As we get closer, it goes from bad to worse - Meeting of April 11, 2011

In preparation for this meeting, I sent an email to the Town Council regarding all the issues I had with both the salary ordinance and the budget - the two items of most note on the Conference agenda.  This was the last scheduled meeting that we would be having prior to the budget vote on May 2nd and I wanted to be sure that all the issues were out on the table.  [I have posted the email below for you diehards who actually read the WHOLE thing each week!  What I have not included is the spreadsheet attachment as that contains private information regarding the Township employees.]  The issue I had with the salary ordinance was not the ordinance per se - which is merely a listing of salary ranges for job titles within the Town.  But when I matched the ranges with the actual salaries being paid to the employees, I was struck by the fact that 13% of the employees were being paid salaries higher than the highest level of their range - and by more than could be explained by merit increases (which is supposed to max out at 2%), longevity bonuses, and annual increases (which were 1.5%).  The other thing that struck me is that the Township salaries range from  $26,834 to $201,414.  Hourly wages run from $12.50 per hour to $36.13 per hour.  These wages are VERY comparable to industry - these are not the governmental pittance salaries of yore.  I respect the jobs that our Township employees are doing but I’m not quite sure why we are paying private industry salaries AND doling out public industry perks.

[The Township Manager responded to my concerns regarding the out of range salaries with the fact that we had been provided with incorrect information - that the schedule provided did not have updated titles.  I have since asked for additional corrected information - see below as well.]

My fellow Republican on the Council also raised the issue of holding the library budget to the level of 2010 instead of increasing it by $100,000.  When I supported this issue, we were voted down by the other Council members who did not want to go back to the Library board - even though the Library board had stated – and I’m paraphrasing here – ‘give us a number and we will work with it.’

Needless to say, Mike Rieber and I have pitched a number of suggestions that would lessened the budget increase without affecting services – all of them were shot down.

Email sent 04/08/2011:

I have performed an analysis of the salary ordinance in conjunction with the 2010 salaries.  [I am aware that the 2011 salaries have not as yet been finalized; and that the 2010 salaries should be falling toward the minimum range given that this is an ordinance that should cover salaries for 2011 and 2012.]  That being said, I find it very puzzling that approximately 13% of the non-CBA salaries exceed the maximum levels of the ordinance – some by a very significant amount.  Therefore, I am not quite clear as to what this min/max ordinance is supposed to accomplish if we can merely pay more by calling it a merit or longevity increase.  If the fact is that someone is paid much higher than the pay range on an ongoing basis, de facto that is his or her ‘base’ salary.

Now, I did not have the previous 3 years with which to perform a comparison – which would be helpful.  Michele – if you would provide me with that data, I would be happy to plug it into the spreadsheet.

So – why are these salaries so far above the range?  What are the bonus amounts/percentages that are awarded and on what basis?  If we just look at the salaried employees, we are paying over $150K over the max range (and the max range is higher than the 2010 one – so the difference is actually higher.)

Second, in looking at these wages, we are not looking at ‘poor’ public sector wages that are lower than private sector.  To me, it appears to be private sector wages with public sector perks – which is a very, very expensive way to go.  I would like to discuss again the option to increase the employees’ contribution to the health benefits.  If I recall correctly, increasing the rate of contribution from 1.5% to 3.0% will result in a $107K savings – or almost a 20% reduction in the current tax increase.  Maybe a rollback of ‘merit’ or ‘longevity’ pay as well could be discussed – that $150K (not including hourlies) would also go a long way in reduction of the tax increase.

Third, if I recall correctly, personnel are paid a sum if they do not subscribe to the insurance plan.  Why?  It is a benefit that is offered.  If it is declined, there is no legal requirement to pay them for it.  How many people do not take the insurance and how much would that save the town if that benefit were expunged?

