Mahwah August 22, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Concerns expressed as council defeats recycling plan by Frank J. McMahon Mayor William Laforet and Mahwah Township Business Administrator Brian Campion envision a serious budget problem looming in 2013 as a result of the council’s defeat of their proposal to privatize the collection of recyclables in the township. Laforet and Campion claim the 2.5 percent salary increase all employees began to receive on July 1, 2012 that will have to be paid for all of 2013, plus increased pensions contributions and health benefit cost increases, have already absorbed 1.4 percent of the two percent cap on the township’s tax levy increase. They predicted that layoffs of township employees will be needed to meet that two percent tax levy cap. To try to address that looming budget crunch, Laforet and Campion proposed a plan to outsource and privatize the collection of recyclables in the township, a function now performed by seven members of the township’s department of public works. They estimated that outsourcing the collection of recyclables to a private firm would result in a savings of $334,000 per year. The proposed plan would have maintained the same method and collection schedule for residents, but would have impacted seven DPW positions. One DPW employee would have been retained for miscellaneous recycling duties, two employees would have been transferred to open positions in the water department, and four employees would have been laid off as of Oct. 1 with the expectation that those four employees would be rehired in 2013 as other DPW employees retire. There was strong opposition to the plan from the 27 DPW employees and their supporters who attended the Aug. 9 council meeting, which drew a large turnout. The employees asserted that the DPW employees are critical members of the community who are also volunteer firefighters and who are available to help residents in emergencies, such as last year’s flooding. The DPW workers and their supporters also claimed that the layoffs would negatively impact grass and leaf collection and snow plowing in the township, and the loss of volunteer firefighters would negatively impact the township’s emergency services. In addition, they claimed the layoffs would mean fewer available DPW workers for events such as Mahwah Day, the senior citizen picnic, town parades, storm cleanups, and brush removal. Marc Bracciodieta, one of the DPW employees who lives in the township, criticized the mayor for misleading them about the number of employees who would be laid off under his plan and on his attempt to sell the plan on the basis that they could get unemployment benefits and go fishing. “The guys here want to work,” Bracciodieta said. “They don’t want to go fishing.” Five of the seven council members voted not to implement the privatizing of the recyclables collection. Instead, they called for a review of the staffing in all township departments during next year’s budget review process. Councilman Samuel Alderisio, who made the motion to approve the resolution to award a contract to an outside private company, and Council President John Spiech, were the two members of the council who voted for the plan. Alderisio said that department heads have been asked to make staff cuts over many years in the past and have not done so, and there is nothing left in the operating budget to cut. He said he did not want to “kick the can down the road” on this issue because more staff cuts may be necessary at budget time. Spiech said he based his position on the long-range impact on taxpayers. He said he did not see any reduction in services as a result of this plan, and the layoffs were necessary in order for the township to survive. “I have a responsibility to 26,000 people out there,” Spiech said. The other members of the council did not see the need to act now, however, and they voiced the opinion that they wanted to look at the whole budget picture for 2013 before agreeing to layoffs. Councilman Harry Williams also said he did not want to make a decision in an emotional environment. Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio expressed the sentiment that it is not the council that makes the town great, but the people like those employees in the DPW. She said she wants to look at the whole budget before acting on layoffs. Councilman John Roth also voted against the plan, saying he learned from his experience in the corporate world not to lay off people unless he can look them in the eye and say he has looked at all the alternatives. “We haven’t done that,” he said, “and we have to look at the whole thing.” Mayor Laforet voiced his disappointment with the council’s vote, saying, “The taxpayers lost tonight. In today’s economy, it’s unconscionable that they voted against the taxpayer.”