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Taxes Can the Council really do much about holding down taxes? Tedeschi: Yes they can hold the line on taxes, but Mayor Ganz and Councilman Caan are too busy kneeling at the altar of Bergen County Democratic Boss Joe Ferriero to try. When I was on the council with Flossie Dobrow and Mary Burdick in the 1990's, we held municipal tax increases at or below the rate of inflation, averaging 3.75% per year. The increases under Ganz and Caan have been on average almost 10% per year. Ganz: Yes. Fair Lawn is 4th in population of 70 Bergen County towns but 40th in budget size. This Council looks line-by-line to reduce spending. This year, the lowest line cut was $4 ( police force); the highest, $700,000 (health insurance). Ohers: $180,000 for employee overtime, cut 25% across-the-board. Over the last 15 years, every Council has cumulatively worked to keep taxes at a relatively stable change of about 7 percent annually. This year, we are at 6.9%. It's more than most of us would like to pay, but the cost of services increases each year. Hyde: Yes. One example would be to increase internal controls. Currently each municipal department has carte blanche on what kind of office equipment they buy, as long as it is within budgeted amounts. I would streamline the system and mandate conforming goods. This would insure the compatibility of equipment between departments as well as giving the borough better pricing through purchasing power. For instance if we buy all of our computers through Dell, we can demand discounts. In addition, if departmental needs change we can just transfer a computer from department to department as opposed to buying a new one. Caan: Yes, and we do. This year we trimmed the increase in the Manager’s budget by 60%. Just this year, by shopping and changing health insurance plans without reducing benefits, we will save $700,000 over the next 12 months. Each year during the budget process we look at each department line by line cutting as little as $4 to thousands of dollars. We look for duplication of services and requests for equipment and find ways where departments can share the same items. Since I have been on the Council, departmental budgets have decreased by $55,000. We have had a hiring freeze for new employees and the number of employees has remained the same for years. The one thing we will not do is compromise the safety of our citizens or our employees. This year we are adding two new police officers to the department. Baratta: I have studied our budget, attended budget hearings, and there are plenty of ways to hold down taxes. The first thing to do would be to establish continuity within our Borough Hall. Create standards for purchasing everything from paper clips to office furniture to computers. Not only would this save us money, it would also increase the working efficiency of the town. We also need to better utilize our personnel. Fair Lawn employs the finest people, but their time is so bogged down in petty issues that their true expertise is being overshadowed; establishing continuity within would allow them to better utilize their time and talents. Fair Lawn has a very intelligent, well-respected CFO, but time and again, I have seen his sound financial advice dismissed by our Mayor and Council. These are just some ideas I have for controlling our taxes.
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