PUBLIC WORKS / ENGINEERING

EQUIPMENT PURCHASES Major equipment purchased with 1995 funds include: A fifty-five foot Aerial Lift Truck and a Packer Truck.

GARAGE The Garage forces performed preventive maintenance and repairs on 36 Police Vehicles, 18 Fire Department vehicles, and 58 Public Works vehicles. In addition, they maintained 98 pieces of auxiliary equipment, 3 standby generators, 1 recreation van, and 1 senior citizen disabled van.

PURCHASING

The Purchasing Agents directly responsible for the procurement of goods and services rendered the Township. The Purchasing Agent also maintains a centralized purchasing system for all offices and departments, and oversees the solicitation of competitive bids required by Local Public contracts Law. In 1995 the Purchasing Department received about 1,500 requisitions and issued 1,134 Purchase Orders.

Examples of equipment and supplies purchased by the Purchasing Agent in 1995 were a new fire pumper truck for our Fire Department, an aerial lift truck and 3 1,000 recycling calendars for DPW, and 2,400 gallons of chlorine for our pools.

The Township is a firm believer in the concepts of cooperative purchasing and is a contributing partner and participant in both New Jersey's State Cooperative Purchasing Program and Bergen County's Cooperative Pricing System.

In 1995 the Township ordered 1 200 tons of rock salt, twenty eight 55 gallon drums of motor oil 50,000 gallons of heating oil, and about 100,000 gallons of gasoline through the Bergen County Cooperative Pricing System.

Examples of equipment and materials ordered in 1995 through New Jersey's Cooperative Purchasing Program were an AS400 computer & operating system for Finance, a Dell computer & HP printer for Health, 2 Toro Model 345 lawn mowers with diesel engines for D.P.W., 99 pairs of boots & bunker pants and 10 fire fighting coats for our Fire Department, and 6 1995 Chevy Caprice police vehicles.

Ordering these items through New Jersey's State Cooperative Purchasing Program and Bergen County's Cooperative Pricing System enabled the Township to secure better pricing since our needs were combined wit the needs of other participant members.

RECREATION

Through the Teaneck Recreation Center at 1425 Teaneck Road, the Recreation Department offers a toddler Nursery Program for ages 3 & 4 and an After School program for children in grades kindergarten through 3rd. These two programs run daily from September through June and serve 153 township children from a variety of ethnic cultures. Activities include arts and crafts cooking, karate, sports and games. In November a Thanksgiving Feast was prepared with the help of parents, serving a variety of ethnic foods. A holiday special event in December celebrated Christrnas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza. An annual Bar-B-Que with the children and parents marked the end of another successful year.

Through the recreation component of the Teaneck High School FORUM, the Recreation Departrnent provided supervisors, transportation, and admission fees for its special events and held open gym throughout the school year and during holiday breaks. During the school year and summer several trips were taken including: Lincoln Center to see the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Action Park, Great Adventure, Horse Back Riding, New Jersey Devils game, Nets Games, and Ice Skating.

The Summer Band Concert Series in Votee Park celebrated another successful season with an array of special guests and soloists. Conductor, Thomas Winter led the over 100 strong volunteer musicians through five concerts held at the Votee Park band shell in front of audiences as large as 300 per performance. The Township pools, located in Votee Park (in-ground), Hawthorne Park (above ground) and Phelps Park (above ground) were kept busy during the summer months by over 4,000 residents who obtained badges to use the facilities. 400 Tennis badges were sold to both student and adult residents for the use of the 19 tennis courts throughout town. The thirteen wading pools, in various parks were all staffed with attendants and well attended by children of all ages just looking to Cool Off- In 1995 two of the 21 parks in town received new play ground equipment. Sagamore and Martin Luther King Jr. Parks were equipped with new play structures that are designed with multi-use apparatus extremely colorful.

The Rodda Center Expansion Plans were approved. The expansion plans for the Richard Rodda Center, located at the south end of Votee Park, include a new site for the Department of Recreation Administration Offices, a new home for the Senior Citizens Services Center, the Bergen Pines Medical Outreach Clinic, the Recreation Afterschool programs, Community group meeting rooms, gymnasium and housing for additional recreation programs. The new facility, expected to be underway in 1996, will be a multi-use facility which can benefit residents of every age group.

The Senior Citizens Services Center under the direction of the Recreation Department is a multi-purpose Center for older adults. The Center's goal is to provide comprehensive therapeutic, recreational as well as a nutrition program; to enhance the quality of life for participants through increased socialization and continuing education with an emphasis on health promotion and prevention. The Bergen County Division on Aging funds the nutrition program which provides hot lunches Monday through Friday delivered daily to the Town House for a small donation. A homebound nutrition program was also in effect for those needing home delivery. Bergen County Department of Special Transportation also provided daily transportation for those needing assistance to and from the Center.

The Township van provides transportation on Tuesdays, Wednesdays Thursdays and Fridays for disabled and senior residents for medical appointments and shopping. The van provides transportation to local banks, the Post office, and shopping at an area grocery store, all door to door. This service provided over 1300 rides to medical appointments and shopping in 1995. Call at least 48 hours in advance to request a ride from your residence in Teaneck to your destination. Limited seating in available. A second van is available for special events and/or recreational needs. For information on the van route or special transportation needs, call 837-7130.

MANAGER'S REMARKS ON THE BUDGET:

Total revenues were down in 1996 by close to two million dollars, primarily from state aid reductions and drop in available fund balance. The loss in state aid for the third straight year was about one million dollars, primarily from the elimination of 3.3 million in density aid over four years from 1994 through 1997. The drop in available fund balance was due primarily to refunds of prior year taxes arising from state tax court judgments.

Total appropriations were up only $10,604 over the prior year. In fact, they were actually down $11,239 until a last minute amendment increased appropriations by $21,843 offset by state pothole aid on the revenue side in the same amount. In the prior year, 1995 total budget expenditures had also been reduced over 1994. The municipal tax increase of 7 points is therefore due entirely to the drop in the revenue side of the budget. That translates to a $140.00 increase for a home assessed at $200,000.

Our application for Supplemental Municipal Property Tax Relief was denied by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs with the explanation that only those municipalities with the most dire need were allocated discretionary funds. As usual. the state does not give credit to those municipalities who are working hard to control the appropriation side of the municipal budget.

Capital improvements planned for 1996 are shown on Schedule D. We will be replacing a 1972 ladder truck with a new one hundred foot rear mounted serial ladder truck. Other projects planned include the restoration of the Phelps Park Tennis Courts, using the same process as was used for the Votee Courts, and the replacement of two sweepers in the Public Works Department. The Rodda Building Addition is in the bid phase and once contracts are awarded, we will begin the process of hiring an architect to develop a plan for the replacement of the Public Works Garage.

The public portion of the budget process began with meetings between the Manager and Department Heads in November. Residents provided input at the regular public meeting of December 19, 1996. Council then reviewed the budget with the Manager at three special meetings and one workshop meeting in January, which were all open to the public.

The prospects for 1997 remain dismal, but thankfully it will be the final installment of the loss of $3.3 million in density aid over four years. Media reports indicate possible reductions in franchise taxes which will add to the budget problem. As shown on Exhibit E, we will not have $915,915 in density aid and $197,843 of 1995 revenue reserves available for anticipation in the 1997 municipal budget. The newly organized Council on July 1, 1996 will meet this summer to establish fiscal goals for the Manager in his preparation of the 1997 municipal budget. Please do not hesitate to call me or stop to see me in the Municipal Building if you need further information or clarification.

GARY A. SAAGE
MUNICIPAL MANAGER