In the event you were unable to attend the special Township Committee public session on March 4th that reviewed the draft proposal to merge Parks and Recreation with DPW services and addressed questions from members of the public, we offer the following information;
Why do we need to address this issue?
We have been running below requested staffing levels in DPW for the past few years due to budget constraints. This reduced staffing is having impact on our capability to provide services as these workers are stretched to do more. Given today’s budget situation we can not fill these open positions. Our plan is to seek to maintain quality services and achieve cost savings efficiencies and move forward with a concept that has been discussed for many years to blend labor components between Parks and DPW.
What is the current draft plan?
At the conclusion of our findings report we introduced an update of our working draft proposal and will recommend to the Township Committee that we maintain Parks and Recreation and DPW as separate departments with their own superintendents and only merge together Parks and DPW laborers into a common unit so we can realize the efficiencies associated with blending labor components.
Why are we changing the original proposal?
After discussions with the Township Committee and a series of meetings with recreational leaders of the town over the past two weeks to include Recreation Commission, League Boards, and Senior Club along with Recreation and DPW Superintendents and representatives of their respective staff and labor groups, and a special public session, we believe a modification is needed. Based on the learning from these important groups we believe the best way to save tax payers money and still maintain the high quality services and recreational programs that we enjoy is to maintain Parks and Recreation and DPW as separate departments. Our strategy is to merge only the labor components into one skilled labor pool that provides support for all DPW and Parks and Building services and maintenance activity. We also heard the need to expand skill sets especially in regard to those who might perform ball field maintenance and will advocate cross training of the labor force to prepare them to perform specialized tasks such as these.
What are the benefits of this plan?
We believe that this offers our Township a true WIN- WIN situation;
Produces savings for our tax payers by not having to add positions because of better use of our valued skilled labor force.
Efficiencies gained by blending labor plan better protects our work force from the risk of potential layoffs or furloughs.
Maintains Recreational programs, parks and sports fields enjoyed by our residents ranging from Sports Leagues for our children, Senior Clubs, Activity Groups, Clubs and Special Community Events
Thanks again to all who have contributed and expressed their thoughts and ideas which have led to what we now believe is a plan that better serves the tax payers and protects the recreational needs of our community. We hope to discuss elements of this plan with the Township Committee at an upcoming meeting in greater detail to include quantification of potential cost savings.
