Correcting the Record Regarding the Garwood DPW

As the chairpersons of the Council Committees with oversight of the Garwood DPW, we are responding to the letter by Republican Council Candidate Kimberly Salmon in this week’s Westfield Leader. The Garwood Republicans have continued to misrepresent a shared service agreement with Fanwood over the past 5 years of campaigns. They really should know how it works by now! So either they have not bothered to learn the details, or they continue to deliberately misinform the public for their own political benefit.

Please allow us to correct the record:

Our DPW has not been “defunded” or “dismantled”, in fact the Council has funded numerous vehicle and equipment purchases since 2016 and when she was on Council, Mayor Sara Todisco supported retaining DPW staffing when Republicans wanted to fire workers.

Our Superintendent position is not “outsourced”, part of what the $43,000 shared service agreement pays for is a Certified Public Works Manager, which is required by state law. We have saved at least $200,000 over the past 5 years by no longer having a full-time Superintendent, who served only as a manager and could not perform any labor as per the union contract.

Ending the shared service agreement means hiring a new Superintendent, at a cost of roughly $90,000 in salary per year (over $130,000 per year in total when employee benefits are accounted for) and immediately purchasing equipment which we can currently borrow. All of these costs will land directly on property taxpayers, all at once.

The DPW building has been previously identified for improvements or possible replacement. Various repairs were funded this year with more in the works for next year. Discussion regarding the future of the facility is ongoing. The DPW is not the only department in Garwood with needs and our budget does have limits. It’s a careful balance that we and the rest of the Council take seriously.

Our DPW doesn’t need to be “brought back to Garwood”, our eight full time employees and one part-time employee haven't gone anywhere.

We aren’t sure which “vanity projects” the current Council has funded which could have had the funds applied to DPW needs, but would be happy to respond should Mrs. Salmon provide specific examples.

Mrs. Salmon is making convenient and frankly empty promises, contrary to everything she has vigorously campaigned for over the last few elections. It says a lot to have a platform change so drastically overnight. Mrs. Salmon was against the purchase of a rescue ladder truck for our volunteer Fire Department in 2019, which is used to save lives. She and Republican candidates of the past have been against all debt, which means they also oppose purchases of dump trucks, street sweepers, emergency vehicles, and more. It is an awfully convenient time to change their minds.

Council President Jen Blumenstock, Streets & Roads Chair
Councilman Vincent Kearney, Buildings & Grounds Chair