FREEHOLD – The Board of Chosen Freeholders has adopted a 2009 county budget that contains an overall decrease in salaries that reflects the current economic downturn.

 

“This is a very austere budget, and one that addresses the concerns of all Monmouth County taxpayers during one of the worst recessions in decades,” Freeholder Director Barbara J. McMorrow said. “I want to thank those employees who have recognized this dilemma and have elected to give up their wage increases this year so that we can preserve jobs and meet our expenses in this economy.”

 

The budget was adopted last night in a 3-to-2 vote. Before adoption, the freeholders trimmed $2,715,848 million from the spending plan by eliminating another $1.8 million in capital expenses and readjusting the county’s allocation to Brookdale Community College. As adopted, the total budget is $487,500,152, up 1.3 percent over last year and below the current rate of inflation.

 

The amount to be raised through taxation is $294,784,152, which reflects the entire $2.7 million reduction contained in the amendment. The increase in the amount to be raised through taxes is $8,280,152, or just under 2.9 percent. Last year there was no tax increase, which brings the two-year average tax increase in the budget to less than 1.5 percent per year.

 

Freeholder Deputy Director John D’Amico and Freeholder Amy Mallet, who joined McMorrow in support of the budget, said the budget lays a foundation for future years because there are many challenges that lie ahead as the economy begins to improve.

 

“The economy may be bottoming out, but there is a lag effect where the ratables will still fall, our revenues will be down and we have the closing of Fort Monmouth to contend with,” D’Amico said. “We need to have a conservative budget, we need to maintain a fund balance and we need to ask all employees to accept a wage freeze or, if they don’t, face possible layoffs.”

 

Voting no were Freeholders Robert D. Clifton, liaison to the Finance Department, and Lillian G. Burry. Both said they voted against the budget because it contained funding for the Youth Detention Center and did not authorize the transfer of juveniles in a cooperative agreement with Middlesex County. They also criticized cuts to the Vocational School District and Brookdale Community College.

           

“Still in the budget is funding for the continued operation of the Youth Detention Center, for which we have identified $2.1 million in savings if we were to move 22 violent offenders to Middlesex County, which has a better facility,” Clifton said.

 

Despite an overall increase in spending due to a number of fixed costs, such as pension contributions and insurance, the budget reflects a sharp drop-off in revenues from realty transfer fees and investments due to the nation’s ailing economy.

 

Finance Director Mark E. Acker alerted freeholders last summer that the county was looking at almost $25 million in increased costs. As a result, all county departments were ordered to hold back 5 percent of all discretionary spending and asked to prepare their 2009 other expense budgets reflecting a 15 percent decrease. Additionally, all 2008 overtime was restricted to essential services.

 

Therefore, in early 2009 county officials took these other steps to trim expenses: 

Freeholders then froze salaries of all 1,087 nonunion county employees at 2008 levels, which will result in a savings of about $2.4 million, and have asked all 23 bargaining units to do the same or face layoffs. Savings on union salaries would equal about $4.8 million and close the budget gap.

 

“I know there is disagreement on where the cuts had to be made, but in the end we need to have a budget so we can govern,” McMorrow said.  

 

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