In his annual budget address, Gov. Christie outlined the state’s fiscal picture for the coming year, detailing a more than $29 billion budget that includes aid to towns and schools and propositions to make major changes to the institutional way things are done in New Jersey.
In that speech, the governor spoke of what he called the “New Normal” for New Jersey. He spoke of priorities and tough decisions; of moving away from the status quo because the current way of doing business just isn’t sustainable.
Ladies and gentlemen, here in Cherry Hill, the principles of prioritizing, making tough choices and fiscal responsibility are not a “new” normal. Not by a long shot.
Throughout my administration, Town Council and I have worked to craft budgets that fund our critical services while reducing our expenses by more than $3 million. We have one of the lowest municipal tax rates in Camden County, and we have achieved that through shared sacrifice and smart choices.
Since 2006, we have reduced personnel from 351 to 290 — slashing the municipal workforce by almost 20 percent. More than 30 of those cuts came in the past year.
Of those who remain, we’re working more efficiently: merging departments, and re-engineering operations in the Police Department, for example.
The governor talked about the need to cut salaries. At Town Hall, our business administrator, your seven Council members, and I have cut our own pay by 10 percent for two consecutive years. Our non-contractual employees have seen their wages frozen, and we are working with our collective bargaining units to ensure shared sacrifice.
Years ago we were one of the first municipalities to start asking employees to contribute to their health insurance and now my management team is paying for roughly 20 percent of the cost of those benefits annually.
That is far above the 8 percent state average the governor cited in his address last Tuesday, and it means his goal of requiring employees to contribute 30 percent by 2014 is already within our reach in Cherry Hill.
Much as the governor has touted New Jersey as a leader among the states, I would venture to say that Cherry Hill is a leader among municipalities.
We’ve taken the governor’s best practices test and aced it because Town Council and I are running this ship like a small business.
We’ve made smart investments in sustainability — goals that ultimately benefit both the environment and, most importantly, our bottom line. We’re online with a solar-panel array at the Department of Public Works, and we’re moving forward with a small-scale solar project and other common-sense upgrades at Town Hall — like LED lighting in the Community Center — that will greatly reduce our operating costs.
And perhaps most importantly, we have set the standard on shared services and consolidation. In the past two years, we’ve crafted agreements with the Cherry Hill school and fire districts, Camden County, Gloucester Township, and Merchantville Borough, and we explore new options every day. The centerpiece of those efforts was a landmark agreement this past fall with four of those entities that is saving the residents of Cherry Hill $2 million in trash costs over the next five years.
With all this said, I think the governor and I would agree on one thing: There is more work to be done.
The governor challenged the Legislature to enact certain health-care and pension reforms in exchange for a minimal state pension contribution and increased tax relief. I’d like to make my own challenge to Trenton: Enact reforms that give local governments the tools they need to control costs.
And the residents of Cherry Hill can be sure that, as we move forward in this year and beyond, we will continue to do the right thing — even when that’s the tough thing — for our community.
Bernie Platt is the mayor of Cherry Hill. He can be reached at 488–7878 or [email protected].
In his annual budget address last week, Gov. Christie outlined the state’s fiscal picture for the coming year, detailing a more than $29 billion budget that includes aid to towns and schools and propositions to make major changes to the institutional way things are done in New Jersey. In that speech, the governor spoke of what he called the “New Normal” for New Jersey. He spoke of priorities and tough decisions; of moving away from the status quo because the current way of doing business just isn’t sustainable. Ladies and gentlemen, here in Cherry Hill, the principles of prioritizing, making tough choices and fiscal responsibility are not a “new” normal. Not by a long shot. Throughout my administration, Town Council and I have worked to craft budgets that fund our critical services while reducing our expenses by more than $3 million. We have one of the lowest municipal tax rates in Camden County, and we have achieved that through shared sacrifice and smart choices. Since 2006, we have reduced personnel from 351 to 290 — slashing the municipal workforce by almost 20 percent. More than 30 of those cuts came in the past year. Of those who remain, we’re working more efficiently: merging departments, and re-engineering operations in the Police Department, for example. The governor talked about the need to cut salaries. At Town Hall, our business administrator, your seven Council members, and I have cut our own pay by 10 percent for two consecutive years. Our non-contractual employees have seen their wages frozen, and we are working with our collective bargaining units to ensure shared sacrifice.Years ago we were one of the first municipalities to start asking employees to contribute to their health insurance and now my management team is paying for roughly 20 percent of the cost of those benefits annually. That is far above the 8 percent state average the governor cited in his address last Tuesday, and it means his goal of requiring employees to contribute 30 percent by 2014 is already within our reach in Cherry Hill. Much as the governor has touted New Jersey as a leader among the states, I would venture to say that Cherry Hill is a leader among municipalities. We’ve taken the governor’s best practices test and aced it because Town Council and I are running this ship like a small business. We’ve made smart investments in sustainability — goals that ultimately benefit both the environment and, most importantly, our bottom line. We’re online with a solar-panel array at the Department of Public Works, and we’re moving forward with a small-scale solar project and other common-sense upgrades at Town Hall — like LED lighting in the Community Center — that will greatly reduce our operating costs.And perhaps most importantly, we have set the standard on shared services and consolidation. In the past two years, we’ve crafted agreements with the Cherry Hill school and fire districts, Camden County, Gloucester Township, and Merchantville Borough, and we explore new options every day. The centerpiece of those efforts was a landmark agreement this past fall with four of those entities that is saving the residents of Cherry Hill $2 million in trash costs over the next five years.With all this said, I think the governor and I would agree on one thing: There is more work to be done. The governor challenged the Legislature to enact certain health-care and pension reforms in exchange for a minimal state pension contribution and increased tax relief. I’d like to make my own challenge to Trenton: Enact reforms that give local governments the tools they need to control costs. And the residents of Cherry Hill can be sure that, as we move forward in this year and beyond, we will continue to do the right thing — even when that’s the tough thing — for our community. Bernie Platt is the mayor of Cherry Hill. He can be reached at 488–7878 or [email protected].
