Franklin Dodges Spending Freeze

BY DIANA GOOVAERTS
FRANKLIN — ­It's not so chilly in Franklin's budget office after all.
The Borough Council's Finance Committee on Tuesday passed along its position that the borough should not enter into a spending freeze at this time despite a previous recommendation to the contrary from the municipality's chief financial officer.
Councilwoman Dawn Fantasia said the spending freeze proposed in July was a reaction to anticipated litigation and associated fees, anticipated fees for legal counsel and anticipated fees for engineering reports that went beyond what was originally allotted in the budget.
After a thorough review of the borough's finances, however, Fantasia said the Finance Committee determined a spending freeze or furlough to reduce the working hours of borough employees was not yet necessary. Those actions, she said, might have a negative impact, not only on borough employees and morale, but also on the town's image both in the eyes of the public and potential investors.
Instead, Fantasia said, the committee issued the following recommendations: that the borough hire no new employees for the remainder of the 2016 fiscal year except in cases of attrition or dismissal and that department heads prioritize requests for purchases of essential items over non-essential items, with those items then to be reviewed by the Finance Committee and the CFO.
“At this point we're not recommending a freeze, we just want to tighten our belts a bit,” Fantasia said.
Going forward, Fantasia said the Finance Committee would like a three-year average of costs when making up future budgets to better spot trends of how the borough is spending its money and would like the Personnel Committee to more carefully review future personnel contracts with the budget in mind.
Fantasia also said an end of the fiscal year work session will be established so all council members can review and identify strengths and challenges in the current budget.
New Councilman
The Council on Tuesday also unanimously approved Stephen Skellenger to fill the open position left by the resignation of former Councilman Joseph Martinez in July. Skellenger was one of three candidates put forth by the Franklin Municipal Republican Committee to take the spot.
Fantasia was also voted in as Martinez's replacement on the Borough's Planning Board.
Prior to Martinez's departure, Skellenger was one of two candidates who in June won the Republican nominations to fill the two three-year seats for the Franklin Borough Council that will up for grabs in November. Fantasia won the other Republican nod. Both ran unopposed.