Trash pickup, recycling and snow plowing may be privatized, as Mayor Randy Brown and the Township Council look for ways to save taxpayer money.
Interim township manager Bill Cromie presented the first iteration of the 2012 township budget at a workshop meeting recently, with the yearly budget coming in at $32.990,696.
This year’s budget, Cromie said, is only about $13,000 more than the 2010 budget.
The budget at this very early stage has a tax increase of about 2.26 cents, Cromie said, a 1 percent increase from the local purpose tax rate in 2011. The average assessed home in Evesham Township — if the budget was passed at this moment — would see an increase of about $58 in a municipal tax bill.
It’s less than what most people pay for cable, but just like in 2011, Brown said he would not vote in favor of a budget that included a tax rate hike for township residents.
“I look at the budget now and there’s a lot of room to work. Health insurance costs for our township have increased by 46 percent from 2008 to 2012,” Brown said. “The contributions remain about the same each year though. Trying to maintain tax stability with a 46 percent cost increase and having no additional revenue coming into the township is purely unsustainable.”
He then went on to offer a number of possible solutions to increase revenue and cost cuts for Evesham Township.
It’s time to look at privatization for every single township service, Brown said, including trash and recycling collection, public works services, grass cutting, snow removal and several others.
Officials need to look at every single fee for township fields and the way the golf course is managed to see if all revenue opportunities are being maximized, Brown said.
“We need to take a look at the programs we offer in town. If a program loses us money, it’s gone,” Brown said.
It’s also time to streamline the way the township operates, Brown said, and to take a hard look at each department to see if there’s a more efficient way to run things.
“We need to work with our community partners, such as local businesses, the school district, the MUAs,” Brown said. “The days of consolidation are here and we need to embrace it.”
Brown’s fellow council members agreed.
It’s a simple formula for success, Councilman Ken D’Andrea said, if you look at it as expenses versus revenues.
“If we can cut and reduce expenses in all aspects of the township, then that’s great,” he said. “But I also know that there are untapped and unsolicited revenue streams we need to take advantage of.”
In positive budget news, for the first time since 2006, Cromie said he was happy to report the township wouldn’t be using any deferred school tax dollars for the budget.
In other news, the township will increase its surplus in 2012 from $450,000 to $500,000, which is important to help combat rising tax appeals.
This past year, Township Financial Officer Tom Shanahan said, the township had to pay $600,000 in tax appeals.
Health insurance costs and salaries for police officers both rose in 2012, with insurance increasing by $296,000 and police salaries increasing by $335,000.
The budget could possibly be adopted on final reading as early as May, officials said.
