The Case for Shared Services
A few years back I was at a meeting with a group of other local mayors discussing how Somerset County competes with other parts of the nation in attracting big business and jobs to the area. We discussed the county’s positive attributes; educated/motivated workforce, good schools, beautiful communities, all of what we love about the area. Then one mayor lamented that it was too bad we cannot do much about property taxes. At first I was outraged; imagine a group of mayors, who sign their municipalities’ budgets, conceding to the status quo of high property taxes. Then was chagrined…I understood too well that if you simply look internally at the costs for services, along with the ever-increasing costs of health care, labor, and energy, one could be pessimistic to lowering the cost of local government. Each mayor only looked at his or her town as an island; where the only resources were within their borders. Instead we need to look regionally, to see what each of us has to offer to our neighbors and what can be exchanged for the betterment of all communities.
The cost of living in New Jersey and the bite property taxes have on the average resident is the greatest threat to our way of life in New Jersey. We need to take a business-like view of local government services, with scrutiny on redundancy, inefficiency and overhead. The answer lies in shared services which allow for economies of scale, competitive bidding, and improved service for the taxpayers.
There are already examples of successful shared services locally. Far Hills Borough, contracts Public Works with Bedminster Township. Bedminster and Far Hills also share a volunteer Fire Department, First Aid Squad and the Clarence Dillon Public Library.
Municipal Courts: Consider the shared municipal court of Bernardsville, Bedminster and Peapack-Gladstone. Each town struggled to maintain a court facility, employ a staff with a credentialed Court Administrator, and hire a judge, prosecutor, and public defender. Each town only had enough cases to hold court for a few hours, two or four times a month. This was a tremendous overhead for a small amount of production. The new shared court serves three municipalities, employs one staff (less than half of the three combined), one judge, prosecutor, and public defender. The new court meets one day a week. Previously court services were a drain on each of the three municipalities, now the court is self-sufficient and has saved more than a half a million tax dollars for the three towns over since inception in 2015.
We need to use this model to look at other services that our towns provide that could be improved:
Police: The single greatest cost driver for any municipality, and, aside from the school, the service most important our residents. We look to our police to keep us safe and we should always strive to have a capable, well trained and well equipped force that deploys its resources efficiently and effectively. In the Somerset Hills we have small (under 20 officers) and very small departments (under 10). Each department has a Chief, a second in command, and a detective bureau. Each town must maintain a jail/detainment cell, weapons/ammunition, a fleet of vehicles/radios, etc. Small and very small departments impede officer career development; there are few candidates to compete for fewer positions, and less opportunity for advancement. Growing a new “chief”, required by state law to be promoted from within, is difficult with such a limited pool of candidates. Shared services in police services could be as modest as sharing shifts, shared regional training/resources, or a full-fledged merger into a regional force. Patrol coverage can be maintained, personnel professional development and training can be enhanced, and significant tax dollars can be saved.
Building Code Inspections: If you have ever put an addition to your home, you know that there are a myriad of permits and inspections before/during/after construction. Many small towns only have enough demand to hire inspectors one or two days a week. Taxpayers utilizing this service are often frustrated when they are ready for an inspection only to find they must wait a week or more until it is “our day” for the inspector to serve our municipality. This is a service that should be available every work day. Lost time during construction costs money and slows progress. This is a service that should be regional, perhaps even at the county level.
Library: The Clarence Dillon Public Library, already a shared service success, is vibrant and serving as a library/culture and community center. Peapack-Gladstone has a library in a few rooms in Boro Hall and has struggled to build a stand-alone facility. If Peapack-Gladstone joined CDPL, it would gain a more robust library with greater service to the twin borough’s taxpayers.
Recreation: In the Somerset Hills, we have recreation departments that put forth quality programs but struggle to serve enough “customers” to make them self-sufficient. Our towns are not equal in terms of athletic fields, indoor facilities and population and municipalities struggle to match facilities with demand. Spending on turf fields, pools and recreation programs often falls short in tight municipal budgets when compared to roads, police and first responders. All of our children will go to high school together; shouldn’t they play together in youth recreation? Regionalization of recreation programs is the answer.
There are plenty of opportunities for local governments to innovate to save money and/or provide better service for our taxpayers. The obstacle is political will on the part of local leaders (mayors, council/township committee members). Often they cite the loss of local identity and a small group of vocal opponents clamor to “save” their boutique service. They will say the taxpayers are ultimately willing to pay a premium for this inefficient distribution of services. With newly elected leaders in many of our municipalities, urge them to work with their neighbors to make local government more efficient through shared services.
Steven Parker, Mayor Bedminster Township
