Mayor says So. River faces many challenges
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer

SOUTH RIVER - The borough is facing a significant financial crisis, Mayor Raymond Eppinger noted in a speech looking at his administration's first 100 days in office.

"My purpose this evening is to give you, the residents, a sense of what we have found, what we are doing and where we hope to go," he said.

The Republican mayor, whose party took over majority control of the Borough Council in January, gave the speech Monday, a week after residents packed into the high school auditorium on two occasions to oppose the idea of privatizing the borough's garbage service. The council considered the measure due to the budgetary crisis in the borough and state, but ultimately scrapped the idea.

Eppinger saidMonday that the state is in worse shape than anticipated, as its budget shortfall has led to cuts in aid to municipalities like South River.

"The downturn in the economy has led to projections that revenues for the state will fall some $350 million to $500 million below projections," Eppinger said. "…The projections for next year's budget are growing gloomier by the day."

The borough has responded by having Business Administrator Andrew Salerno guide officials through a department-bydepartment analysis of the borough's operations and conduct a needs assessment of borough facilities, Eppinger said. The analysis of the borough's operations led to a number of revisions and updates.

Councilman Anthony Razzano, the lone Democrat, told the Sentinel that while the new administration has made some progress, he has not been kept informed of matters like the privatization of sanitation services. He added that he would like to know why sanitation workers were kept in the budget as officials were considering their reallocation.

"I am not getting the information I should be getting," Razzano said.

In response, Eppinger said theApril 15 meeting at South River High School was the first time the governing body discussed the bids received for sanitation services.

"The problem with all of that is that Mr. Razzano was on the governing body last November when the bids were put together," Eppinger said. "… Mr. Razzano has known about this or should have known about this since November."

Eppinger said that for now, officials are scrutinizing each department to see what can be done. He said it is unfortunate the town had to part with the estimated $3 million in cost savings that privatizing sanitation services would have achieved.

"This is going to make it a bit more difficult for us to get these things done," Eppinger said.

In his speech, Eppinger outlined some of the borough's most dire needs, which include $16.3 million in capital improvements. That figure includes $12.7 million in necessary capital infrastructure improvements like road and sewer repair, water pump replacement, and water tower inspection and repair. The $16.3 million figure also takes into account equipment for police, computer upgrades and $1.2 million in vehicles and other equipment.

"This is not a wish list," Eppinger said. "These are things that are truly needed."

The borough will have to prioritize its capital improvements and likely have to bond for many of the items, he said.

"Unfortunately, we don't have much of a choice," Eppinger said.

The mayor also addressed the Facilities NeedsAssessment Study that will determine how the borough should prioritize projects such as improving or replacing a number of borough-owned properties, including the George Street Firehouse, the rescue squad building and the criminal justice building.

"This is added to the fact that we have a library that is too small to function properly in the 21st century, which at a minimum, needs upgrades to its 30-year-old facility," Eppinger said.

Razzano said the council voted to fund the library project before it found out that it would cost over $1 million more than was originally believed. He added that while he understands the need to exercise caution, he does not agree with the council's decision this week to bond for $4.5million before the assessment study is completed.

"We should go ahead with the library," Razzano said.

The money was transferred over to general facilities from the library project, which was put on hold until the assessment study was completed. Razzano said he was the only member of the six-member council to vote against the bonding ordinance this week.

"The reason I voted no was because the needs assessment study [is not complete]," Razzano said. "… We are putting money in place for something that we don't know if we're going to do."

Eppinger told the Sentinel that the bond amount is not enough for the $6.7 million estimated cost of the library project, so the council voted to open up the bond to other potential projects that are still being determined.

"All that this [bond ordinance] does is it changes the purpose of the bond from strictly the library to the library and any other municipal facility," Eppinger said. "It gives us the flexibility to go forward with other projects, should they be of a greater priority or a greater need.

"The governing body is committed to the library," he added. "We all know that work needs to be done."

Eppinger said the council is exploring a number of options, including using money from the bond to build a facility in downtown South River.

"There have been no decisions made," Eppinger said. "That is down the road a bit."

The needs assessment study is currently in draft form, and Eppinger said he had not seen it as of Tuesday. He said it is a preliminary draft that the administration will review and possibly request that it be changed.

The council might consider building a municipal facility withmore than one function in order to spread limited resources and address multiple needs at once.

"We can no longer try to solve problems individually," Eppinger said.

He described the first 100 days of his administration as "quite an adventure."

"After the last couple of weeks, I have heard from people from both sides of the isle who are understanding that this administration inherited a number of issues that we are trying to address," Eppinger said. "… I enjoy working with all of the members of the council. I look forward to the challenges that the rest of the year is going to bring."