Finally, the parties and (2) ½ days paid – another issue that I would like to raise again.  When times are good, everyone shares.  But times are tough – do we really want the taxpayers shelling out for this?  Even if it comes out to a $2 a taxpayer – that’s THEIR two dollars to spend, not ours.  And, when things are getting better, it can be reinstated.  I think it would be good PR for the Town to show support for the taxpayers in this.

If you have any questions regarding the enclosed, please don’t hesitate to call me.

Email sent 04/27/2011:

Michele:

Thank you.  Would it be possible, then, to get a corrected 2010 salary schedule along with a projected 2011 salary schedule based on the assumption of the 2011 budget being passed?  Are people being paid the 1.5% projected increase now or is that being held off until the budget is finalized?  Also, what is the total impact in 2010 of the merit increases in actual dollars and as a percentage of salary?  What is the (proposed?) impact of merit increases for 2011 in dollars and percents?

Also, why was there a decision to give xxx a stipend?  He is a full time employee of Livingston - which is providing shared services to Milburn to get a revenue source.  Is there a need to keep giving him this stipend?

Also, may I have a list of all employees who are given the usage of automobiles as part of their compensation package?  And, do we have a cost (which I'm sure we must for tax purposes) broken down by employee for this benefit?

I am also looking forward to seeing the costs for the benefits as requested by Mike Rieber.  If we assess a 5% premium charge for each non-CBA employee - based on the plan in which they are enrolled - what would that save us?  Also, what would be the savings for changing the benefits package and eliminating the bonus for NOT taking benefits?  How much are we paying out in this benefit now?

Thank you again.

Budget meeting on May 2^nd.  Should be fun.

 

Short Agenda, Long Meeting? – Meeting of April 4, 2010

That’s what they all said but, thankfully, it turned out not to be true.  April 4^th was a conference meeting only with a fairly short agenda and Mayor Fernandez, as stated previously, is great about keeping us all on track.  The issue that took up a large part of the evening was regarding the previously enacted zoning change to ‘correct’ split lots to commercial zoning, i.e., to recognize the current use ‘on the ground’ and to change the zoning to reflect that use.  The one zone regarding Block 4000 lots 2,4,14, and 15, a.k.a the old Saturn dealership, was the one being challenged.  [On another note, I too have received phone calls regarding this issue from residents close to this area.]  Although the ordinance has already been enacted, the challenger respectfully requested reconsideration and will be meeting with the Town Manager to discuss his and his neighbors’ objections.

Among the other business discussed were two other items of which I took particular notice. One was a salary ordinance and one was a request for a new Township Committee (which I admit I put forth to the Council!).  The salary ordinance looks benign on the face of it, but I did some analysis and will need to discuss it further with the Council (before I discuss it here).  The ordinance merely sets out the minimum and maximum salary ranges per pay grade and provides the pay grades by title.  As the Town Manager had discussed in previous meetings, by getting rid of levels within pay grades, we will be saving approximately $70,000.  The other item was my proposal to the Council to create the Asian Community Outreach Committee.  The mission statement is as follows:

Livingston is a town with a large Asian population, 14% according to the 2010 census data. Many new immigrants came to Livingston for its excellent school system, close proximity to New York City, and a vibrant community life in town. Just within the Chinese population, our town has the Livingston Chinese School, the Livingston Huaxia Chinese School, the Livingston Chinese Association, and the Living Stone Christian Church. Our town also has two Indian schools and Asian Indian in Livingston (AILIV). Livingston residents benefited from the annual Livingston Chinese Culture Day performance and activities, and the cultural events organized by the Asian Indians in town, as well as the multicultural shows in various schools.

While the township appreciates the contributions the Asian community made, it recognizes the need for a regular presence of the Asian community in township affairs. There is also a need for the township to better understand the issues faced by recent Asian immigrants, whose culture is very different from western culture. Language barrier is one of the biggest obstacles that hinders communication between new immigrants and the community at large.

