensive study will be published to foster shared services among other municipalities.
"We're looking into more consequential changes, leading more municipalities to participate," Murphy said. "It's a standardized look to really eyeball the differences and try to prioritize from a restructuring stand point. This will raise awareness and intensify urgency to take action."
Lo Iacono shared the fact that any municipality who takes part in this study should be prepared for the findings and the fact that some may be paying more than others for the same service and vice versa.
Dacey and Lo Iacono are optimistic that the project will equip their municipalities with valuable information that could enable them to save money or provide their residents with more efficient, cost-saving alternatives.
"I am hoping the study will be fruitful and will provide us with some ability to compare towns," Dacey said. "Once I have the information [collected through the study] presented, we'll have a better idea how to proceed forward…..I'm hopeful we can get something worthwhile from this."
Lo Iacono further elaborated.
"Once the study identifies each [municipality's costs], we can then look into the possibility of collaborating in a shared service," he said.
Bogota Borough Administrator August Greiner is also hopeful of what the future may bring thanks to the study.
"My goal with this study, is to measure our spending and set a benchmark," he said. "In time, based on [the information collected] we can look into possible shared services…we hope to be a good model for [other municipalities]."
Calls and emails to officials in Bergenfield and Teaneck were not returned.
Email: vazquez@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Shared Services
Post by: Editor on October 18, 2013, 12:08:12 PM
Hackensack Council makes official long-held agreement with Paramus Friday, October 18, 2013 BY JENNIFER VAZQUEZ NEWS EDITOR Hackensack Chronicle
In order to always have a health officer at hand in case the designated official is absent, the Hackensack Health Department has entered an inter-local agreement with the Paramus Health Department.
The Mayor and Council passed a resolution at the Sept. 17 meeting authorizing that the inter-local agreement between both municipalities be upheld establishing "that the Health Officers for both Hackensack and Paramus will be available to substitute in for the other at times of need when one is unavailable due to illness or use of vacation time."
According to Thom Ammirato, spokesman for the Mayor and Council, and City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono, the resolution passed was to make official a practice that has been in existence between the two municipalities for years.
"This makes the agreement official," Ammirato said. "The new council wanted a resolution of something that has been taking place for years…the agreement with Paramus is not something new."
Lo Iacono further explained.
"This is a practice that has been ongoing for years," he said. "It was already in place when I first became city manager 8 years ago, and probably long before then…we just wanted to make official our agreement with Paramus…in essence the resolution allows for us to cover each other when [one health officer] is absent."
Lo Iacono added that there is no added cost to either municipality relating to this inter-local agreement.
Email: vazquez@northjersey.com - See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/228285951_Hackensack_Council_makes_official_long-held_agreement_with_Paramus.html#sthash.uASYkvwd.dpuf