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From the rest of us...

How to Assess Alternate Fire Department Options

As a follow-up to the last thread, here’s how I think the town should weigh possible the options for restructuring the Fire Department. If the town was unwilling to pay a consultant to do the work, it could be done in-house or by a committee of volunteers, although the quality of the final product might not be as reliable:

• Prepare a Comparative Financial Analysis. How much does it cost per capita? What are the components of the Fire Department budget? How do Teaneck’s per capita costs compare with other localities with paid Departments? How much is spent per capita in towns with volunteer departments?
  
• Conduct Background Research on Options. Identify possible models and configurations for restructuring the Fire Department. Identify other comparable communities that have made the switch from paid to volunteer or hybrid systems. Interview municipal staff involved with these transitions. What issues and pitfalls did they confront? How much money was saved by the transition? What type of costs were incurred in the transition process? How long did it take? Can they provide any advice for a community contemplating making the switch?
  
• Identify the Range of Options. For each restructuring option, describe how it would work – how many volunteers would be needed for each option, how many paid staff would remain, how many personnel would be required to be available at Fire Stations at any given time, what would be the chain of command? How would volunteers be alerted of Fires? How would equipment be maintained? How would training be executed? How would new volunteers be recruited?
  
• Prepare Comparative Budgets. Prepare complete budgets for each option including costs for paid personnel, payments for volunteers as appropriate, training, recruitment, fundraising as needed, cost of equipment, etc.
  
• Identify Potential Impacts. Identify impacts that may arise from alternate approaches such as: the potential adverse impact on recruiting for the TVAC, the possible need to consolidate facilities, the impact on response times and risks of property damage, personal injury or fatality, the potential impact on homeowner insurance costs and the cost of liability insurance for the town.
  
• Lay Out the Transition Process and Issues. For each options, lay out the expected transition process, likely timing and identify issues and costs that may arise in transitioning from one system to another.

The conclusion of the report should contain a clear and easy to understand matrix identifying all possible options and comparing them to the status quo. The conclusion should laying out the risks and opportunities and quantify the short and long term costs and potential savings under each option, so that Teaneck’s taxpayers may make a reasonable assessment as to whether to change in the way we handle fire protection.

North Jersey.com is running a story about a $900,000 Federal grant to hire as many as 6 new firefighters.

Mayor Kevie Feit joined Deputy Mayor Lizette Parker and Councilwomen Barbara Toffler and Monica Honis on Tuesday in supporting the application, saying there is little downside to exploring the option.

Councilmen Adam Gussen, Mohammed Hameeduddin and Elie Katz voted to forgo applying for the money, citing concern that the town would end up on the hook for decades' worth of salaries and benefits for the firefighters once the grant money is expended.

These are exactly the kinds of quick fix remedies that get Teaneck stuck with added expenditures for the long haul. While there may very well be great grants out there that we SHOULD be exploring, I have to wonder how worthwhile it would be to continue funding (with no limit in sight) salaries, pensions, health care and related costs associated with a job that the majority of this State seems just fine getting for free from volunteers.

More on 554 Queen Anne Road...

Time for a fresh thread on this topic so we can avoid scrolling-related repetitive strain injuries.

Here's a link to today's Record article about the case:

Teaneck zoning board continues hearing on application for Orthodiox Jewish house of worship

Let's continue to keep this discussion non-personal and on-point.

The definition of "is"

I'm sure those who were not present at tonight's Board of Adjustment meeting are interested in hearing from those who were there.

I was able to attend for about an hour during which time I heard Board members questioning Robert Erlich, the representative from Etz Chaim. My impression was that Erlich was designated as their spokesman because he has a singular talent for answering questions in a oblique Clintonesque manner that provided non-answers that had answer-like qualities.

A great deal of attention was paid to the question of parking. Erlich made the highly dubious suggestion that the group would meet their off street parking requirements through the use of several parking lots more than four blocks away including the municipal parking lot in DeGraw which is at least a half a mile away.

The key question that members of the Board and the public were trying to tease out was how this building be used if the variance was granted, as the congregation grows and how a more intensive use of the property might impact the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhood. Frustratingly, Mr. Erlich scrupulously avoided answering any question about future growth plans for the congregation.

I left at about 9 and would love to hear from those who stayed later.

Showtime

Whether or not you have have a dog in this fight, it's showtime tonight at 7 at BF.

Here's an excerpt from a comment in yesterday's thread by "Hopeful" that I appreciated:

"It appears that there are many here who believe the end justifies the means.

