The Other Budget

Considering the resounding approval of the school district budget “despite” remarkably low turnout, it seems almost frivolous to dissect the much smaller township budget. However, for the few fiscal conservatives left in town and those on the town council driving towards a more prominent slice of the property tax, this review is for you.

	2011	2010	Increase
Municipal Budget	15246563	15154052	0.61%
Municipal Tax Levey	9604371	9137212	5.11%
Police Salaries	3953719	3748020	5.49%
Health Insurance	1663000	1604000	3.68%
Police Pension	896988	692192	29.59%
Public Employees Pension	262417	195400	34.30%
Capital Improvement Fund	160000	100000	60.00%
Sewer Salaries	537388	483855	11.06%
Municipal Debt Service	1217902	1813703	-32.85%
Bond Principal	701112	1201111	-41.63%
Bond Anticipation	160000	75000	113.33%
Interest Bonds	276791	331068	-16.39%
Interest Notes	79999	206524	-61.26%
Water - Interest Bonds	2750	5404	-49.11%
Water - Interest Notes	41000	71645	-42.77%

As can be seen from the chart above, spending is flat but taxes will be popping another 5%, over triple the school district’s increase.

That increase doesn’t include the hike in sewer rates that appears to be sneaking into the general funds. Sheet 10 of the budget shows a $120,000 revenue item from sewer surplus funds. I guess that’s one way to increase revenue without “raising taxes”.

Police are getting another 5% raise. Hopefully, they’ll go easy on the residents during contract negotiations.

Pension payments are 30% higher, partly because the town council took a payment deferral and then marketed it as a “spending cut”.

Health insurance appears to be under control with costs “only” increasing another 3.7%. Makes you wonder how much money the township wasted during the prior years before getting it under control.

The big mystery to me is how did the township cut municipal debt payments by over 30%. Considering how quickly assets and surpluses are dropping and how fast costs are rising, it’s inconceivable we’ve cut our debt that quickly in a single year. Nor did we accelerate any of the debt payments last year.

One possible hint is the doubling in Bond Anticipation fees. The township may be refinancing its debt and stretching out the payments, which, given the likelihood of rising interest rates, isn’t necessarily a bad idea.

On a side note, any updates on the Cambridge Club? Always wondered if someone from Matawan understood what it took to build in Aberdeen. >>> Read more!

Dead At Last

“Compassion towards the wicked is cruelty to all beings.” – Maimonides, Guide to the Perplexed

Osama bin Laden died at the hands of U.S. Navy Seals.

Thanks to God. Thanks to our courageous and capable military. Thanks to our CIA. And thanks to our civilian leadership who had the backbone to make the hard calls.

A nation thanks you all. >>> Read more!

Congratulations, Ken Aitken

Ken Aitken has won the final year of my unexpired term with a resounding twenty votes.

No doubt the teachers union will be thrilled to see him back just in time for contract negotiations. Maybe they'll even pay him a home visit like last time, though I doubt it. They're far better at frightening children than adults.

Then again, I've been wrong before. Just look at the school budget. >>> Read more!

Greater Aberdeen Garage Sale

It's that time of year again. The first Sunday in June is the Greater Aberdeen Garage Sale.

This is the fourth year and we'll keep it going for as long as people continue to show real interest. (Note to township - The site costs me $77 per year to run. Would sure be nice if the township could take it off my hands.)

Registration is completely free and I will not share your email addresses with anybody. Also, you don't need to register to have a yard sale. Nor does Aberdeen require any permits or the like. If anybody in any of the neighboring towns wishes to participate, you're welcome to join us.

The date is Sunday, June 5th, from 9AM to 4PM. Best of luck to everybody. >>> Read more!

When the School Budget Gets Defeated Again

There’s obviously some kind of disconnect between the school board and voters in the school district. For the past decade, the townsfolk have been crying No Mas! No Mas! Yet, with the exception of one year, the school board keeps voting to raise taxes.

This year, they’re understandably in a bind, having to transition between administrations, but you can already tell how they’re planning to deal with the next budget defeat.

I remember a school board meeting in May, 2008. The budget had just been defeated and Dr. O’Malley, new to the position, was explaining how they were cutting the budget. The big ticket item was replacing the roof at Cambridge Park. I asked Dr. O’Malley if the “spending cut” was going to cost the district more money since the roof would still need replacement plus immediate maintenance. When he was slow to answer, I said, “It’s okay to say ‘yes’."

Well, guess what’s back on the budget and sure enough the price has gone up 21% since 2008 – Roof Replacement, Cambridge Park, $454,485

Expect that item to be the first thing to go overboard when the budget fails. The roof is about 40 years old and does need to be replaced but I suspect they’ll wait until they finish their ADA obligations and then use a “payment plan” for the roof like they did for the football field.

As usual, employees provide the bulk of the expense. Despite all the agonizing cries of yesteryear when Dr. O’Malley slashed the employee rolls, I’ve not heard any stories of the district collapsing. (I did inquire regarding the stories of violence and there does seem to have been a temporary upsurge but that appears to have been quelled.)

I believe we can cut still more. Outsource where you can and transition some non-core programs to after-school programs. Right there is over half a million dollars. There’s a couple hundred thousand more by allowing class sizes to rise to twenty children. From there, we need to “convince” certain employees to retire and then eliminate those positions. That would be another half million. In the high school, we can offer some students to swap their first class for an online class and give them a late start.

After that, we need to bend the cost curve. As the budget shows, in a single year without any major layoffs, "Personal Services - Employee Benefits" is up 10.5%. As those benefits keep skyrocketing, the school district will have no choice but to keep firing personnel.

And the only place to bend the cost curve is in contract negotiations.

One thing to beware in contract negotiations is retroactive pay increases. For example, let’s say the board awards a 3% pay increase with no retroactive pay. School boards tend to promote the teachers are only getting a “1%” increase because that’s the hit to the current budget but the 3% increase creates a new baseline that lasts forever.

Another gotcha is abuse of the salary guide – teachers garnering $9,500 pay increases for worthless degrees that do nothing for the students.

Then there is the endless number of past practices agreed to by prior administrations. No superintendent could possibly know all the past practices but the union does, with written proof going back decades. Any contract that doesn’t address past practices is an invitation for more union abuses.

Finally, I would ask the board to make one more change. Do not sign any contract before a non-binding resolution has been voted upon by the district residents. Before the school board votes upon a contract, allow the community to have their say. After all, it’s the residents who’ll be paying for it. >>> Read more!