$7M Capital Improvement Plan Introduced In Gloucester Township

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Without a capital budget in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gloucester Township police didn’t get the normal allotment of equipment they might have otherwise received.

And while they made it work and even saw a decrease in crime, they still need to be prepared for everything.

“Breakdowns do happen. We have failures,” Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins said during Monday night’s council meeting. “The lights never go off. The computers never stop running. The phones never stop ringing, and the cars never stop running. Wear and tear happens at a much greater rate. We pushed off many projects, pre-COVID. We were ready to go, and we had to push them off, and we made due.”

This year, $1,614,187 has been set aside for the purchase of various equipment for the police department as part of the $7,796,262 capital improvement plan introduced at Monday night’s council meeting.

The plan calls for the borrowing of $7,425,011 in bonds or notes for several projects throughout the township, and it includes a down payment of $371,251.

The bond obligation for the police department’s equipment would be $1,537,321, with a down payment of $76,866.

Gloucester Township Chief Financial Officer Christie Ehret said that by going out for a bond ordinance to cover capital improvements, the cost is spread out over at least five years. It prevents the entire burden from being dumped on the taxpayers at once, she said.

In response to a question from a member of the public, Business Administrator Tom Cardis said the township doesn’t anticipate any more borrowing this year. He was still putting together his list of needed capital budget projects while the municipal budget was in the process of being approved. Read more here: Gloucester Township Approves Budget, Holds Line On Taxes

“There’s a tremendous need for these capital projects,” Councilman Dan Hutchison said. “We didn’t do anything last year.That hurt, and I think all of us (on council) had to assume that was coming.”

Harkins said Cardis and Ehret helped put the police department in a position to keep moving, and the township saw a decrease in crime last year.

According to the most recent Uniform Crime Report, there was a 12.26 percent drop in overall crime in Gloucester Township from 2019 to 2020. Violent crimes also dropped by about 15.63 percent.

“A safe community is a great community,” Harkins said earlier this month, when the numbers first came out. “The Gloucester Township Police Department is committed to serving our community to make it as safe as possible. While we are pleased with this crime reduction – we are not yet satisfied. We are committed to improve and find better ways to solve problems so that we can make Gloucester Township even safer for all of our residents. I want to personally thank the community for the strong support the men and women of the GTPD have received over the past year – we are committed to being servant leaders to our community.”

On Monday night, Harkins pointed out that that was with limited staff due to a hiring freeze.

“We’re still getting officers up to speed, getting back to the numbers we were, pre-pandemic,” Harkins said. “Our capital budget that we submitted is things that we absolutely need. We have computers that are just not working. The technology is starting to go just because they get worn out.”

Council President Orlando Mercado pointed out that the $1,881,953 for the repaving of various streets was for aging parts of the community that are in desperate need.

“This is required maintenance to keep these communities up to standards,” Mercado said. “In addition to that, we maintain 38 buildings throughout the township. At those 38 buildings, there are improvements that need to be made. They are not just municipal buildings, but also the buildings that we have in our recreational facilities. These are the tools that we provide our employees, so they can do their job.”

The breakdown of projects covered by the ordinance, posted as part of the agenda packet for Monday's meeting, can be found below:

• $1,881,953 for the repaving of various streets. The obligation would be $1,791,993, with a down payment of $89,600;
• $1,691,165 for improvements to township buildings. The obligation would be $1,610,633, and the down payment would be $80,532;
• $1,181,600 for the purchase of various dump trucks and other equipment for the Department of Public Works. The obligation would be $1,125,333, and the down payment would be $56,267;
• $1,614,187 for the purchase of various equipment for the police department. The obligation would be $1,537,321, with a down payment of $76,866;
• $406,056 for the repaving of various sidewalks and curbs, including the Jarvis Road sidewalk. The obligation would be $386,720, with a down payment of $19,336;
• $394,675 for the purchase of various equipment for the Department of Public Works. The obligation would be $375,881, and the down payment would be $18,794;
• $205,514 for the purchase of equipment for the Parks and Recreation Department, including fencing, and the resurfacing of various recreational areas. The obligation would be $195,728, with a down payment of $9,786;
• $126,600 for various drainage improvement projects. The obligation would be $120,571, and the down payment would be $6,029;
• $105,500 for the completion of various projects for the Parks and Recreation Department, including fencing, and the resurfacing of various recreational areas. The obligation would be $100,476, with a down payment of $5,024;
• $94,950 for the purchase and installation of streetlights and traffic signals. The obligation would be $90,429, and the down payment would be $4,521;
• $79,125 for the purchase of office and computer equipment. The obligation would be $75,357, with a down payment of $3,768; and
• $15,297 for the purchase of equipment for the township's recreation department, including bar code scanners, laptops, tablets, AV equipment and blinds for the Recreation Center. The obligation would be $14,569, and the down payment would be $728.

Gloucester Township Council unanimously approved the proposed bond ordinance on introduction. The public hearing and final vote will take place at the June 14 meeting.