The Asian Community Outreach Committee will serve as the bridge between the township and the Asian community. The goal is to bring mutual understanding through promoting regular communication, organizing seminars, promoting township activities through each participating organization, educating new immigrants of the many services in town, and bringing citizen's concerns to the Town Council and the Board of Education.

We envision a liaison from both the Town Council and the Board of Education. We have identified a list of volunteers who represent major organizations from the Asian Community as follows:  [List of names not included until the committee is actually constituted.  Also, a liaison from the Town Council – me – and from the Board of Ed was also requested.]

The Council is inviting the people involved with the creation of this committee to come on May 9^th to discuss this further.

So, short agenda AND short meeting.  Nice!

Not quite fireworks – Meeting of 03/28/2011

Both the conference agenda and the regular meeting agendas were very full and there was much more of an audience in attendance than usual.  The items the Council expected to engender a great deal of comment were the two ordinances 10-2011 and 11-2011 establishing new R51 residence districts.  These have been the subjects of long and drawn out lawsuits and the ordinances were adopted under protest.  Audience protest was expected but, I believe the need was obviated by, comments from the Council regarding the fact the adoption was effectively coerced by the courts, and that the zoning ordinance had to be adopted before the rulings in the case could be appealed.  As the plans are to continue to appeal the decisions regarding these ‘builder remedy’ lawsuits, it appeared that anyone who might have been in attendance to protest this was mollified.  One person did get up and question the Council about a letter that had been printed in the West Essex Tribune last week but, as I did not read the letter, and as I am still making myself familiar with all the issues involved (having started way before my tenure!), I really can’t comment on that.

Speaking of commenting on things – one of the issues on which I ran was to work to make local government more transparent.  As yet, we do not have the meetings televised – which is an issue that has been raised and I am told they are ‘working on it’.  Until that time, I blog.  For those who cannot come to the meetings, I hope that an insider’s perspective, along with reportage by the Patch and the West Essex Tribune, will round out the picture of what is occurring at the Township level.  I am fully aware that there are other ‘takes’ on what is going on.  I would encourage everyone who comes to meetings – whether on the Town Council or not – to speak about what happens, ask people to get involved, have others come out to see for themselves what is happening.  An educated populace is an empowered one.

The real ‘meat’ of the meeting was the introduction of the 2011 budget.  I have stated time and time again that I am not satisfied with the budget and that I don’t agree that we as a group have come up with the best possible budget.  I felt, as did my fellow Councilmen, that a reduction of services was unfair and not needed at this time.  For example, why take away leaf collection from the town when it would just force the cost onto the individual taxpayer to solve the problem?  And, who could possibly vote for elimination of all SYLS programs not covered by fees – as this would get rid of all senior programming entirely?  These were not reasonable considerations.  So, as was published in the West Essex Tribune, “the Council unanimously agreed that the benefits provided by these programs far exceeded there cost and all agreed not to eliminate them.”  But when asked if any further expense reductions were sought, what can you answer when all your suggestions and ideas have already been shot down??

I have already proposed in the budget and conference meetings a number of recommendations such as a) increasing the amount of the Township employees contributions to their health insurance premiums, b) further reducing headcount by consolidation of job responsibilities, c) reducing the budgeted amount for police vests by soliciting bids from responsible vendors who could provide the Level IIIA protection at a 40% reduction from the budgeted amount, and d) replacing pagers for the Fire Department on a revolving basis as opposed to doing them all at once.  I even had the temerity to question the $20K budgeted for the Employee parties and having them get two half-days paid to attend.  All of these suggestions would reduce the taxpayer burden today.  And, even if we couldn’t get to a 0% increase budget, it would be a budget that has a lower increase than that of 2010 and one I’d be much happier with.  So, while I voted YES to introduce the budget (so that we could meet State timelines to be eligible for more funding), I voted NO to approving the budget itself.

The budget is coming up for vote on May 2^nd.  We only have two Council meetings until then – come out and make your voices heard.

