County Government Out Front Cutting Costs

The common theme among all levels of government, as well as the mandate from taxpayers is smaller and less costly government.
That’s not just a theme in Cape May County — for more than two years the county has been cutting the costs and size of county government.
“We recognized early on that the changed economy meant reshaping county government,” said Cape May County Administrator Stephen O’Connor. “We sensed that the economy was undergoing a permanent change, so county government needed to make permanent changes.”
Through a rigid hiring freeze, privatizing, and initiating shared service agreements with municipalities, county government has over 100-less employees than it had just two years ago.
“If we didn’t make these employee reductions, our salary and wages would have increased over $5 million dollars,’ O’Connor said. “Instead, this year the county actually cut over $600,000 in the budget from its salary and wages.”
Over the last two years, the county has saved an annual estimated $2.5 million in privatizing much of its housekeeping, fleet maintenance, youth shelter, and its Home Health Agency.
The county recently entered into shared service agreements with Avalon, Upper Township, and Lower Township to take over the maintenance of its heavy equipment.
“This new share service initiative is especially advantageous,” O’Connor noted. “Not only will the county save approximately $200,000 a year, the three communities will receive revenues to assist in their respective budgets.”
Although the county will keep exploring shared services, O’Connor indicated that the most important approach to keep reducing the cost of government is to maintain a rigid hiring freeze.
“Except for public health and safety, the only viable way to cut costs and keep taxes down is to reduce the number of employees by continuing to abolish vacant positions,” O’Connor said.