Hardyston shares services, saves money

Long list of projects evidence of municipal collaboration, By Amy Stanfield Hardyston — In an effort to cut costs, Hardyston Township has initiated a number of shared service programs with other municipalities and is in the process of creating ogthers. Township Manager Marianne Smith has been working with neighboring municipalities to share services such as recycling and waste pick up, water/sewer maintenance, construction services, a Fire Prevention Officer and public works. ?Curbside recycling and solid waste pick-up at municipal facilities will be shared between Hardyston and Hamburg beginning July 1. “The Township plans to utilize existing manpower and equipment to perform the service, so the financial benefit to Hardyston Township this year is $14,250 for recycling and $1,800 for municipal property solid waste collection. Next year it will be for a full year at $29,640 for recycling and $3,800 for solid waste collection for municipally owned properties,” Smith said. ?Hamburg will save approximately $2,000 over last year’s contract with a private vendor for solid waste collection for municipal properties that would likely have increased with renewal. ?Another contract with Hamburg is for sweeper services in which Hardyston agreed to provide road sweeping services to Hamburg saving them from purchasing a sweeper or contracting with a private vendor. Hardyston will see revenue of about $4,000 from the contract. ?Sussex Borough and Hardyston have approved a contract for shared public works and water/sewer maintenance and park maintenance. Hardyston began providing services to Sussex May 1, saving Sussex approximately $80,000 and Hardyston about $60,000 during a full year of the contract. Both municipalities expect to save half those amounts in 2010, having started the contract mid-year; the full saving will be seen in 2011. “Transition is going very smoothly and is a work in progress,” Smith said. ?Sussex has also asked that Hardyston provide a proposal for their consideration about providing Construction Office services beginning Jan. 1, 2011 as well as a proposal to provide recycling coordinator services. Both proposals are in development. ?A Construction Official services contract between the Town of Newton and Hardyston is in progress. The terms of the contract have been agreed on by both municipalities and a formal contract is being drafted to reflect those terms. Smith anticipates the contract will be finalized and approved in early June with Hardyston beginning to provide services to Newton July 1. “Hardyston Township plans to utilize its existing staff to provide the service. Hardyston will realize approximately $83,000 per year in revenue as a result, but $41,500 in 2010, as services will only be provided for half of the year,” explained Smith ?Franklin Borough and Hardyston are working to share Fire Prevention Officer services. Hardyston has approved the contract; however it is still under review in Franklin. It is expected that Franklin will decide whether to commit to the contract at its next Council meeting. “Currently Hardyston Township provides Construction Office services to Franklin Borough and adding fire prevention to the mix would provide continuity for the department and also convenience for Franklin residents. Hardyston Township would not benefit from a significant savings in this particular proposal, but it would add to the efficiency of the Construction Department,” Smith explained. ?The Sussex/Wantage School District has asked Hardyston to offer a proposal to provide lawn maintenance services. Discussions have also taken place with the school district about other shared services such as parking lot maintenance and/or sharing of their licensed employees in areas of plumbing and electrical projects. “It appears that each of these concepts would provide savings and increased efficiency for both entitles. This relationship is at the early stage of development, but we are excited about the possibility of working together,” Smith said.