Final Montclair Budget: Revenue Down 17 Percent And Social Services Cut

Here is Mayor Jerry Fried's last of three letters to the Township regarding the budget of $69.9 million that is scheduled to be approved this month. This budget will impact the Montclair Arts Council, the Township's Pre-K program, and the public library. In all, property taxes will go up 6 percent under the 2010 municipal budget and the Social Services Department will be eliminated.

In previous letters, I've addressed our current budget and the structural changes that have been made in Montclair's local government. This letter will address next year's and future budgets.

This year's property tax increase, about 6% when the school, municipal and county increases are combined, is a number that no one on the governing body is happy with. The Municipal portion, about a quarter of the total tax, will have an increase over the previous year of around 10%. Of this number, only about 2% represents an increase in spending (mostly increases in pensions and health benefits with some contractual salary increases). The rest of the increase is due to decreases in all of our revenue sources (State aid, fees, tax appeals, etc.).

It is important to point out that our budget is on the calendar year... the budget we are about to pass is for 2010, which will be half over before it is adopted. This is common in New Jersey since we need to get our actual State aid and revenue numbers in order to pass a "real" budget. For the first several months of the year, spending is curtailed wherever possible in preparation for the actual budget's adoption.

Although there have been minor disagreements on the Council over individual items, the differences account for only a few dollars of increase or decrease on your property tax bill. In terms of actual proposals for cuts or for restoring cuts that are in the budget, these changes pale in comparison with the total cuts that have been made.

Last year, I voted against what I felt was an unacceptable budget with far too few real changes over the previous year's budget. It is likely that some Council members will vote against this year budget for the same reason. I support the current proposed budget as a reasonable compromise in which some services are reduced while we maintain safety and a reasonable quality of life.

Montclair went before the Local Finance Board in Trenton to get a waiver of our 4% tax levy cap, which would normally force us to cut spending so the Municipal increase would be below 4%. Of the 13 applicants that day, we were by far the best example of a municipality that had made structural changes and tough decisions to curtail spending. Our waiver was granted immediately and with great sympathy for our revenue shortfall. The Board applauded our efforts and would have granted a far larger tax increase.

Because of this, structural changes made in the 2010 budget will have only about half their effect in 2010. If a position is permanently eliminated in June, that person will have been employed for about half a year and thus we will save only half of that person's salary. If the position is kept vacant in the 2011 budget, it will therefore have twice the "benefit".

Over a dozen positions have been eliminated in the 2010 budget, and therefore we will start out from a significantly lower salary base. The loss of positions will result in some cuts in services and will put additional stress on the remaining township employees. Residents should always expect courteous, respectful responses from the staff in every situation. However, spending cuts will create slower delivery of services and there will be periodic closures of offices because of furloughs.

One entire function of local government, Social Services, has been eliminated. Although this office provided valuable assistance to many in the community, the Council believes that non-profits in the area will provide information, support, and other aid that was formerly provided by the Township.

As an "arts person" it is particularly painful to make cuts in funding to cultural affairs and the Montclair Arts Council. For the remainder of this year we will have to rely on our important non-profits like the Montclair Art Museum, greater volunteer efforts and the talents of our many resident artists to preserve our status as a community that values the arts. Our July 4th parade and fireworks were saved by such efforts and we will have to find ways to support our culture through similar efforts next year.

As Mayor, I sit on and appoint the Board of Trustees of the Montclair Public Library, which serves all residents but provides crucial services to those on the lower end of the income scale. The Manager's introduced budget had a cut of $700,000, about 18%, which I believe the majority of the Council deems too severe. I accept the Board's explanation of why a cut of this magnitude would be devastating to library services. The library budget had been flat or slightly reduced for several years, during which services actually increased because of good management practices such as filling vacant higher-salaried positions from with well-trained junior employees. In my opinion, the library is an exemplary Township department, a model for making do with less. Even so, our revenue shortfall requires shared sacrifice and it will likely be sustaining a cut of somewhere between 10-12% (the Council has yet to make a final decision, but I think it's likely to be close to the lower number). This cut will require significant cuts in hours and the possibility of closing the branch library entirely. Looking at the next several years, the Board has suggested the creation of a task force including residents to propose options for how best to maintain this historic building and preserve it for future use. One option may be to create a public/private partnership that would utilize the building for some commercial use while also maintaining some library services on a limited basis.

At this point, virtually all Township employees with the exception of some department heads are union members, and the unions have made real concessions which have saved jobs. Township offices will be closed for six furlough days, not a permanent solution but one that may be utilized again if the economic downturn continues. 

Police staffing is being maintained at a lower level than in recent years, and this affects some of the more visible and community-based functions. Because of a breakdown in negotiations in 2009, our contract is in the hands of a mediator. Fortunately, concessions from other unions, including negotiations with the Fire Department to maintain adequate staffing and response times while reducing costs, increase the possibility that the mediator may favor the Township and slow the growth in Police salaries and wages. Without a fair solution, we may have little choice but to reduce staffing further.

I attended a conference at Rutgers this week and saw presentations from the State Treasurer, Former Governor Florio, noted economists and business leaders. It seems fairly clear that next year will not be significantly easier than this year. We will have more difficult times ahead and will need to work together as a community to fill in some of the "extras". I am hopeful that First Night and other events can be saved through the help of volunteers and the business community.

The best way to communicate with me about any issues is through email: jfried@montclairnjusa.org jfried at montclairnjusa dot org or by leaving me a message on my town voicemail: 973-509-4928. Please leave your name, address and contact information.

I also have open-door office hours every Wednesday from 1-4 on the first floor of the Municipal Building, 205 Claremont Avenue. 

Mayor Jerry Fried