Chatham Boro Completes Best Practices Inventory

Chatham Borough will receive all of its state aid in 2013 after complying with 48 of 50 categories in the 2012 Best Practices Inventory.

The Best Practices Inventory, now in its third year, is a mandatory checklist distributed by the state to its 565 municipalities to ensure responsible use of taxpayer dollars.

Borough Administrator Robert Falzarano explained during Monday’s council meeting that the amount of categories with which a municipality complies determines how much state aid it receives.

Municipalities that comply with 41 to 50 categories receive complete state aid. Likewise, 33 to 40 categories receive 80 percent, 25 to 32 get 60 percent, 17 to 24 get 40 percent, nine to 16 receive 20 percent and eight or less categories equals no aid.

The borough complied with 48 categories, did not comply with one and received a non-applicable designation for the other category.

“A couple categories, we can create ordinances to sure them up a little bit more, which we’ll talk about as the year progresses,” Falzarano said.

The administrator said the borough has been adhering to most of these best practices for many years before the inventory was required.

“A lot of this was a matter of filling out the sheet and not having to go and reinvent how we conduct our business with the borough,” he said. “It’s taken a lot of years of support from this council to accomplish this.”

Mayor Bruce Harris said Falzarano deserved most of the congratulations, noting that the administrator has worked hard during his 11-year tenure to “make sure we are doing things the right way.”

“It’s certainly no surprise to me that we have fulfilled the best practices and will receive 100 percent of the financing from the state with Bob’s leadership and the cooperation of the council,” Joseph Marts, a former mayor and councilman, said. “That type of leadership is certainly a benefit to the entire community.”