Moorestown is looking at changes in 2013, as well as a few challenges.
Amid three new council members and major construction projects, there are “unknowns” in Moorestown for 2013, township manager Scott Carew said.
The town hall/library project and field, street and road improvements are top priorities for 2013, he said adding details about the 2013 budget are unknown.
“Our financial outlook is better than most towns going into 2013 because of cost savings and additional revenues that went into this year’s budget,” Carew said.
Some departments in the township have to “fill some of the holes that have been created” by a reduction in staffing, he said.
According to Carew, most departments in Moorestown reduced staffing from five years ago, and, in some cases, it has been a struggle to continually provide the same services while keeping “taxes neutral.” But with incoming revenue from the sale of liquor licenses to the Moorestown Mall and East Gate — which purchased a license for approximately $1 million — Carew said the township is in a better spot than most.
“Ultimately, it’s always our goal to hold spending and keep the taxes stable. What most towns have faced is reductions in revenues. We are actually in a good spot,” he said.
Mayor John Button announced at a meeting on Monday, Dec. 18, the new theater at the mall expects to open by the summer of 2013. Restaurateur Marc Vetri plans to open his restaurant, Osteria, before the theater is complete, Carew said.
The new Virtua building will also be fully open by 2013.
Besides awarding liquor licenses and the start of construction, the township’s significant cost savings in energy and a town-wide reassessment “significantly reduced [Moorestown’s] overall appropriations,” Carew said.
“We are going to really focus on upgrading our utility structure,” he said, adding the township’s interest is in long-term planning. “Fortunately, that’s an area where we have funding to do these improvements, tax neutral. We are looking at a multi-year plan every year.”
With three new members on council, Carew said the biggest challenge is getting the new members up to speed. He said there are high expectations for the incoming council members, but it is still another “unknown.”
“It’s a year we are all looking forward to,” he said.
Moorestown School District
Moorestown Board of Education President Don Mishler said the major challenge for 2013 is settling teacher contracts that expire on July 21. But in light of the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School and teachers’ concerns with the schools use of social media, Mishler said solving the security problems is a recent challenge.
“Formulating a budget with very little to work with is clearly a challenge. Now we have security issues that are a challenge,” said Mishler. “We don’t have any money to do anything until we have a new budget that would allow for [security improvements] if we could. We really can’t do anything until we have a new budget.”
He said revenue generation is something the school district will continually look into, but it won’t solve financial problems.
“You are looking at small amounts of money,” Mishler said.
“If we can just keep doing what we do well, we will be OK. We will continue to produce great students,” he said.