Budget Blues - Meeting of 03/07/2011

Not much progress is being made in our conference meetings regarding the budget.  Mike Rieber and I can't seem to get agreement that a 0% increase is the proper goal to have.  I strongly disagree that people won't even notice it or that the $45 (which is what the municipal portion of the tax increase would be for an average home of $605,000) is what people spend without thinking.  What I think is that people are tired of property tax increases, that we need a break, and if someone wants to tear up $45, then it is his or her money to do so with - not the Town Council's to continue to spend for them.

The budget increase is mainly going to fund the increase in debt service due to the new Town Hall.  Along with the huge building and the huge library, come huge increases in the costs to light and heat.  But, of course, the biggest increases are really in contributions to pensions and healthcare - two items that we can't touch.  At this time, I have requested, as has Mike, to ask the township employees to increase their contribution (from 1.5%) toward the cost of healthcare.  The State healthcare plans are so robust that I can't afford them for my own employees or myself.  Yet, the cost increase from last year - I believe somewhere about 20% for the State as a whole - is not being passed along to the people who benefit from it.  It is now being borne by the taxpayers.  Lucky us!

Other than trying to wrestle with the budget (which must be finalized now as Ms. Meade plans on introducing it on March 28th), the rest of the conference and regular meetings were business as usual.  We did have to pass two zoning ordinances - which were done under protest - to comply with the rulings regarding the COAH litigation the township is involved with.  This was passed along with the Riparian zone ordinance - which also had to be done to comply with State regulations.  It amazes me how little control a town has over its own destiny and how regulated it all is.  Only one interesting note in the evening that I recall - we spoke about brokering electrical power to the Township (as we do with water) and are looking to see if it is feasible and cost effective.

More budget suggestions anyone??

A slippery slope indeed – Meeting of 2/28/2011

I am still tired from the Council meetings – both conference and regular – which took place on 2/28.  The most notable item on the agenda was the final hearing on an ordinance to amend some zoning issues with a number of lots.  The lots, which were split zoned (i.e., zoned both residential and business), were being rezoned to business to reflect the facts on the ground.  Quite a number of citizens turned out to contest the rezoning – which, in my opinion, was the wrong thing to contest.  What this ordinance was doing was just recognizing the current usage of the properties in question and zoning the lot to reflect that usage.  Passing or not passing this ordinance does not change anything; those businesses would just continue to operate on split zoned lots.

What I think that most of the residents who showed up realized is that there is a ‘slippery slope’ here.  But that slippery slope needs to be dealt with at the Zoning Board level – by the time it gets to the Town Council, the ‘dirty deeds’ have already been perpetrated.  It was, however, useful for the residents to come in as they did have complaints about their business neighbors and the Town Manager was able to give them direction as to where to get assistance.

At the conference meeting, before the regular one, we heard from Rich Calbi, Township Engineer, regarding the proposed Geographic Information System – for which a $189,000 bid is up for award and which is part of a $250,000 proposed capital item.  At the meeting on 2/14, both Mike Rieber and I had questions with regard to this item and Rich was at the meeting on 2/28 to answer those questions.  Unfortunately, there was insufficient time to really understand why we are being asked to spend this money.  The other council members seem to be in favor of it but I – and Mike Rieber – are not convinced.  I will be meeting with Rich Calbi and Michele Meade on Friday, 3/4 to discuss this further.  If we are going to do this at all, we must apparently do this NOW before the leaves are back on the trees as the $189,000 is for a fly over to contour map our township!

Finally, we resumed the conference meeting after the regular meeting was adjourned and discussed the proposed budget as presented by Michele Meade.  I am not happy that the proposal calls again for a 2% increase in property taxes!  I raised several possibilities, e.g., asking township employees to contribute more toward their health benefits, holding off on some capital improvement items, but none seems to have traction with the other members of the Council.  My goal, as stated in the meeting, is to have a 0% increase.  I am not sure the other Council members agree with me.  As also stated in the meeting, they are convinced that citizens will live with the increase as long as they don’t have to deal with any reductions in service.  I believe that we can hold services steady and still not increase taxes.  It’s going to be an interesting next several weeks while this is being discussed. 

