Council will raise fees to help balance budget
Tobin: Fees charged developers lower than other towns
BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS - Fees too low, not the way to go. Costs too high, you reap what you sow.

That is what borough officials are discovering.

At the last workshop in late August, the Borough Council discussed what to do about fees and came up with a plan

of action.

Unfortunately, it is too late to offset the 2006 budget increase, but council members are hoping that increasing fees will help stabilize future budgets.

"Our budget passed, but due to the length of time we waited to hear from the state on aid, the new budget cycle will start shortly," Council President Brendan Tobin said on Friday.

It's too late for this year, but "we're continuing to look for ways to save and to uncover loss and waste in the operation of Tinton Falls," he said.

According to Tobin, one major problem officials have uncovered is the lack of fees, and/or the amount of fees that should have been collected versus what is collected by other county towns of similar size and growth.

"We were audited two years ago and it came up that we were losing an estimated $900 in engineering fees on each new house due to the way construction permits were being filed. That's been changed, but what we found out from neighboring towns tells an even darker story," Tobin said.

He explained that Councilwoman Kim Barrett, who also sits on the Planning Board as council liaison, found out that Tinton Falls charges just $1,125 in nonrefundable fees and another $4,250 in escrow for a typical 150-unit housing tract, for a total of $5,375. Howell Township charges $30,100 in nonrefundable fees and another $31,500 in escrow for a total of $61,600 for the same 150 units, he said.

"Howell Township charges developers $28,975 more than we do for the same development in fees alone and, if you consider the state audit estimate of another $900 lost in engineering costs, they collect $163,975 more than we have on just one 150-unit development."

He added, "We've had plenty of 150-unit projects, with most developments far larger than that over the past 10 years."

Tobin noted that development in Howell has been at about the same pace as Tinton Falls over the past decade.

"The borough has lost a ton of money, putting the burden on taxpayers instead of putting it on the developers. And it's not as if the houses cost less in Tinton Falls due to these giveaways or that they aren't building in other towns that charge the higher fees," he said.

In addition, he said, Tinton Falls recently changed a rule where the borough was footing the bill for street lights instead of the developers paying for them.

He explained that every department in town has been asked to provide a list of fees. In addition, officials are surveying other Monmouth County towns with similar demographics to see what they charge.

"We're way behind on everything from liquor licenses to inspection fees to pool permits to many other things. For too many years, Tinton Falls taxpayers have been forced to foot the bill for developers and others to build things that only they benefit from. This is ending, and we will be taking on section after section after section to revise fees to be competitive and fair to everyone."

The borough also is nearing completion of a survey of what it would cost businesses to get their garbage hauled away.

"For some odd reason, Tinton Falls is the only town I can find that doesn't charge businesses to haul garbage away," he said. "We have no-charge trash removal and lower liquor license fees, but we pay the same for food and drinks in Tinton Falls as we do in surrounding towns, so it's not as if we're going to ruin things by taking the burden off the taxpayers and putting it on the businesses, where every other town puts it."

Tobin said that each department needs to look at its office as if it were their home and they lost their jobs. Cost-cutting measures like turning off monitors and printers at night are among the suggestions that can help save money, he said, adding that many department heads, council members and residents have come up with other cost-savings ideas that the borough will incorporate.