Audubon, Collingswood, Haddonfield, Haddon Heights, Haddon Township, Mt. Ephraim and Oaklyn have taken a step toward cutting costs in regard to a construction code official and equipment through a new shared services agreement.
The agreement between the seven towns was announced at Haddonfield Borough Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
Officials have met several times over recent months to discuss cost-saving measures and plan to continue their regular meetings.
“We’ve been trying to find ways for years,” said Mayor Tish Colombi.
This agreement, she said, is more formal.
“This is really the first step,” said Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley.
And a big step, he added.
The construction code official and public works vehicles and equipment would be shared for emergency issues.
An inventory of each town’s vehicles and equipment has been exchanged in order to cut the costs of future purchases.
“We have to do whatever we can to save money and taxpayers’ dollars,” said Haddon Township Mayor Randy Teague.
With the communities in the area having much in common, explained Colombi, the shared services agreements will continue to sprout in the future.
“All of us are friends,” she said, giving credit to borough administrator Sharon McCullough for initiating the plan.
Resolutions will be read to authorize the agreement in each town’s respective public meetings.
While savings have yet to be quantified for this venture, according to Maley, the group will continue to dialogue.
“Towns are sharing already,” he said.
In Haddonfield, a separate shared services agreement for court services with Audubon has saved the borough $60,000 per year.
The future possibilities are vast, explained the officials.
“There are numerous possibilities to save money by working together,” said Teague in a statement. “Tree service, paving, equipment — these are all things we can explore to see if it makes more sense to pool our resources.”
For potential liabilities through the new usages, the towns will coordinate through their insurances, Maley said.
“The future of local government revolves around sharing resources with others. As elected leaders we have been charged with the daunting task of providing the same level of services with ever shrinking revenues,” said Audubon Mayor John Ward in a statement. “Sharing services with our neighbors is not only good government, but it is exactly what our state leaders have been asking us to do and it is what our residents expect today.”
Bancroft update
The Oct. 2005 appraisal that occurred at the Bancroft property was released to the public on Friday, Aug. 31.
According to a statement released in part with the appraisal on the borough’s website, “It should be noted that this appraisal is now seven years old and has no legal validity. It was based upon the R-2 residential zoning previously established which restricted development to single-family homes on lot sizes of 20,000 square feet (approximately ½ acre). It ignored the potential for other uses.”
The appraisal states that, at that time, the final value estimate of the property was $8 million.
To view the two-part document as well as other Bancroft proceedings, view http://www.haddonfieldnj.org/borough_bancroft_redevelopment.php.
