Berkeley Heights Township : Berkeley Heights Receives Second Highest Grant Award For Shared Services

Press release from the Berkeley Heights Township:

May 15, 2021

The Township of Berkeley Heights announced today that the Township received the second-highest grant award, $243,000, from the state of New Jersey as part of a program to encourage shared services. The money will be used to help offset costs associated with contracting with Union County Dispatch for emergency services. 

The Murphy Administration and New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Division of Local Government Services (DLGS) this week announced the award of 23 Local Efficiency Achievement Program (LEAP) grants to local governmental entities across New Jersey. These grants, totaling over $2.5 million, will help local governments pursue shared services to reduce taxpayer costs and enhance services.  The grant awards will support design and implementation of a variety of shared services initiatives including 911 dispatch, regional municipal courts, sanitation, public works, correctional facilities, and school feasibility studies.

“This grant is a tremendous win for our town and our first responders,” said Mayor Angie Devanney. “We will continue to advocate for shared services – as we have with Dispatch, the Salt Dome, DPW Director, our Health officer and IT – as a way to save significant taxpayer dollars without sacrificing quality of services.”

Added BHPD Chief Jason Massimino, “while moving to County Dispatch is saving the Township significant amounts of money every year, the police, fire and rescue squad still had up-front hard costs to absorb. This money will significantly help our emergency services get the remains of what we need.”

“Getting all of our emergency services successfully over to County Dispatch was a huge team effort,” said Berkeley Heights Fire Chief and Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Tony Padovano. “All of us were – and continue to be – committed to providing our residents the best potentially life-saving services. This grant will help ensure we have what we need to continue doing that.”

Marc Schnitzer, Chief of the Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue Squad, continued: “Our emergency services volunteers and personnel had one of their toughest years ever this past year. We are always seeking additional funding to ensure we can properly serve our residents, and this grant goes a long way toward helping us accomplish that.”

Berkeley Heights specifically applied for the LEAP Implementation Grant, which is used to help local governments defray costs associated with moving to a shared model. These include: regionalizing sanitation services across towns; shared records management systems; shared equipment programs; regional 911 systems; and a shared regional county municipal court.

The money Berkeley Heights received - $243,000 - will help pay items for the Berkeley Heights Police Department, Berkeley Heights Volunteer Rescue Squad and Berkeley Heights Volunteer Fire Department, including:

• Hand-held radios
• Computer equipment for vehicles
• Technology infrastructure

“In the wake of the pandemic, local governments are looking for innovative ways to cut costs to offset unexpected expenses incurred this past year. Shared services are a proven way to accomplish this while preserving and even enhancing existing services,” said Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves as Commissioner of the DCA. “The LEAP grants being awarded are specifically designed to help towns streamline resources to achieve taxpayer savings without sacrificing the quality of services their residents need.”

This press release was produced by the Berkeley Heights Township. The views expressed here are the author’s own.