Highlights and Statistics of Borough Departments and Offices in 2011

The annual report for 2011 presented by Mayor Rose Heck and council members during the reorganization meeting Jan. 1 included numerous highlights and statistics from borough offices and departments.

The following is an abbreviated version of the annual report:

Municipal building use:
Officials reported that the municipal building continues to be “well utilized” by organizations for meetings and gatherings throughout the year. The following is a breakdown of usage compared with the previous year:

Caucus Room: 71 events in 2011; 84 in 2010
Community Room: 212 in 2011; 237 in 2010
Council chambers: 64 meetings in 2011;  60 in 2010
Senior Center: 44 events in 2011; 50 in 2010 (not including the regular events wich take place day to day.

In addition the lobby of the municipal building was used for 7 sports sign-up events when other rooms were not available.

Permits issued: Garage sales – 144 permits not including the Town Wide garage sale event. Woodland Park – 40 permits; Open house signs – 8 permits; New merchant – 6 permits; peddler/solicitor licenses – 48 permits; burglar alarm – 492 permits.

Police department:

Copies of police traffic accident reports are now available online as a convenience to the public and savings to the borough, while also freeing up the Records Room Officer for other duties.

The police department answered more than 11,000 calls for service while also providing security and traffic control for borough events including – street fair, Memorial Day parade, Fourth of July parade, 9/11 memorial dedication, Town day, Halloween in the park and the holiday parade.

By reassigning officers, the police department was able to provide security for High School sporting events without paying overtime, reported Councilman Justin DiPisa.

The borough is in the process of negotiating with the borough Little Ferry to answer their 9-1-1 calls, a service it currently provides to Teterboro and Wood-Ridge for a fee.

There were two DWI checkpoints in 2011 resulting in a total of 49 summonses issued and 10 DWI arrests being made.  In addition to the DWI checkpoint arrests, there were an additional 34 DWI arrests making a total as of December 8, 2011, 44 DWI arrests.

The Detectives bureau opened approximately 200 criminal cases this year thus far.  Approximately 115 arrests have been made.

Fire department:

As of Nov. 30, 2011, the number of EMS calls totaled 1,540 and the number of fire calls was 309.

Other highlights for the year included:

• Along with other training, Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department members attended Right to Know and Blood borne Pathogens training.

• The Hasbrouck Heights Fire Department visited all the schools in town for Fire Prevention Week.

• The Fire Department ambulance provided first aid standby to numerous sports events including junior and senior football, wrestling, track, etc.

• Department members provided fire safety and first aid training to the Boy Scouts.  They also provided fire safety information to other youth groups.

• The Fire Department participated in the “Relay for Life” to bring awareness to cancer.

Recreation department:

In 2011 the department saw the largest summer camp registration to date with 422 campers ranging from ages 6 to 14 years old.

Of the programs offered in 2011 there were 12 different programs for children, 6 for the adults  and 9 different programs for the senior citizen community. The recreation department also runs the many different community events that the entire family can enjoy, such as Town Day and Halloween in the Park.

Other highlights included:

• Recreation Softball having 4 teams making the playoffs in the South Bergen Softball League, with 2 of the teams reaching the finals in their division.
• Continuing a partnership with 24 Hour Fitness for the benefit of the Recreation Youth Basketball Program, holding our 1^st & 2^nd grade clinics at 24-hour fitness with certified basketball instructors.
• Being involved with many great town events like the “Hasbrouck Heights Street Fair”, the 9-11 memorial and steel dedication ceremony, Senior Citizens Halloween Party, The annual Holiday Parade.
• Providing many senior activities in our beautiful senior center, wellness programs such as senior yoga, active flex aerobics, line dancing, many board games and activities, Mahjong, theme parties, and much more.
• Organizing, staffing, and hosting Halloween in the Park for over 400 residents and children.
• Recreation Wrestling hosting the Hasbrouck Heights Invitational Tournament and District 5 Championship Tournament.
• Organizing the Recreation Department Senior Citizen Halloween Costume Party.

Building department:

Due to the weather conditions in the earlier months of the year kept construction from progressing until the spring months. In total of 766 applications came in during 2011, 23 less than 2010. The total income for building permits in 2011 amounted to $165,247, a 5 percent decrease in income from 2010.

Breakdown of completed inspections for 2011:

Fire Inspector completed 57, Plumbing Inspector completed 194 inspections, Electrical Inspector completed 275 and the Building Inspector completed 555.

Of the total 1081 inspections 21 failed for a passing rate of 88.81 percent.  The inspectors also went out on 87 inspections which were not ready and 42 where the contractor or the resident was not home. In 2011 six building code violations were issued with fines collected of a minimum of $100 each.  

Health department:

Health department statistics for 2011 include:

• Fees Collected for 2011:  $77,526.90 
• Health Inspections:  478 of various natures, by Mid-Bergen Health Commission
• Dog Licenses:  1203 licenses
• Dog License Fees:  $17,578.00
• Animal Control Services:  523 responses of various natures
• Births Recorded:  106 babies born to town residents.
• Town Resident Deaths:  96 residents
• Total Deaths Recorded:  837 Deaths
• Marriage Licenses Issued:  40 Applied
• Civil Union:  1 Applied
• Certified Transcripts: 1,965 issued (Death, Marriage & Birth)

Public library:

Statistics for the public library as of Dec. 27, 2011:

• 119,952 items circulated to date, an increase of almost 1 percent  from 2010 which had a circulation of 118,961.  This is the highest figure ever recorded in the history of this Library. 
• 475 people use the computers each week. 
• 114,423 people walked through the doors of the library.
• 5,403 residents have a Hasbrouck Heights library card.
• 4,899 reference questions were answered.

Department of Public Works

In addition to dealing with a challenging year due to extreme weather conditions, the following is a summary of some of the additional activity of the department during 2011.

The DPW was able to purchase several pieces of equipment and vehicles with funds saved through recycling efforts of the previous year. Total amount saved in 2010 was $109,804.

Road resurfacing was completed to the following roads in 2011: Division Avenue  from the Boulevard to Terrace Avenue, Field Avenue – entire length, Kipp Avenue from Terrace Avenue to Oldfield Avenue, Passaic Avenue from Terrace Avenue to dead-end, and Springfield from Wood Street to west dead-end.    

The DPW facility is ahead of the mandated deadline for year 2012 by completing the installation of a “Truck Wash,” an area that captures the run-off of oil, grease, and/or salt from vehicles that could seep into the water ways.  The mandate under the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Storm water Division, was approved by the Bergen County Sewage Commission approximately five years ago, said Councilman David Gonzalez.

Under the same program from the NJDEP Storm water Division, the DPW has installed roll-down doors to its salt shed covering the salt and grits.  This has been operational for the past five years and is also ahead of the mandated deadline.

Hasbrouck Heights received an Environmental Stewardship Award from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection.