U.F. poised to bond for equipment worth $500K
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD - A bond ordinance for various capital improvements has been carried to the April 17 Township Committee due to comments made during a public hearing.

The governing body postponed the matter at its April 3 meeting and said it would wait to hear from Chief Financial Officer Dianne Kelly whether certain items could be removed from the ordinance.

The bond ordinance would appropriate a total of $535,000, with $508,250 coming from the issuance of bonds or notes.

The ordinance would be used toward the purchase of a four-wheel-drive wheel loader and a 5-cubic-yard dump truck with a snow plow and stainless steel sander for the township's Department of PublicWorks (DPW). The vehicles have an estimated period of usefulness of five years. The estimated cost of the vehicles is $325,000, with an estimated $308,750 coming from bonds or notes.

The ordinance would also be used toward the purchase of communications equipment for the Department of Emergency Management. The equipment, which has a 10-year period of usefulness, would cost approximately $20,000, with $19,000 coming from bonds or notes.

The ordinance would also be used toward the purchase of administration department equipment for records management at an estimated cost of $5,000, with $4,750 coming from bonds or notes. This equipment has a five-year period of usefulness.

TownshipAdministrator Barbara Bascom said the ordinance gives the township the authority to borrow the money if it needs to.

"It gives [the Township Committee] the authority to make purchases when it needs cash when the capital accounts need replenishment," she said.

The ordinance does not authorize the township to go out to bid for the equipment, according to Bascom.

Resident Al Trenton said a lot of the items in the ordinance look like shortterm purchases that will have to be made again in the near future.

"You continually have to look at if you really need it," he said.

Trenton suggested that putting a new engine in an old vehicle may cost less than replacing the old vehicle. He said that the economy is tight and the township must be careful.

"It's still an expense to the township no matter how many years you spread it out [by bonding]," he said. "It still comes out of the taxpayer's

pocket."

Deputy Mayor Bob Faber asked if the township has to bond for the amount of money set in the ordinance.

"I know a lot of the times … a lot really does not have to be replaced," he said.

Faber alleged that the DPW may insist it needs something because it knows money is available.

Committeeman Stanley Moslowski Jr. agreed with Faber. He said he looked at the equipment and does not think the DPW needs a new loader or snowplow.

"I work in the private sector," he said. "We keep good maintenance [on equipment] and it lasts for 20 years."

Mayor Steve Alexander said that the bonding would give the township flexibility. He said the township would not spend the money frivolously.

"The bottom line is that Upper Freehold does not have the revenue coming in to purchase things when we do need them," he said.

Alexander said that the items would either have to be paid for by current taxpayers through the township's operating budget or by current and future taxpayers through bonding spread out over 20 years. Alexander said that the township has a very good bond rating and does not have the ability to spend $300,000 to $400,000 in one budget due to the state-mandated cap.

When Committeeman David Reed asked if the township could pay for another piece of machinery with the bonding allowed by the ordinance, Bascom said the bonding could only be used for items listed on the ordinance. The committee decided to contact Kelly and to carry the hearing to the next meeting.