Community Corner

Council Rejects Bond for Flood Repairs, Appropriates for Shortfalls

Borough auditor said less money is needed to compensate for budget shortfalls.

The rejected a resolution to bond $2.5 million for flood repairs and accepted two resolutions for appropriations of a combined $50,000 to compensate for budget shortfalls at Tuesday's meeting.

The council heard a presentation from Borough Auditor Dieter Lerch who did not agree with Chief Financial Officer Donna Mollineaux's Sept. 27 figures on what the borough's budget shortfalls would be.

"For the administration's finance people to sit there and say they're unequivocally sure that 100 percent of the budget would be spent I don't think is realistic," he said.

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According to Mollineaux, the borough is faced with approximately $170,000 in shortfalls that would be needed to pay bills through the end of the year. The areas which she said either already have or will have shortfalls by year-end include legal salary and wages, legal other expenses, animal control, gasoline engineering and Department of Public Works buildings and grounds.

The council tabled a resolution for a $300,000 emergency appropriation at the September meeting until the borough auditor could review the statements. Dunleavy said if the council bonded for the $300,000, they would be able to use only what the borough needed, though he projected the shortfalls to be even greater than $170,000.

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On Tuesday, the council did approve the appropriation of $20,000 to pay back Hurricane Irene-related costs that lowered accounts within the existing budget, such as police overtime, DPW overtime and garbage pickup related to flood damage. The borough's CFO will have to identify how much money in these areas was actually used (as Dunleavy argued that it was less than $20,000) and in what areas before the money can actually be appropriated.

"Obviously whatever costs that were incurred have been charged against the operating budget," Lerch said, after telling the council that New Jersey municipalities are allowed to add to their budgets because of damage from

This money, along with a $30,000 appropriation for social security costs, would be eligible for transfer come Nov. 1. Lerch said, in his opinion, the $50,000 combined would be enough to cover the budget shortfalls and that historically, Bloomingdale even has had some money left over each year.

As of Sept. 30, Lerch said Bloomingdale has spent 77 percent of their , which, in his opinion, means the borough is doing a fair job at staying within the budgeted amount with nine months of the year over. By Lerch's calculations, "there are still several line items unexpended and available" that the borough would be able to transfer from, in addition to the $50,000, on Nov. 1.

But Dunleavy argued that while some of the line items Lerch referenced may appear available, to use the money could put the borough in a future hardship. Dunleavy used the DPW Buildings and Grounds line item as an example. While money appears unexpended and available, if the borough were to touch the money, he said, and to experience several snow storms in December, the borough would not be able to pay for salt from that item.

While Mollineaux projected a $50,000 shortfall in the social security line item, Lerch said he calculated that the $30,000 would be sufficient to cover the shortfall after taking a look at the entire budgeted salary line item for 2011 plus interlocal service line accounts for employees.

Lerch also called to question the projection for gasoline shortfalls. The shortfall amount Mollineaux projected, $40,000, is a 50 percent increase over what the borough spent in 2010, Lerch said. DPW Superintendent Al Gallagher who was in attendance at the meeting said the borough did use most of its gas budget in the winter, though Lerch still questioned if the difference would be so high.

Tied into the discussion about budget shortfalls was discussion on whether the borough should bond $2.5 million for or prevention projects throughout the borough. The projects include the desilting and desnagging of all of the borough's brooks; repairs to Main Street and the  riverbank and sidewalk; repairs to the Van Dam Avenue and Chestnut Street culverts; restoring the riverbank and brooks at ; repairing the Ballston Street culvert; repairing the Overlook Road and  driveway sinkholes; repairs at 7 Knolls Road; repairs to the riverbank at Brandt Lane; the cleaning of all storm drains in the borough; completing drainage repairs to Tice Street; repairs to the Catherine Street culvert and repairs (if there is provable damage) to the roof of the borough municipal building.

While the borough would only begin paying interest on the bonded amount as the money is used, the borough would need to come up with $15,000 toward the deposit on the bond.

But the council majority was uneasy with the amount the borough would be bonding.

"Next year, what I'm hearing about this budget, why would we want to put ourselves deeper in debt?" Councilman Glenn Schiffman said.

The borough would also be applying and hoping for a reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for some of the projects. Borough Engineer Paul Darmofalski has already done concrete cost estimates for two of the projects, including repairs to Main Street, and the two projects alone total $1.3 million. As for the other projects, Dunleavy said Darmofalski has done rough estimates of the costs, but that the money to pay Darmofalski to complete engineering estimates on the projects is also included in the bond.

Earlier in the meeting, resident Leslie Monsees said that with all the damage done to surrounding towns Wayne and Pompton Lakes, she does not have confidence Bloomingdale will receive reimbursements from FEMA.

Dunleavy said it is unknown if FEMA would reimburse the borough but that the municipalities who spend the money and take the initiative are those which will likely get reimbursements.

"It is a risk if FEMA is going to reimburse us. I feel it's a risk we have to take to mitigate and solve our flooding problem once and for all," he said.

Monsees also said she is more concerned about tax increases that would result from the $2.5 million bonding and that if she had a choice, she would not have the borough go forward with the bonding for flooding repairs. She said that for the first time, she had water in her own basement as a result of the storm, but that increasing taxes is making it harder for retired residents to live in the borough.

"What you're doing is you're telling seniors, 'Get out of town,'" she said.

Councilwoman Linda Shortman agreed with Monsees and said she also is not confident that the borough will get reimbursed by FEMA.

"I think it's a tremendous amount of money and I think it needs to start somewhere without $2.5 million," she said.

After the council rejected the bond ordinance, Reeve Avenue resident Jack Miller, who has attended several meetings to speak on the topic of flooding and sits on a newly formed in the borough, told the council he was "embarrassed" by their actions.

"I take offense to that because you are here to help us, the town. What you just did is an embarrassment," he said.

Shortman told Miller that the conversation about flooding will not stop with the $2.5 million bond, but that the council needs to further look into a lower cost and actual estimates of the various projects.


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