Since
September, I’ve been working with our elected officials to cut costs to lessen
the tax burden on our community. Together, with Town Council we’ve employed
commonsense solutions to reduce expenses and run government more efficiently.
Now as we prepare for the holidays the Township budget has been finalized and
presented to the public.
As
a community and as a local government these are the worst economic conditions
in the last 50 years and certainly the worst I’ve experienced since I moved to
Cherry Hill more than 40 years ago. Nevertheless, over the past three months,
as an elected body, we’ve continued to meet the challenges of the global
recession head on. Again, you will open up your tax bill and over the next two
quarters see a savings on the municipal portion of the bill.
These
measures were made with a steady hand and clear head and have met my primary
goal that was set in June- a budget that reduces costs while preserving our
critical public services. They were made through a variety of innovative ideas
and a combination of cuts.
Innovative
ideas like:
- We’ve
consolidated departments, such as combining purchasing into the legal
department and reengineered other departments to run more efficiently.
- We’ve
reengineered operations.
- We’ve
taken pay cuts and asked for concessions from our six labor bargaining
units.
- We’ve
frozen the cost of living increases for non-contractual employees.
- We’ve
introduced premium sharing - because we believe that all employees should
contribute to their health care costs.
- We’ve
cut the cost of professional services by 10 percent.
- We’re
saving money through cuts to energy usage.
- We’ve
combined Township publications.
- We’re
pursuing shared services with neighboring towns to generate new streams of
revenue.
- We’ve
brought traffic signal maintenance in-house to lock in costs and expedite
service.
- We’ve
worked with PSE&G to garner new savings from the operation of our
thousands of street lights throughout town
In
short, we are ensuring Cherry Hill remains the best place to live at the lowest
possible cost. And in turn, this budget will preserve Cherry Hill’s premiere
status as the town with the lowest municipal tax rate in Camden County.
Now,
through hard work and determination, we are delivering a tax cut of $42 to the
average homeowner. This is a drop of three cents on the tax rate, which is
unprecedented during this tough time period.
During
the last two budget cycles we’ve worked hard to stretch every penny to the
limit in Town Hall and these are the dividends for making the tough choices and
embracing new ideas. Going forward, we will continue to look for efficiencies
in government- from conservation of resources to the implementation of new
renewable energy projects on public land.
I
don’t have to tell the people of Cherry Hill that these are hard times- they
already know that. What I want our community to know is that we made the right
decisions to lessen the financial load on them during these dark economic days.
We’ve
listened to residents and worked hard to garner economic security here at Town
Hall. Nevertheless, we still have more challenges to face, as all towns do:
- We
must continue to invest in the foundation of our Township - from our aging
sewer system to road maintenance.
- We
must continue to preserve our police department and continue to keep
officers on our streets.
- We
must continue to fund programs for our senior citizens who depend on
Township services.
- We
must continue to search for new revenue sources as traditional ones, like
building permits, continue to shrink.
All
of these things must be maintained and my administration will continue to
monitor the solvency and funding sources of our infrastructure.
Again
- we have cut spending and we are reducing the tax rate. Homeowners will see
their bill shrink this winter and spring. As always, commonsense solutions are
at the forefront of our efforts to cut taxes and keep Cherry Hill a prosperous
place to live.
I
believe this document is the first step in making sure Cherry Hill remains a
place where community, commerce and culture thrive.
Budget 2010