So – the challenge to anyone who is listening/reading out there!  Send me your suggestions on how we can hold the line on taxes.  Or better yet, come to the meetings and make yourself heard!

Fireworks from the February 14, 2011 meeting

Listening post was held in the conference room off the Council Chambers from 7 PM to 7:30 PM.  Unfortunately, the only listening that was being done was by me and one other attendee - while others were discussing Pitchers and Catchers and their fantasy baseball software processes.  I am not quite sure as to whether it is because the Listening Post is not well publicized that it gets short shrift or whether the population of Livingston is just unaware of how important it is.

The Listening Post is an opportunity for the townspeople to raise their  issues, questions, and concerns in a somewhat less intimidating and more informal manner than during a regular council meeting.  Rather than contacting an individual councilperson regarding a complaint or a question (and I had gotten several even before I took office!), this allows an issue to be raised in an open forum where, one would hope, the more people that know about the problem, the faster the fix can be put in.

At one Listening Post, a couple raised the issue of allowing information to  be sent via email instead of snail mail - to help cut down on waste (as most of the information is either not looked at or looked at and trashed) and on the cost of postage.  This is a very helpful suggestion and we took it upon ourselves to begin to look at the problem and how to resolve it.

The bottom line is - if the people of Livingston don't use the Listening Post, it will go away.  There really is no point in sitting around for 30 minutes talking amongst ourselves....

As for the conference meeting, there was a bit of fireworks.  We revisited the proposed Tree Ordinance that had been submitted by the Livingston Environmental Commission - primarily to deal with lots of under 1 acre.  That ordinance is now under review by the Planning Board and we expect their comments shortly.  No fireworks yet.  Then we discussed the Riparian Zone Ordinance which deals with the water quality of streams in the town.  Apparently, Livingston did not enact this ordinance previously because, as the Town Manager indicated in her memo, "due to concerns about the need for separate municipal ordinances when the NJDEP has regulations that already protect these areas."  All well and good, but now we gotta!  The only thing I asked was that we add the language that this is being foisted on us by the State in the initial "Whereas" clause.  Still no fireworks.  We had some housekeeping items regarding legal bills ... now the fireworks!

The Town Manager recommended the award of the bid for a Geographical Information System (GIS) to the tune of mega bucks (not sure if the bid results have been published yet so don't want to list the amount).  Both Mike Rieber and I challenged the need for this system.  Despite the fact that the funds have already been allocated, as long as they haven't been spent they might not need to be!  One of the major objections we have for this system is that, if it's not going to save us mega bucks, and if I haven't needed it up till now, why are we spending the money now?  The question I asked is whether this is a 'nice to have' or 'need to have.'  I believe that we 'need to have' new polycarbonate tanks for our Fire Department - it's a safety issue.  A new GIS is not.  If it is important, we can look at it next year or the year after that - but maybe it's okay to defer this spending until later.  I firmly believe that, in this case, not spending where we are not saving is fully justified.  The end result is that the award is being deferred and the Chief Engineer will be brought in to justify this expense.  I look forward to it!

After this little tiff, we then discussed another mega bucks bid (same issue - don't know if the bid results have been published yet) on Phase I of the Development of a Comprehensive Wastewater Master Plan.  This item has a bit more traction in that we are processing storm water to the tune of - gee, no one can give me those numbers - and by implementing this modeling system, we can find the areas of excessive flow and then correct it.  It did not appear that there is any other way to get this done.  This also seems to have benefit to the citizens of Livingston in a very tangible way – when water pressure drops, someone can be immediately alerted and start working on a fix.  On the other hand, I had a concern with this bid in that the vendor recommended by Purchasing had to 'rebid' as they didn't seem to include several things in their initial bid.  My 'spidey sense' gets raised by these types of things as a) we've given more consideration to one bidder than others who bid it properly initially and b) if the lowest bidder is construing things so narrowly, do I hear change notices later??  Again, hackles were raised all around.

