PUBLISHED BYTHEOAKLAND COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION SPRING, 2006 SPONSORED BYTHEBOROUGH OF OAKLAND AND THE OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS VOL. 10, NO. 1 Spotlight On Our Community OAKLAND FATHERS’ CLUB THE MAYOR’S MESSAGE ... WELCOME,SPRING ince 1958, the Oakland Fathers’ pring has arrived and we now look In these trying fiscal times this is quite a Club has been a community forward to warmer weather, outdoor challenge. The budget should be complet- Sorganization that has dedicated Sfun, the onset of baseball and soft- ed and presented to the public for adoption itself to serving the youth of our ball seasons and festive activities. Despite by mid-spring. In the meantime, all budget community through the support of a near-record snow storm that struck the meetings of the Mayor and Council are various Education, Recreation and Borough in February, this past winter was open to the public and all are invited to Safety programs. fairly mild and uneventful. This is good attend. Membership in the OFC is comprised news for the Borough’s budget since each Significantly, there has been an added of fathers within our community who storm costs the Borough money in materi- dimension to the budget review process contribute their time and talents to raise funds to provide for, among other things, al and manpower. this year. In addition to the budget, we holiday gifts to children of families in Speaking of budget, the Mayor and have also been critically analyzing the need, support for our recreation Council are working hard on the 2006 operations of Borough Hall and have programs through the purchase of budget. We have been meeting on off- begun the process of instituting needed scoreboards and trophies. OFC Wednesday nights and on Saturday morn- reforms within the Borough’s budgeting volunteers provide labor to build or re- ings with the various departments, com- and purchasing system to ensure that strict build playgrounds, dugouts and missions, committees, borough adminis- purchasing and budgeting guidelines are refurbish recreation fields. The OFC is trator, our auditor and finance officer to cre- followed. These reforms will not only also a supporter of Safety Town, Project ate a fiscally responsible budget for the improve the overall efficiency of Borough Graduation and the Valley Middle School Borough. Hall, but will also produce long-term sav- Social. As always, we are focused on trimming ings resulting in a greater level of fiscal The OFC also awards college the budget to keep costs down while trying responsibility and accountability. My deep- scholarships through its Scholarship to maintain the level of services that the est thanks goes to Councilman Frank Di Award contest. It has annually awarded residents of Oakland have come to expect. Pentima, who, as finance chairman, has two $1000 scholarships and, starting invested a tremendous amount of his time this year, the OFC will award three and accounting expertise in driving the $1000 scholarships. budget process and recommending need- With more than 100 members, the ed financial reforms (see article on page 2). OFC has given more than $50,000 back As part of the budget review process this to our community through the various year the Mayor and Council are also criti- projects mentioned above over the past cally reviewing the Borough’s insurance six years. The OFC is a registered program in order to identify ways of saving 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Borough taxpayers money while also hon- The OFC meets once a month at the Danny D’Elia building. Meetings are held oring our contractual obligations to the var- the third Monday of the month from ious municipal unions. An ad hoc commit- September through December, and the ted consisting of myself, Council President third Thursday of the month from Kazmierczak, Councilman Di Pentima, our January through May. For more info: Borough Administrator, Auditor, Finance Gary Geresi, [email protected]. (Continued on page 3) Mayor John Szabo CROSSROADS The Municipal Budget Process Explained • By Councilman Frank Di Pentima any folks have stopped me including Police, Fire, the Department as Administration, Recreation, the over the past few weeks and of Public Works, and Administration. Senior Center, Police, Fire and DPW Masked me questions about the At these meetings, we reviewed major departments. Non-Cap items do not process our town goes through in line items and discussed with the have an increase restriction and cover terms of creating and monitoring of our department heads three categories of costs such as health and liability insur- municipal budget. With this in mind, I spending: ance, pension payments, repayment thought I would try to provide a brief • Critical spending that is required of municipal bond principal and inter- outline of what the Mayor and Council by statute