Westwood, Washington Twp. Considering Shared Services Agreement
The municipalities will hold an eight-hour trial next week sharing an emergency dispatcher with Old Tappan and River Vale.
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Westwood's police dispatchers will also take calls for emergencies in Washington Township, Old Tappan and River Vale one day next week in a trial shift to see if the four municipalities can enter a shared services agreement to permanently use the same dispatchers.
"We have an opportunity to investigate potential real cost savings," Westwood Mayor John Birkner said.
Washington Township Mayor Janet Sobkowicz said they would still have a dispatcher working during the trial in case a backup is needed.
Borough and township officials will meet with Hillsdale and county officials next week to discuss another shared services agreement to share court facilities and possibly other emergency services.
The county prosecutor has also agreed to pay for a study of possible shared services with seized funds, as long as at least one item from the study is instituted. The municipalities are planning to send out a request for proposal, which invites bidders to offer their prices and what different services they could investigate.
According to Birkner, many different services could be shared, including D.A.R.E. programs and joint purchases of new equipment, such as narrowbanding radios that all police departments need to switch to by the end of the year. Borough Administrator Robert Hoffman said that seven local municipalities need to buy the radios this year, due to a new federal law.
Hugh Rodgers
7:20 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
The Township should merge totally.
The reasons for its existence are no longer valid.
There are too many towns in NJ, and this is one of the "too many".
resident
11:24 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
The time to use our tax dollars prudently is long overdue. If we plan on atrracting potential buyers and also keep our property values from decling and shared services will be one of the answers, then so be it.
B@B
4:18 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
I agree, Hugh. The Township's local governance is a laughing stock. There is no reason for it not to merge with Westwood.
Gary Conkling
10:01 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
According to the Record 01/01/2012 Washington twp tax levy went up only 1.3% So theymay have got something right. As for Westwood 's tax levy went up 6.1% well over the cap. You must get the real costs before sharing services with another town. Remember get the facts not just the flavor of the day.
LivinLocal
4:26 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
I didn’t realize the 2% cap didn’t include payments on municipal loans and employee benefits. I had to question someone to understand why the property taxes went up as much as they did?
Why have a cap if our elected officials can simply borrow to get around the cap. Seems silly. It’ll take more then shared services to control taxes.
Another question I had but I didn't get an answer for. How does shared services save money by buying radios that all police departments need? Unless we're going to share police and reduce our numbers of police staff. How much would this dispatching actually save on an average tax bill?
Common Cents
8:27 am on Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Seems the cap was a "Feel Good" thing like everything else. Everything should be cut at the knees and started from there. The lack of saying no is more evident than ever. If you do not like the situation you are in, like anybody else, leave or quit. Redundant situations as usual. Also, most radios used in the towns are programable. Most can carry ten or more channels. Unless the Borough has antiques for communication equipment, ten minutes can alter the radio to the necessary frequency.
Jim H
9:53 pm on Saturday, February 25, 2012
WW and WT should merge shared services and let the people enjoy better service and reduced costs. This happens in corporate and should happen in local government. The staff have become complacent and its time for them to work for their jobs.
Jim H
9:54 pm on Saturday, February 25, 2012
Let the towns merge, consolidate and de-layer. its about time to move beyond just dispatch.