BY ANN GENADER
WEST MILFORD — The governing body talked about capital items proposed in the 2017 Township of West Milford Municipal Budget at the latest of their ongoing series of budget discussions on Feb. 22.
Some department heads were present to participate with budget consultant Robert Casey and Township Administrator Antoinette Battaglia.
Casey provided commentary on various documents submitted by township officials as well as the volunteer fire department and first aid squads for funding of capital items in 2017. Casey urged that the capital budget be adopted in March before the operating budget is completed so that contracts can be awarded in April in order to meet implementation dates for several existing grants.
Capital budget requests: $7.6 millionThe total of all 2017 requests is $7,593,150, as compared to the $3,250,000 approved in 2016. Casey explained that several of the larger requests were included primarily to generate discussion on how these identified needs are to be met: reuse of the former library, rehabilitation of the town hall and replacement of the police emergency telephone system.
Casey said, in reference to the former library and town hall, it is recommended that in 2017 an architectural/hvac/mechanical analysis be done of the former library building and town hall to document the actual needs. The information included in the 2017 request is based upon a preliminary analysis by the township engineering office and these conclusions need to be verified by expert third party consultants, he explained. Included with the capital requests is a proposal to do these studies at a cost not to exceed $25,000. Casey said this cost can be funded out of existing prior year capital ordinances.
Casey recommended that the request for the replacement of the police emergency telephone/911 system be delayed for a year to allow a review of alternate technologies available to accomplish these emergency communications. Casey said the key issue to be addressed is whether, from a technology standpoint, dispatch operation can be provided remotely and yet still use the township’s existing radio system with this system also having the capability to return to a local dispatch under emergency conditions.
At this point a remote dispatch system is not being recommended; however, having this information available prior to replacing the existing system may be beneficial to cost control in future years, he said. According to Casey, funds again are available from a prior capital ordinance to cover this cost.
Other requestsOther than those three items, the other requests are fairly traditional with the largest cost relating to roadway improvements. Casey said due to council action in 2016 on Nosenzo Park, the 2017 Recreation/Open Space request centers on Farrell Field rehabilitation responding to a 2015 grant. Under engineering, for budget reasons, the last section of the Ridge Road project which could be done in 2017 is recommended by Casey to be postponed until 2018.
Casey said the requests from the Department of Public Works are significantly lower than in past years as the department reevaluates its needs in view of the new equipment that has been provided in recent years.
The requests of the volunteer fire department and first aid squads for replacement equipment give a significant impact on the proposed 2017 appropriation.
“In a number of areas, it is recommended that certain requests be postponed until 2018 or later in an effort to stabilize the capital and debt impact on the budgets of the municipality,” said Casey. “There are a number of open issues that are not addressed that may become significant in the near future.”