Walsh Optimistic About Shared Services Summit

Last week representatives from all over Monmouth County gathered together for a shared services summit at the county's fire academy here in Howell, to see how they can help each other in these tough economic times. 

Howell mayor Robert Walsh was one of more than 100 people to attend the summit and said he left the event feeling "very encouraged," by what he heard. Walsh said there were a variety of officials there ranging from members of local police and fire departments to other mayors, council members and township administrators. "It seems everyone has a much more sincere interest in shared services than three or four years ago," he said. 

Unlike in previous years where shared services were done as a way to save money and help a neighbor, Walsh said the situation towns find themselves in now is very different. "Everyone's under very tough financial restraints at this time," he said. "They are actively seeking how to do shared services and save costs for the taxpayers and at the same time deliver services."

In addition to the local and county officials, the summit also included State Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr. who applauded the efforts the county has undertaken so far. "Monmouth County has truly embraced shared services," he said in a press release from the county. "The county has come up with unique ways to help local governing bodies stay within the 2 percent cap without sacrificing essential services."

Walsh said the message he and the other representatives got from the senator was how seriously Trenton is taking the issue of shared services. "We're going to have to learn to live with it," he said of the idea. "If you don't do it, state aid will be removed from you." For some of the smaller towns that might mean merging with some of the bigger towns in the county, with Walsh citing the example of Howell and Farmingdale possibly coming together at some point in the future. 

With the two towns being so close and having so much in common, Walsh said in a lot ways it made sense, but he understood the desire to keep them separate as well. "The truth of the matter is what's best for the citizens of New Jersey should be at the forefront of everybody's mind," he said. "Some towns don't want to give up their home rule." 

Howell's mayor also credited Freeholder Thomas Arnone, who serves as the liason to the county's Office of Shared Services, with laying out what the process would mean for the local municipalities. "He alluded to the truth that the sooner you start doing it to implement it, the sooner the bumps in the road will be overcome," he said of the shared services process. 

For his part, Freeholder Arnone said in the release that he supports municipalities willing to work together to help their residents. "Shared services is the best tool we have to help reduce the heavy tax burden in our state and in our county," he said. "Sharing services produces immediate savings and, at the same time, helps preserve the value of our public services that contribute to the excellent quality of life we have all come to enjoy."

The shared services efforts around the county include small things like local municipalities working together to deliver services to residents and larger projects including the new facility being built for a 9-1-1 communications center. Monmouth County Sheriff and Howell resident Shaun Golden said in the release that this new building will help all the municipalities in the county. "This shared service will increase efficiency since it will provide direct dispatch of resources and response time reduction," he said. "Also, towns will cut costs by not having to pay for police dispatchers or purchase radio equipment."

The county established the Office of Shared Services in July of this year with Stephen G. Callas being named the first director of that office. "There are opportunities for municipalities to save millions of taxpayer dollars through their participation in shared services provided by the county," Callas said. "I am ready and willing to meet with all local partners, school boards included, to talk about the many ways in which we can spend less taxpayer money without impacting the quality of services."

For more on the county's efforts on shared services go to their website.