surrounding essential serv- est, and the support given to our do to create the annual budget. ices. Public Library. The process of creating an annual • Spending that supports essential budget in many ways is not much dif- services. Budget Facts and Figures ferent from what many residents do • Spending that does not impact Some interesting facts to note when they create a budget for their essential services. regarding our budget using 2005’s own spending needs. The Governing The department heads are required budget data: Body, as well as all department heads, to supply the Governing Body with • Roughly 40% of the Borough’s have goals and objectives that they detailed support for all spending line spending relates to salaries and would like to achieve during the fiscal items for which they are requesting wages paid to employees; 60% relates year and the budget creation process budget dollars. to spending for operational expenses needs to align those goals and objec- The Finance Committee then makes such as insurance, pensions, profes- tives so that we have one formulated recommendations to the entire sional training, professional services plan for spending taxpayer monies in a Governing Body as to the amount of such as legal, engineering and audit fair and responsible manner. budget money that is supportable fees, office supplies, general repairs The process begins by reviewing based on two factors: anticipated rev- and maintenance of buildings and where we have spent money in previ- enues for the upcoming fiscal year and equipment and utility costs. ous fiscal years, as well as the rev- the amount of money needed to be • Using our 2005 budget of $14,199 enues we have raised in those years. expended to support the ongoing serv- million, spending for Cap line items The next stage of the process is where ice levels of the Borough. The was budgeted at $8.6 million, or our Business Administrator compiles Governing Body then discusses these 60.8%, and spending for Non-Cap line all budget information from every recommendations with the Finance items was budgeted at $5.6 million, or department. This was done in early Committee and the Borough’s auditor. 39.2%. December. Once final budget adjustments are • For the budgeted spending on Cap made, the 2006 budget will then be items in 2005, $5.2 million related to Reviewing With Department Heads introduced at a council meeting and salaries and wages and $3.4 million As Finance Chairman this year, I advertised to the public. After intro- related to general expenses. reviewed the budget worksheets with duction, the budget is sent to the • For the Non-Cap budget, $5.2 mil- the other members of the Finance State for review. The public will then lion, or almost 93%, of the spending Committee — CFO Raymond Herr, get to review the budget and ask related to general expenses, and only Business Administrator Charles questions about its contents at a pub- $411,000 represented salaries and Smiley, Councilman Donald Burns and lic hearing. wages. Mayor John Szabo. These budget Any amendments that result from • Of the $5.2 million worth of bud- sheets, created by Mr. Smiley, contain the initial public hearing are then geted Non-Cap spending for general the details by department of where we incorporated into the budget, which is expenses, the costs provided to cover spent money in the past five fiscal re-introduced and advertised once insurance, repayment of our debt years. This gives us a good back- again to the public. After the final pub- service and our reserve for uncollect- ground and understanding of the out- lic hearing, the budget will be voted on ed taxes amounted to $4.1 million, or flows of our municipal spending. and adopted by the Governing Body. almost 79% of Non-Cap activity. In early January, the Governing The final budget cannot be adopted The goal of the Mayor & Council and Body passed a Temporary Budget, until the review process with the State all department heads is to control the which represented 25% of the prior has been completed. growth of spending while still being year’s budget. This procedural move In New Jersey, budgetary spending able to provide essential services to allows us to operate our departments is broken down into two areas – Cap our community. As Finance Chairman, in the current fiscal year even though and Non-Cap spending activity. By my job is to work with our CFO and we have yet to finalize, introduce and law, spending increases for Cap items Borough Administrator to monitor the pass the 2006 municipal budget. cannot increase above the prior year’s spending activity against our budget This year, we held budget review budgeted amount by more than 2.5%. as well as to find ways to reduce meetings, which were open to the pub- Cap items represent spending that and/or remove costs from future oper- lic, with all of our major departments, supports all of our departments, such ating budgets.