EMERSON—Borough department heads, including police, public works, and ambulance corps officials offered preliminary budget proposals Feb. 4 during a special budget workshop prior to future introduction of a 2023-2024 municipal budget.
No overall budget figure was disclosed, but Mayor Danielle DiPaola praised the department heads for reducing their initial budget requests in light of anticipated local cost increases from the Bergen County Joint Insurance Fund (about 9% to 10%) and the state health benefits program (up about 20%) over last year.
A YouTube recording of the Feb. 4 budget session can be viewed on the borough website.
Other departments presenting preliminary budget and capital improvement requests were the volunteer fire department, finance/tax department, and administrator/borough clerk.
“Due to circumstances outside of our control, the Borough is faced with a significant tax increase for this year,” Mayor Danielle DiPaola said, starting off the nearly 21⁄2-hour Saturday morning budget review session.
“The budget is a living breathing document, we work on it every day. Nothing is written in stone yet,” DiPaola told Pascack Press. She said savings may be possible with outsourcing of police dispatch services, which was on the Feb. 7 council meeting agenda.
DiPaola said “significant increases” were mostly due to contractual obligations, including garbage collection, police, DPW salaries, and Insurance.
“All of these (contractual) things are going up,” she said, noting department capital requests would be considered over upcoming budget meetings. “We’ll try to honor as many requests while keeping taxes at a level palatable to our taxpayers. We do more with less every day,” added the mayor.
On Feb. 4, Chief Financial Officer Lauren Roehrer said annual appropriations would be up over 3.5% and mostly all the increases would be due to contractual increases in wages, plus an annual jump of $463,770 due to increasing garbage collection and insurance rates.
She said the borough’s pension obligation increased by $162,540 and debt service increased $158,750. She said that every single department head had gone over respective budget requests and cut back on annual requests to reduce the 2023-2024 budget.
Much of the upcoming local budget increases were detailed by Frank Covelli, a representative for Professional Insurance Associates, the borough’s insurance agent.
Covelli said the county Joint Insurance Fund increase would be about 9.9% to Emerson due to increasing costs of workers compensation benefits statewide, including a workers comp wage increase to an $1,100 per week maximum. Moreover, he said recent hurricanes and resulting property damage claims have driven up related insurance rates another 12%.
He said that Emerson rates currently as a Tier II municipality for cyber liability insurance. This insurance protects the borough against potential cyber attacks and intrusions, which costs Emerson about $10,000 annually.
He said this ranking was much better than other towns, which rated lower and paid much more with a higher deductible for cyber insurance protection.
Police Chief Michael Mazzeo said it was “very difficult” to keep part-time police dispatchers, noting much of an extra $33,000 in last year’s overtime budget was due to covering for dispatchers as well as covering for crossing guards. He said in six months last year, the department went through eight part-time dispatchers.
The department’s crossing guard budget went from $109,700 last year to $123,750, due to an increase in guards’ pay rate. He said they were paying $16 an hour, but that will increase to $21 hourly.
Mazzeo also noted that the Police Academy would not be conducting another dispatcher training class until March, and police would have to cover some shifts until then with overtime.
A possible police camera monitoring system was suggested by police officials to help cut auto thefts and criminal activity, although its cost was not stated. That was not included in this next year’s budget, said police officials.
A proposed capital budget request from the police department for 2023 included two all-wheel drive police interceptor SUVs at $59,273 each, plus four 9 millimeter carbines and six 9 millimeter handguns for $16,056.30.
Fire Dept. Chief Tom Carlos told members that the department had put in for a new pumper truck, with equipment, for $900,000. No decision was made on the purchase.
The department has a 1998 pumper. He said the new pumper was likely to take over two years to build and deliver when ordered, noting a salesperson told him prices could increase another 20% later this year.
Officials wondered if a lower-cost, used pumper truck might be available. Carlos said while it’s possible a lower-cost vehicle might be found, it’s likely to not be in great shape and also require costly repairs and maintenance.
A proposed capital budget requests $14,000 for personal protective equipment; $140,000 for tri-band radio system upgrades, and $900,000 for a new pumper truck and equipment. The department request notes this vehicle has increased $225,000 in price since it was first requested in 2019. It also notes its trade-in value as approximately $10,000.
Representatives from the volunteer ambulance corps said they spent about $4,000 more over the last year than allotted to them, and also put in a request for new radio equipment for $15,000.
Officials said about 12 new volunteer members had joined in the last year, and four will be completing EMT training in about a month. They said they hoped to have more shifts staffed soon, though daytime coverage by Holy Name Hospital should continue.
To qualify as an EMS first responder, volunteers must complete 40 hours of training and an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) requires 260 hours of training, plus continuing education credits, said the corps.
A proposed capital budget requested $54,000 for a power load stretcher mount, which lifts a stretcher from the ground into the back of an ambulance; and $10,000 to purchase/replace equipment and personal protective equipment
DiPaola praised the new members and the corps efforts to recruit new volunteers. She also asked residents who could to make a monetary donation to the corps for items such as medical supplies and equipment to do so.
Public Works Director Perry Solimando said they were able to reduce overtime and Roehrer said any budget increases at the DPW were mostly due to contract-mandated increases.
A proposed DPW capital budget requested $245,000 for a new salter with plow; two portable radios for $14,000; and a new landscape trailer for $8,500. Other 2024-2025 budget year items included a grant-funded electric vehicle and replacement for a 2007 street sweeper. In 2025-2026, the DPW requested a new chassis for a 1995 dump truck, and a new Ford F-250 with 9-foot plow and two way radio to replace a 2006 pick-up truck.
Prices were “to be determined” in 2024 and 2025, said the DPW’s request.