...I live close enough to the shul that I have followed this debate very closely (hopefully with an open mind) for the last two years. I have listened to both sides and I keep coming to the same conclusion. No matter how much everyone tries to deny it, it does matter that the originial usage of the addition was misrepresented. Zoning laws do matter. If the variances are approved it will set a terrible precedence. What's to stop others from using the same chicanery in order to circumvent our zoning laws? Why have zoning laws at all?

I am not Orthodox (or Jewish for that matter) but recognize that Teaneck is an increasingly Orthodox town and accept that the fabric of my neighborhood is changing. But that is another matter that does not have a place in this debate. So my issue is not with the fact that there is a shul going up in my neighborhood but whether we as a community find these deceitful measures acceptable and if we do, will we continue to find it acceptable in the future?...it does matter that this is a religious institution that behaved unethically. As a religious institution they should be held to a higher standard. What hope do we have as a society if we turn a blind eye to these types of transgressions - especially from our religious leaders? What kind of example does this set for out children?

Here's a link to an article about the controversy in today's Record:

Teaneck zoning board to hear petition for Orthodox Jewish house of worship

Board of Adjustment Meeting for Toras Chesed Property

At 7 PM on December 16th, the Board of Adjustment will meet to discuss 554 Queen Anne Road at the auditorium of Benjamin Franklin Middle School. Here's an excerpt from an email that I recieved about the meeting from people who believe that this group is setting a dangerous precedent of disregarding zoning laws:

"The addition to this residential site was built under the premise that it would be used as a “Family Room”. The synagogue using this site as a place of worship has finally acknowledged that although their original application was for a “Family Room”, indeed a congregation has been established. They have requested several variances in order to comply with regulations that may have an effect on neighboring blocks.

Our town has rules for all groups who wish to establish places of worship.

Join your neighbors who support the rule of law in this, and in all such situations.
Ask our representatives to insure that all groups applying for the establishment of places of worship follow the law.

Detailed information available here.

If the Board of Adjustment approves this application, a precedent will be established to bypass our town’s rules and procedures.

YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT!"

I think the town is going to have to capitulate to this group to avoid a lawsuit. Once this group wins, others will probably follow and the character of our residential neighborhoods will eventually change. For some, the change is acceptable, or even welcome. For others it is unacceptable. I am in the latter camp.

TEANECK POLICE INFORMATION: Acts of Vandalism

The Teaneck Police Department is currently investigating a series of incidents (8) of vandalism to vehicles and houses over the past month. An unknown person(s) have been shooting out car windows and shooting at house windows using a BB gun type weapon. These acts have been occurring during the late night/early morning hours (11pm-3am) throughout the Township. At this time we believe the incidents are random acts. There has been a report of a car fleeing the area of the last incident but no description was available. There have been no reported descriptions of any suspects, so far. At this time we ask the Teaneck Community to be on the look out for any suspicious activity that might lead the identification and arrest of these persons. If you have any information we ask that you call the Teaneck Police Department Detective Bureau at 201-837-2565 or email me at mfalvey@teaneckpolice.org. A cash reward from Crimestoppers is available also for information leading to an arrest in this case up to $1,000. Of course if you see something suspicious, please call 911 immediately.

LT. Michael Falvey #205

Teaneck Smells Like Roses (Relative to our Peers)

Here's an excerpt from an article in today's Record about a NJ State investigative report on municipal employee perks. Teaneck is specifically cited in the report for putting measures into place to reign in the perks.

Scathing N.J. report details millions of taxpayer dollars spent on municipal employee perks

[Excerpt] Hundreds of North Jersey municipal employees are guaranteed paid time off — at taxpayers’ expense — to go Christmas shopping, attend weddings, and even donate blood, according to a scathing report released Tuesday by the State Commission of Investigation.

The 108-page report examined a cross-section of local government contracts and policies across the state, finding that tens of millions in taxpayer dollars are being wasted to fund luxurious benefits for municipal employees.

Among North Jersey’s biggest offenders are Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee and the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners, which each doled out massive lump-sum cash payouts for unused sick time and personal and vacation leave. Several other towns, including Englewood and Paterson, were cited for shelling out “exceptional perks,” such as paid days off — in addition to regularly allotted vacation and personal time — for getting married or donating blood.

[snip snip]

The state also highlighted towns that had put in place cost-saving measures. Teaneck imposed a sliding scale of caps on sick leave redemptions for various classes of municipal employees.

No employee hired after September 1989 can carry over more than two years’ worth of unused vacation time, and employees are not permitted to cash in on unused leave while actively employed. In 2002, the city discontinued the practice of awarding two extra days off per year to the police and fire chiefs.

“It shows the way Teaneck has tried to conduct business, trying to get the services that the residents are looking for while stretching the tax dollar as far as we can,” said Mayor Kevie Feit.