Economy Affords County Government Opportunity to Rethink

OCEAN CITY — Cape May County officials looked at the current economic downturn as an opportunity to reshape county government.
County Administrator Stephen O’Connor delivered that message on March 19 to members of the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Flanders Hotel here.
O’Connor told the chamber the county took those steps to ensure future financial stability, and in doing so, established a task force to diagnose every phase of what it does.
“We’re look at county operations in three perspectives,” said O’Connor.
Those are:
• Essential services, mandated for public health and safety.
• Beneficial services, that “significantly contributes to the high standards and expectations of county government.”
An example he used was Fare Free Transportation program.
“It would be hard if we did not do it. We do not have to provide Fare Free Transportation, but it would create a lot of difficulty on our senior population if it stopped,” he noted.
• Customary services, those “offered that are desirable during prosperous times, but that can be eliminated without causing a significant hardship or have a detrimental impact.”
O’Connor cited the grant program for culture and arts programs as one of the things “good to do, but in tough times are the first things we have to cut.”
In addition, O’Connor said the county has looked at alternative ways of providing services, such as outsourcing. One example is handling of hazardous materials.
“Nobody wants to lose jobs,” he said.
“If you outsource and move some jobs from the public sector to the private sector, that’s not a bad thing. It’s not bad to create more private sector jobs when private sector jobs are needed.”
O’Connor admitted that 2010 will be “a bit rougher” than this year.
This year, for the first time in 14 years, the county was forced to raise its tax rate by a penny to 16 cents per $100 of assessed value to raise $88 million to support the $140-million budget.
“That is still the lowest (county tax rate) in the state,” O’Connor said.
He cited the decline in revenues from the County Clerk’s Office as part of that funding downturn.
“In 2005, we generated almost $10 million in property transfer fees,” he said. In 2008, when the real estate market shriveled, the county collected only $4.5 million.
“So we went from $10 million to less than $5 million in just three years. We also saw our surplus reduced as well as interest on investments,” he said.
The county met the new economic order by “cutting operating costs, institution a hiring freeze of all new positions, only filling vacancies in public health and safety, and changing our health benefit program,” he said.
Those concerted moves “cut the increase to a little over 3 percent to $4.5 million increasing the 2009 budget to $140.5 million,” he said.
The health benefit changes alone saved $1.8 million in addition another $1.2 million in cost avoidance.
As part of the county’s part to stimulate the economy locally, O’Connor cited infrastructure improvements and the upgrades to bridges.
One of the largest bridge projects will be the Beesley’s Point Bridge, which will take about $20 million, and is expected to start by year’s end, O’Connor said.
He said $12 million in county funds would be spent this year to rehabilitate roads and bridges.
Of that, between $4 million and $5 million will be “Bridge Commission money.”
O’Connor also highlighted the county’s three-part energy master plan.
First part will include rehabilitating existing facilities, and include everything from light bulbs to boilers.
A lease-purchase program will expanded from 10 to 15 years.
A county heat and power co-generation plant will be constructed to service all Crest Haven Complex electrical needs, and thus give more flexibility to the county to alter its energy needs, as required.
The county will also hire a consultant to advise on how best to achieve the highest ratings in conservation and clean energy use.
Solar panels will be installed on the roofs of county buildings.
A wind turbine farm is being considered on county-owned land on the Delaware Bay.
O’Connor said the county is mindful of the importance of migratory birds and birding to the area, so the county has asked the
New Jersey Audubon Society to provide it with “scientific findings, not emotions” on how any turbine farm might influence avian traffic.
Should the report come back with negative findings, O’Connor said the county would not move forward on the concept.
Contact Campbell at (609) 886-8600 ext 28 or at: al.c@cmcherald.com