Intro to How Our Municipal Corporation Works, Part VII
WEEKLY REPORT BY MAYOR JOHN L. MADDEN
AN INTRODUCTION TO HOW OUR MUNCIPAL CORPORATION WORKS, PART VII
To recap, our borough is an incorporated municipality which operates similarly to any large, public corporation. You, the residents, are our shareholders. The Council is the Board of Directors who meet from time to time to vote on various topics that involve policy, budget, and revenue. As Mayor, I act as Chairman of the Board, run the meetings and am the figurehead of the Board. Our Municipal Clerk, Linda Chismar, by state statute, serves as Secretary to the Corporation. As Clerk, she is also the Chief Administrative Officer of all elections held in the Borough, the Chief Registrar of Voters in the Borough, Secretary to the Governing Body, and is also the Administrative Officer. Middlesex Borough’s Chief Executive/Chief Operating Officer is the Borough Business Administrator. Our CEO/COO is Marcia Karrow who is responsible, by State law and municipal ordinance, for the day-to-day operations of our local government. She oversees personnel, the budget and all operations. The Administrator reports directly to the Mayor.
Our CFO
Every major corporation has a Chief Fiscal Officer. Our CFO is Caroline Benson, who, prior to becoming our Acting CFO late last year, was our Treasurer. As CFO, Ms. Benson oversees all things financial in the borough including Custodian of all Public Funds, Assist in Preparation of the Annual Budgets – Operating & Capital, Maintain & Monitor Financial, Develop Fiscal Policy, File Continuing Financial Disclosures, Certify Availability of Funds, Manage Pensions & Benefits, Oversee Payroll, Salary Ordinances, Quarterly Tax Filing, Annual Financial Reporting, Maintain Fixed Asset List, Monitor Adherence to Collective Bargaining Agreements, and Ensure Compliance to all State Purchasing Guidelines. There is also a “physical plant” to our corporate municipality which includes buildings, parks, roads, a sewer system, recycling facility and sanitation operation. The physical plant is operated by our Superintendent of the Department of Public Works. Our “Security Department” is our Police Department headed by the Chief of Police.
Most corporations either provide goods or services (like a large accounting firm, a department store or Amazon) or manufacture goods (such as General Motors). When a service or good is provided, there is a cost associated with that, and upon its sale, money collected to cover those costs.
In the case of local government, all services provided by our municipality also have a cost. Those services include Recreation, Senior Services, Department of Public Works, Police, Clerks Office and all the other services provided by the town. Costs include employees’ salaries and benefits, utilities, vehicles, gasoline, and materials such as grass seed or macadam for the DPW or paper and ink for the day to day operations. Long-term debt (capital expenses), like a home mortgage, is paid over time. That debt is also part of the calculated costs and includes large DPW vehicles or the acquisition of land.
Like your accountant or doctor’s office sending you a bill, the bill you receive from our corporation is your tax bill. The services provided by Middlesex Borough are divided equitably, based on property value, among all properties, whether residential, commercial or industrial, in the town. The assessment on the value of the properties is made by our Tax Assessor, Tom Reilly, who works under strict state laws. Properties that are worth a higher value, such as a very large home, industrial building or supermarket, pay a higher amount of tax, but based on the exact same tax formula. New Jersey’s 1947 Constitution requires that all properties in New Jersey are taxed at the same rate. I know some of you request that Seniors, for instance, should not pay the same taxes as people with children in school; or that an industry should be taxed at a higher rate than a house. Our New Jersey Constitution does not allow properties to be taxed differently. The work around this constitutional requirement is thru the NJ legislature, which has provided laws for Senior Property Tax Freezes, Homestead Rebates, or Veterans Tax Deductions or Tax Exemptions.
Once our Tax Assessor has assessed the value of a building and the land on which it sits, this provides the basis of your tax bill being calculated and then generated. Our Tax Collector, Darcy DelVecchio, is certified by the State of New Jersey and is responsible for collecting the funds which make government work. In a big corporation, she would be our “Accounts Receivable” staff member. Taxes are paid and deposited which then funds local public service. Without these funds, there would be no snow removal, no road repairs, no law and order (police protection and our courts), no marriage licenses, no oversight on construction and zoning, no management of rabies licenses and so forth.
Next week, in Part VIII of the series, I will be covering the “fun stuff” – Recreation, Senior Services, and the Swim and Library Commissions.
One Reminder: Recycling Center Hours
Beginning Monday, October 5th: the Recycling Center will be open three days a week:
Tuesdays from 6 am to 1:45 pm
Thursdays from 111 am to 6:45 pm
Saturdays from 7 am to 2:45 pm
It will be closed to the public on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays (and closed on Sundays).
Keep Safe and Be Well,
Mayor John L. Madden