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Health & Fitness

Preview: March 25 town council meeting

Proposals to borrow another $1.5 million to pay for successful property tax appeals, approve improvements for the town wading pool that at approximately $260,000 are more than double the estimates of a year ago, and approve a contract that more than quadruples last year’s cost of reverse-911 service head the agenda for the March 25, 2014, council meeting.

The meeting agendas and related materials are here.

Council will also consider two ordinances on second and final reading, one to create a director of staff operations position and the other to create a second deputy police chief position. On first reading, council will consider an ordinance to restrict temporary commercial sign advertising that’s done without the property owner’s permission.

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In addition, council will consider a proposed renewal of the contract for the municipal prosecutor, nearly $242,000 in transfers among 2013 budget lines, renewal of a $135,000 contract for landscaping services, approval of a $318,706 competitive low bid for road work on Yale and Harvard terraces, and approval of a no-bid $34,000 contract for unarmed security for municipal court.

The town has been inundated with millions of dollars in successful property tax appeals in recent years. Although the town budgets $600,000 annually to fund repayment, the town has faced a choice of borrowing or cutting other areas of spending to cover these larger amounts. In January, council approved an administration request to borrow $1 million to fund appeals. It’s unclear from the proposed resolution whether the $1.5 million pending request is a full additional amount or an incremental $500,000 increase.

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Council will also consider an administration proposal for a construction project at the town Ginny Duenkel facility, where the wading pool project’s cost keeps increasing. When the project was first proposed early last year, the work was estimated to cost no more than $120,000. The capital budget was amended later that year to allocate $143,201 for the project, according to an e-mail to the council on February 10, 2014, from Town Engineer Leonard Lepore. In the same e-mail, Mr. Lepore revised the estimated project cost to $159,000.

In a resolution added late Friday to the meeting agenda, the administration asked approval for a competitive low bid (received February 19) of $227,723 to Cypreco Industries of Neptune for the work. The project is described as a partial reconstruction of the existing wading pool, the creation of a contiguous splash pad, and the addition of six splash toys.

When added to previously approved design work of $12,800, plus $19,352 for the toys, and an additional amount previously allocated to site work, the total cost appears in excess of $260,000. The administration is planning to apply an expected $150,000 county open space grant request to help pay for the project. (This would actually represent a return of funds, since property owners in all Essex municipalities pay a county open space tax.) 

The administration is asking the council to approve a no-bid $27,500 annual contract for non-emergency reverse-911 communication from Emergency Communications Network (ECN) of Ormand Beach, Fla. In December, the council approved an administration request for an annual contract with ECN for emergency communications for $16,000. That amount was up 83% from $8,742 in 2013. Town Chief Financial Officer John Gross attributed the increase to ECN’s acquisition of the town’s previous vendor, and he said the new system had more features and was easier to use.

In response to my questioning, Mr. Gross said at the December 17, 2013, meeting that he expected the town would continue to use the system as it had in the past for communications that might not meet the strict definition of emergency under the contract. (The town has used reverse-911 to call nearby residents for town-directed community meetings.) He said he was exploring alternatives for non-emergency communications, which he said had more reasonable costs.

If the contract is approved, the ECN CodeRed system for emergency and non-emergency calls would cost $43,500, nearly five times the 2013 cost.

Council is also reviewing a proposed contract with the town prosecutor, Robert Candido. The contract indicates he will receive a flat $1,000 per week for his services. The position was budgeted at $38,400 in 2012 and 2013. In 2012, the position was paid at least $51,000, or 33% over budget. In 2013, the position was paid at least $64,100, 67% over budget. In the 2014 budget as introduced, the position is allocated $61,440. I’ve asked the administration for clarity on these issues.

The administration is proposing to shift funds among 2013 budget lines to cover overages. The largest transfers were to:

- Central Automotive, $90,000

- Public Works salary and wage, $71,778

- General Liability Insurance, $38,123

- Medical Transport Billing, $16,352

- Park & Playground salary and wage, $10,179

The administration is proposing an ordinance to create a director of staff operations position promoted as part of an effort to consolidate the management structure and increase efficiency. While Police Chief James Abbott was identified as the candidate for the position during the March 1 budget hearing, council has not heard specifics of this plan or planned compensation.

The administration’s other proposed ordinance would create a second deputy police chief position. Council has not heard specifics of the need for the position or planned compensation. Earlier this month, Michael Corcoran was promoted from captain to become the only deputy chief at an annual salary of $139,269.

Both ordinances will have hearings where the public can comment.

On first reading, council will consider an ordinance to restrict business-related temporary sign advertising that’s done without the property owner’s permission. Fines would range up to $1,250 per day, and the funds would go into an account to fund enforcement of the ordinance. The proposal is based on a recent law enacted by the state legislature.

Other resolutions on the agenda include:

- Renewal of a $135,000 contract for landscaping services for town property to D’Onofrio and Son Landscaping of Maplewood. This would be the second year of the contract following a low competitive bid.

- Approval of a $318,706 competitive low bid for road work on Yale and Harvard terraces to A&J Contractors of Monroe Township. A state Department of Transportation grant of $200,715 will partially offset the cost to the town.

- Approval of a two-year, no-bid $34,000 contract for unarmed security for municipal court to Abbrey Security of Clifton. The town has used the company since 2007.

- Placing a lien of $1,943 on the Select-O Flash property at 18 Central Avenue to pay for boarding up the building, which was determined to be abandoned and a hazard.

- Renewal of a no-bid contract for grant writing services to Alicia Skinner for $28,000. Ms. Skinner’s 2013 report indicates grants she managed produced $263,778 for the town.

- Transfer of a developer’s agreement between the town and Colonial Woods LLC to RNC Developers for unimproved land known as Colonial Woods North. The property is north of Warren Road and the extension of Nance Road and Colonial Woods Drive. The agreement gives RNC until the end of 2017 to complete construction of homes, mandating no performance bonding until two years after project work begins.

- Award of an $8,110 land-survey contract for the Luddington Road Sanitary Sewer project to Suburban Consulting Engineers of Mount Arlington. The award followed a request for proposals from four firms.

If you’d like to contact the council with your thoughts on any of these issues, please send an e-mail to council@westorange.org or call 973.325.4155 to leave a message.

I’m a West Orange Township councilman since 2010, reachable at jkrakoviak@westorange.org. I'm a business communications consultant in my spare time.

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