The rest of the items were pretty much more housekeeping with the inevitable change notice regarding something for the new building.  I am sure the rest of the council members are as tired of them as I.  We did have a fairly lively discussion regarding how to deal with the feral cat situation in Livingston and I am not convinced that it is cheaper to trap, neuter, and release than to trap and destroy.  I know trap and destroy is not a popular alternative, but is it really more humane to let them wander in the freezing cold and either starve to death or be killed by wild foxes or hit by cars?

So, the meeting ended with the Town Manager's temper running rather high.  I believe that Michele wants to do the best job possible; but my job, as well as my fellow council members, is to question, challenge, and re-think any and all expenditures.  My goal, and I hope that my colleagues is as well, is to ensure that our property taxes stay flat while maintaining services for the community.  Spending without a clear payback period just does not make good business sense.

Let me know what you think out there!

Updates from the sick bed

Well, folks, sorry I haven't been blogging for a while.  It's not that I haven't been very active on behalf of the citizens of Livingston; it's because I have been battling pneumonia.  Take my advice - you don't want to have it!  I was diagnosed with pneumonia on Friday, January 28th.  I showed up - coughing and wheezing - to the second budget hearing on Sunday, January 30th.  Although very under the weather, I was still the only one challenging and questioning every line item.  We met for the final time on Thursday, February 3rd to finish up all the departments.  While mostly just gaining an understanding of what each department does and what kind of financing they would be looking for in the new calendar year, there were a few interesting interactions.  One of the challenges I made to the budget was the $20,000 line item for the employee holiday party and summer picnic.  This did NOT go over well with the Town Manager.  Another issue, on which I was not entirely satisfied, is why some of the budgeted amounts are not really aligned with what is actually spent.  While it is legitimate to re-allocate funds between line items over the course of a year, it does not make sense to me to not try to budget what you actually think you are going to spend.  If transparency is a goal, this method of budgeting is in direct contradiction and seems to do more to obscure on what items monies are being spent.

Since then, we've had another conference and regular meeting on February 7th - which was mostly housekeeping and very short meetings.  I then had the privilege to attend the annual Fireman's Dinner on February 8th which was held at the Crystal Plaza.  Chief Mullin reviewed the Fire Department's annual report and performed the annual inspection of the volunteers.  Livingston's 76 member department is truly amazing and their contributions should be noted and appreciated by the entire Livingston citizenry.  Unfortunately, the dinner was not kosher so, after chatting at the bar with many of the volunteers, I went home and collapsed.  Wednesday I attended two meetings - the Townwide Safety Committee meeting at 4 PM at the Board of Education offices (first time EVER that I was there!) and then the 7:30 PM meeting of HCHY (Healthy Community Healthy Youth).  It is amazing to me how dedicated many people in this community are and how much time they are willing to volunteer to Livingston.  I was also amazing to me how surprised each committee was that their Town Council liaison actually showed up!  I'm not sure why previous Councilmen did not feel it necessary to attend these meetings; I consider it part of my Council responsibilities and duty to the community.

Finally, I capped off the week with a 4 PM Friday, 2/11 meeting with Michele Meade and Pete Klein, head of the Planning Board, to discuss COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) and the affordable housing issues and litigation with which Livingston is wrestling.  This litigation is typically what is discussed when the Town Council goes into closed session after our regular meetings.  

Well, there you have it.  Now that I am on the mend, I will absolutely try to get this blog out by the Wednesday following each regular and/or conference meeting.  Let me know what you think about what I think - I am here to serve!