Township Committee Temporarily Eliminates 3 More Furlough Days

Township employees can take a breath of relief as the committee has eliminated three upcoming furlough days.

The township committee was to vote on three furlough days — two in May and one in June—but Committeeman David Most recommended that they wait until they have more accurate numbers for the budget.

“We don’t have numbers so we can’t make an accurate determination of how much money we are short, if we’re short at all,” Committeeman Sean Sharkey said.

The committee brainstormed ways to make up for the shortfall and prevent furloughs during the budget meeting. They plan to look into the following:

• Enabling businesses to sponsor athletic fields and roads
• Increasing the user fees for parks and community hall
• Selling Lacey Township-related bumper stickers

Mayor Gary Quinn has written letters to the Policemen’s Benevolent Association and the Fraternal Order of Police asking for givebacks.

“Everyone else staff wise in the building really didn’t give up, they were forced to give up last year and I thought it was important now that the unions as well as the Chief step up to the plate and do something also,” Quinn said.

The givebacks are up to the unions and would go specifically towards furloughs. As an example, unions can choose to waive sick or vacation days, Quinn said.

Quinn will also be meeting with sports organizations on June 17 to discuss having them pay user fees to cover electric bills.

Approximately $70,000 is budgeted for the field’s electricity and the athletic teams would be responsible for about $40,000, Quinn said.

Other ideas included an energy audit and upgrading the municipal building’s system so that it is energy efficient.

The current system in the municipal building is not efficient, municipal Clerk Veronica Laureigh said. Both the heating and air systems need to be replaced. An upgrade costs approximately $60,000, and grants generally only cover upgrades in lighting.

Committeewoman Helen DelaCruz and Sharkey recommended taking $200,000 from the reserve for uncollected taxes.

Chief Financial Officer Adrian Fanning explained that the fund is a non-spending appropriation line item. The reserve is a mechanism provided by the state to keep the municipality operating when taxes are not paid, Fanning said.

When money is taken from the reserve for uncollected taxes, it affects the municipality’s collection rate, Fanning said. Anything pulled out of the fund is taken out of surplus funds.

In 2007, the municipality reduced the fund by $400,000, which translated over numerous years accumulating to a loss of $1 million, Fanning said.

Lacey resident Jim Letellier recommended at the end of the year, to eliminate the yearly physicals. Yearly physicals are budgeted for township employees on top of their medical benefits.

Quinn said that the yearly physicals are contractual but they are trying to eliminate them.

Lacey resident Richard Bidnick figured that 70 percent of the budget is employee salaries (not including benefits, while 25 percent is operating line items. The estimated budget is $2.6 million and the township is currently facing a $2.9 million shortfall.

“I’m trying to figure out how in God’s name you’re going to do this without using any furloughs or any layoffs. It doesn’t seem possible,” Bidnick said. “Everyone’s talking about the public employees and that’s great, they’re doing a great job but who’s concerned about the taxpayers?”

A 2 percent increase with a reduction in services due to furlough days is “fiscally irresponsible,” Bidnick said.

Bidnick recommended switching the township to a four-day workweek, which Quinn was opposed to because it would affect the staff and the taxpayer with a decrease in services.

“We’re trying to do everything we can for the taxpayers, for the staff, and continue to be able to provide the services that people move to this town for,” Quinn said.

So far the committee has eliminated five furlough days. If the township determines that they needed those five days once the numbers are crunched, the committee will have to submit a new furlough plan to the state.

The original furlough plan consisted of 22 days, which would save the town approximately $418,000.

Another budget meeting is slated for June 2 at 6:30 p.m.