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The Herald and The Lament

Wedneaday, September 17.1980

Boro Administrator Tops Off First Year with Savings

nearly 180.000 in legal fees to negotiate the immediately preceding contracts. Grady said. He estimated that the borough saved at least that much by negotiating with its own

staff

A new method of purchasing office supplies has been adopted to award bids on the actual price of items purchased, not on the discount percentage. A central office supply facility has also been developed, permitting a saving by purchasing in

bulk

THE PURCHASE of two large snow plow blades for mounting on rental trucks permits an average saving of 20 percent on per hour costs. Police cars have been down sized. The borough now bids mid-sized cars which cost less, are better on gas. and have been well received by the men using

them

THE USE OF borough

workers for sand fence construction under a dune stabilization grant saved $5,500 in labor costs. The borough also saved by purchasing sand fence, posts, and other materials instead of obtaining them

through a contractor Insurance costs were

trimmed by removing unused or non-existent vehicles from coverage. It was found that some

acceptance of clearly » vehicles, such as beach defined job specifications patrol jeeps, were insured

AVALON - Im provements in negotiating - union contracts, streamlining the budget process and savings in several departments were cited as major ac complishments in the report of Bernard E Grady on his first year as borough administrator Also noted were success in obtaining state grants for the acquisition of ' property and to fund hiring a graduate student intern for half a year PROBLEMS in the treasury and collections unit also have been corrected, according to

Grady

Accomplishments in the arc'u of general administration, Grady reported. included . negotiation of contracts with the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and a umpn local covering Public Works employees. THE POLICE contract includes provision for oneman patrol cars during daylight hours enabling the department to put another car on the road, increasing borough coverage by one-

third

Additionally, the “shift kick back" concept was introduced, allowing the chief of police to overlap shifts to cover peak crime

hours

NOTABLE IN the Public Works contract was union

outlining the workers'

duties

The new contract also includes a set of salary ranges defining fair wages and longevity steps which will help to eliminate salary inequities THE BOROUGH paid

for the full year rather than for the period of use. By correcting this situation, the borough saved $1,360 for four months of 1979 and will save over $5,000 for

each year thereafter. A STUDY OF other in-

surance coverage for the

borough is now underway. All but 51 parking meters which had been declared excess were disposed of for $9,940 Disposal was difficult because the meters are "off-brand" and not widely used. Reduction of the number of borough vehicles, based on age and gasoline consuumption. has begun. A CENTRAL stores facility was set up for Public Works. It was discovered, Giady said, that thousands of dollars in supplies had been stored at various points and forgotten. Phone book listings were reduced and excess phones were removed to cut costs. THE BUDGET process has bepn revised in several ways. All unit supervisors must now submit their funding proposals. In addition, a standard budget submission / form has been introduced and a uniform expenditure code adopted. A narrative description of services to be performed must now accompany each budget submission. . THE BOROUGH was successful in obtaining a Green AcYes grant to acquire property at 8th and Ocean Dr. and another to pay for an intern in local government. Grady noted that the borough is ineligible for many grants which are available only to municipalities which are “depressed" economically, have a high percentage to residents on welfare, "deteriorated" housing stock or senior citizens in low-income categories. DESPITE AN unusual number of problems

caused by an exceptionally good summer season, Grady cited the police department for excellent work. Included were effective enforcement of the dog ordinance affecting the beach, and the start of a "property check card” program. A record number of traffic citations were issued. THE NUMBER of beach tag inspectors was reduced by 14 at a salary saving of $19,000 from last year. Collections were increased by 34 percent through midAugust. The Treasury unit was improved by the hiring of a professionally trained accountant who helped assume the duties of the borough treasurer, ill for

most of the year. NON-EXISTENT internal reports and failure to keep accurate bank balances have been corrected. Pension and withholding reports have been submitted on time. Investment policy has been changed to reduce the borough's average cash balance in - savings accounts. New investments with idle funds through June had already yielded $156,000, an increase of 113 percent over 1979. Reducing the number of in-house functions will permit the hiring of one machine operator to fill a vacancy in the Treasury unit and another in the Collection unit, Grady said.

Cleanup Week Oct. 4

STONE HARBOR - Fall Clean-up Week, final one of the year, is scheduled Oct. 4-12. Special collections are to be made by the borough's trash trucks of bulk items placed on the curbs by homeowners. Councilman Eric Arenberg stated old TVs. refrigerators or stoves cannot be handled by the borough's crews and should not be placed on the curbs for pick-up. Residents must secure the services of private haulers to get rid of such appliances.

-Ed Harnett

Beach Curfew Eyed

bv M’Ellen Rowland STONE HARBOR-This resort may join the ranks of others along the Jersey Cape forced to institute a beach curfew. But *the jury’s still out since most malicious mischief occurs after dark, Mayor James Wood discussed the possibility of a beach curfew for next year on the beach. Destruction life boats — one was actually sawed in half in Avalon — life guard stands, and the stealing of signs (which cost $68) apiece plus installment) was mentioned during the Sept. 8council meeting. OTHER COUNCIL members protested the mayor’s idea, but were informed by Police Chief Wm. B Donohue that just such , an ordinance has obtained in Wildwood for

several years from 10:00 p.m. until six 6a m It was decided to check with other smaller resort areas to see if they had taken such • measures and with what success, then act upon a consensus. THE MAYOR added that he had urged members of the Realty owners of Stone Harbor Assn, to call the police if they saw any sign of something even slightly unusual takjng place. Chief Donohue detailed some surprising facts at the meeting. During August the police made 1,581 arrests but only 79 criminal and the others vehicular. The surprise element was that criminal arrests were sharply down from August last year and there was a marked decrease in cases involving narcotics.

COUNCILPERSON Dorothea A. Pfeiffer made a point of thanking Superintendent of Maintenance. Robert Waterman on the efficiency of the trash collection unit during the past peak tourist season, and Police Chief Donohue and his entire force for their quick response to calls and dispositions of problems. The chief responded that while compliments are always welcome and her certainly wouldn't want to appear boastful about his force.” he felt one case 1 should be brought to Council’s attention. STONE HARBOR'S most active and destructive spray-paint graffiti artist was apprehended last week after he completely defaced a beach-front house.

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