City officials have trimmed the city’s $58 million budget keeping taxes to a minimum but some residents will be forced to change how they live.
Garbage will no longer be picked up from residents’ backyards and the annual community event Englewood Day will be a distant memory this year.
The budget, reduced by more $800,000 in Public Works, Recreation and other expense accounts, was introduced by the City Council April 8. A public hearing will be held on the budget May 6.
The various reductions were made in an effort by city administrators and the governing body to stabilize taxes this year and in future years when the cost of services will increase and revenues are expected to drop.
A trend has plagued Englewood as well as many other surrounding municipalities – the cost of services and public salaries are outweighing the amount of money cities and towns are making to pay for them.
In Englewood, the cost of city services increased by about 5 percent this year and the city didn’t get the same state aid it usually does to help pay the bill.
But courtesy of the city budget cuts and revenue from development, city officials announced that taxes will increase an estimated 3 percent compared to 2007.
Taxpayers will pay a new rate of $1.90 for every $100 of value on their home or property, according to interim City Manager Robert Casey.
A resident with a home valued at about $500,000 will pay approximately $350 more this year.
Officials touted the increase as a "great accomplishment," because although costs are rising, taxes are being kept relatively low.
"For the past three years, the tax increases have been 4.6 percent, 4 percent and now 3.2 percent," Rosenzweig said.
"Before I came on the council our taxes always went up over 6 percent per year and sometimes the increase was even in the double digits. But this council has continuously looked for ways to increase the tax base and trim the budget while still providing essential services."
One service, not essential according to city officials, is rear-yard garbage pickup. No money was allocated for it in this year’s budget, saving the city about $400,000, Rosenzweig and Casey said.
Rosenzweig said a third of residents don’t use the service.
For residents who want rear-yard garbage pickup twice a week, they will be asked to fill out a form, pay a fee and put their trash in plastic bags.
As a result, the city’s Department of Public Works operation will change beginning as early as May.
Employees will be transferred out of sanitation and placed in other divisions to do grass cutting and tree-trimming, tasks that were going to be outsourced. Having city employees do the work will save upwards of $130,000, officials said.
Not everyone is happy with the change.
DPW worker Nicholas Azur said there were ways the department could make more money rather than change the operation.
"With less guys you are going to have exhausted guys," he said. "It could end up costing you a lot more than you’re saving."
Fourth Ward Councilman Jack Drakeford argued there wasn’t enough planning done by officials before the new operational plan was proposed to see how it would actually work to benefit the DPW and residents.
In another cost-cutting move, Recreation Department officials will start charging more fees for programs in an effort by the department to pay for itself. Officials will charge double for the recreation after school program, from $100 to $200 per child.
A payment plan will be offered, officials said.
Other cuts made in the budget include a reduction of funds to pay for terminal leave benefits for public employees and the elimination of Englewood Day. The event cost more than $30,000, not including money paid in overtime to police who would have provided security for the event.
E-mail: kumka@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6705
