Borough Council Discusses Potential Cuts in 2010 Budget

The Chatham Borough Council discussed its budget options Monday night in the wake of a the municipality will face in 2010.

The borough will likely have to cut services or raise taxes and members of the town council and borough staff are uncomfortable with both options.

"Last week, we cut the budget as much as possible without reducing services; now we're getting into the area where we are looking that way," said Councilman Bruce Harris. A preliminary budget proposed last week contained a zero percent tax increase for residents.

One of the primary areas of question was the police department, which saw three officers leave in the past year for retirement. Chief Financial Officer Tammie Kopin said that in an effort to save money, the borough could potentially not fill some of the spots, though she said that option was not a desirable one.

Later, Councilman James Lonergan asked Police Chief Phillip Crosson what the implications of such an action would be.

Crosson noted that since he came to Chatham the nationally accredited police department has been reduced in size by seven officers—a "28 percent reduction which is starting to affect our performance," he said. Furthermore, Crosson said that failing to replenish the open positions would result in more overtime and, in turn, tired officers who could be more susceptible to injury.

"I really believe that these officers need to be replaced for us to continue providing services. We are at most times operating on bare minimum," he said. "We, as I've said before, are one bad incident or call from being undermanned."

Councilman Joseph Marts concurred with Crosson.

"I think it's very important to hire more police officers," he said. "I think that is very, very critical."

The council later raised the possibility of hiring a civilian to perform some law enforcement duties. That person could potentially perform administrative duties such as keeping track of training and updating policies.

Still, department heads said they hoped the borough could keep from making too many cuts.

"They are going to affect your services in a big way," said Department of Public Works Director Robert Venezia, who has had to manage budget cuts, injured workers and inclement weather all year.

Others said outside factors could contribute to higher taxes for residents.

"I'm speaking as a resident here—even if we make a decision on a zero percent increase, that doesn't prepare us for what the schools may have to do," said Councilman John Holman.

The School District of the Chathams' adopted budget contains an 8.9 percent tax levy increase, and the average borough homeowner will see their taxes increase by 3.4 percent.

But others stressed the council cannot worry about what schools may do.

"Our focus should only be on the municipal budget, because that is what we can control," said Council President James Collander, who joined the meeting via conference call.

The borough Finance Committee will work in the coming weeks to prepare a budget for approval and advertisement on April 22, while the council members will prepare their own recommendations for spending. But council members acknowledged they face difficult challenges, both this year and next.

"We could look like heroes today but fools in 2011," Marts said.

Correction: A previous version of this article said that civilians could perform backup crossing guard duties if they become members of the police department. They would not be intended to do that; they would perform other administrative functions.