PUBLISHED BY THE OAKLAND COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Summer, 2009 SPONSORED BY THE BOROUGH OF OAKLAND AND THE OAKLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS VOL. 13, NO. 1 lection for the rest of the year. The once million dollars and the Borough has a week collection will require each of us received up to $1.2 million dollars from to recycle more of our waste stream. the County Open Space Trust to pur- This will not only reduce the amount of chase this site. However, additional garbage going to the dump but will also dollars are needed to complete the pur- save us considerable tax dollars. By chase. After applying $500,000.00 of reformatting our contract this way the Green Acres dollars, we still need to borough saved $71,000 over a three- raise an additional $600,000.00 in bond- year contract. And consider this. We ing to buy the parcel. The Borough’s save a minimum of $142 for every ton open space fund can provide funding for Mayor’s Message of paper that gets recycled (we earn a this bond but the fund is only authorized It’s hard to believe that summer is over minimum of $60 per ton selling the ma- for another few years and will require and the season of fall approaches. The terial and avoid $82 per ton in disposal another referendum to continue. The change of seasons always reminds me of costs) and save $94 for every ton of Mayor and Council are seeking your how timeless and perennial life is and commingled material ($12 per ton reve- input on this issue and we encourage how we need to take a moment and en- nue and $82 per ton disposal costs). you to attend this meeting and voice joy everything life has to offer. Fortu- This is only the tip of the iceberg for us. your opinion on whether this purchase nately, we live in a wonderful and vi- One event we are looking forward to should proceed. I personally support brant community that offers us much to holding is a “Green Fair” right here in this purchase as an ideal opportunity to enjoy. Oakland sometime in May where we protect our river front as well as provide We have been meeting monthly with will have green vendor booths, educa- an opportunity for the beginning of a Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes to study tional sessions and amusements all in- riverfront trail system leading back to areas where we can share services, pool tended to make going green a fun and the recreation fields in the center of resources and purchase items jointly to worthwhile effort. I thank the members town. Please join us in this important of the Green Team for their hard work discussion. save costs. Nicknamed WOLF, we are th committed to finding ways we can and look forward to working with them Finally, on September 12 I had the on this important initiative. If anyone pleasure of participating in the Oakland jointly cooperate in the area of shared th services. Our first effort of jointly bid- wishes to become involved in this ef- Volunteer Fire Department’s 100 anni- ding out recreational equipment was a fort, please email me at mayor@oakland versary celebration. Despite some rain big success and proved we can work -nj.org and I will make sure you receive and drizzle, I was thrilled at the turn out together for a common objective. We information on how you can join in. and enthusiastic support the OVFD re- will be continuing this effort going for- Preserving our open space is a critical ceived on this day. These volunteers are ward into the future and I will report on component of keeping Oakland green among our very finest and we appreciate our progress as we proceed. and protecting our community’s envi- all that they do for us. The day was not The Green Team has had its kickoff ronment from undesirable development only fun but provided a well-deserved that threatens our natural beauty and opportunity for all of us to say “Thank meeting and is proceeding with putting th together an action plan for keeping Oak- resources. On October 7 at 7:30 p.m. You”. My personal thanks to all who land green and environmentally the Mayor and Council will be holding a planned and participated in this great friendly. A great example of this is our public hearing to discuss the potential event. recent garbage contract. The borough purchase of the old Pleasureland site off As we head into the cool and refreshing recently rebid its solid waste collection Doty Road. This parcel is located in the season of fall, please remember, school contract, which provides for once a flood plain and is part of the wetland is in session. Obey local speed limits, week garbage collection from October and drainage system associated with the watch out for children and keep our kids through March and twice per week col- Ramapo River. The project cost is $2.2 alive by driving 25! CROSSROADS 2009 Municipal Budget believer that having a healthy Surplus Fund is essential to the Borough’s long-term financial health. Surplus funds represent As we began the 2009 budget process, the Finance our emergency savings fund and my goal is to bring this fund Committee established various goals, one of which was for us back up to $1.0 million dollars. to present a budget to the Governing Body that preserved jobs While revenues declined, we were able to offset this for Borough Employees. We also had the goal of doing every- decline with an extremely modest spending increase of thing in our power to not undertake the States pension deferral $29,687 thousand dollars. We were able to accomplish this by program. Personally, I viewed this option as a “poison pill” for making spending cuts worth $214,065 dollars. Offsetting this current and future budgets and something Oakland needed to reduction was an increase in contractual salaries & wages for avoid at all costs if we wanted to maintain a healthy financial $243,752 dollars. This amount also includes one-time payouts future. for employee retirements. In light of the economic situation I am happy to say that were As I have said for the past three years, while we are able to accomplish these goal and many more. experiencing a tax increase this year, the percentage increase is Working with the Governing Body, we were also able lower than it was in each of the last three years. The increase – to maintain borough services and continue our work to present in both dollars and percent – has continued to decline since a budget that secures funding for the current fiscal year but 2005 as we move towards stabilizing our tax rate. also is forward looking and does not jeopardize future fiscal Again, I think the most important things to note with years. this year’s budget are that Oakland is maintaining jobs for its For 2009, the Borough has adopted a $17.559 million employees and not reducing services. All our employees have budget up 0.2% from last year’s $17.530 million budget. The families and putting anyone out of work in this economy was amount to be raised by local taxes, the amount all of us con- something the Governing Body wanted to avoid at all costs. tribute towards the budget, increased $610,000 over last year’s As many municipalities in New Jersey are taking level or 4.8%. drastic measures to pass a budget, Oakland, because of the The Municipal tax rate will increase by 2.2 cents from fiscal housecleaning we have undertaken since I join the Coun- 49.9 cents to 52.1 cents per $100 dollars of assessed value. cil in 2006, is able to realize the benefits of that housecleaning This means the owner of a home assessed at the Borough aver- through the controlling of spending growth. age of $485,107 will pay $2,527 or $112 dollars more than last This means that Oakland did not have to take drastic year’s $2,415 municipal tax bill. This figure does not include measure such as employee layoffs or furloughs, or cut services School, County or Open Space taxes. for the residents. Because of our planning, because we have The major item affecting this year’s budget was a been constructing annual budgets that are forward looking and reduction of $581,000 thousand dollars worth of Miscellane- because of all the hard work by our Department Heads to con- ous Revenues. The largest reduction in revenues was a loss of trol costs, we can continue to maintain the services our com- $281,000 thousand of interest income. With the economy tak- munity comes to expect and we place ourselves in a great posi- ing major hits, interest rates have declined and the rates the tion for future success. Borough receives on our invested money is significantly lower I would like to thank all of our Department Heads than what we earned in 2008. We also experienced a $42,000 because without their hard work in helping to control spending reduction in State Aid, a reduction in a Homeland Security and finding ways to save money, we would not be as success- grant of $70,000, as well as the loss of some general fees. ful as we have been in controlling costs. The reduction in Miscellaneous Revenues also re- flects a reduction of Surplus Revenues in the amount of Councilman Frank Di Pentima $84,000.