Borough Courting Bids to Privatize Landscaping and Custodial Work

The Mayor and Council, as expected, introduced a 2011 budget that will increase taxes by less than $20 for many residents at Tuesday's meeting.

But to keep the tax increase that low, the Borough is courting bids to privatize its custodial and landscaping workforce which, if accepted as written, would lead to layoffs.

Alan Brundage, councilman and budget committee chairman, said the governing body didn't take layoffs lightly.

"None of this is done in a vacuum," he said. "We know the faces."

Several residents, including the Shade Tree & Parks Commission Chairman, the former director of Shade Tree & Parks and the current parks foreman, spoke against bidding out the landscaping work. They said privatizing landscaping, while it might cut costs initially, would hurt the quality of the Borough's parks, which could cost more in the long run to restore.

They also said privatization would hamstring the Borough's flexibility in dealing with emergency situations. They cited the past few months, when Shade Tree workers helped plow snow and pick up leaves.

"Privatization is a cheap way out that will cost more money in the long run," William Comery, former director of Shade Tree & Parks, said.

Joseph Payoczkowski, parks foreman, said his job would be threatened by privatization and asked the governing body to reconsider.

"Not only is it going to be cutting the budget for the Borough, you're going to be cutting my [personal] budget and I don't deserve it," he said.

Brundage said one reason landscaping was a target for cuts was because it wasn't a year-round job. He couldn't answer questions on how many workers would be affected. 

The goal of privatization, he said, was to reduce landscaping and custodial costs by half.

"It just so happened that was one of the recommendations that came forward," he said.

Brundage said the 2011 budget proposal would be on the Borough website by Wednesday morning. Residents will have a chance to weigh in during the April 26 budget hearing.

Brundage called the prospect of layoffs an "unfortunate situation."

"We're at a point where it was years and years of doing whatever we wanted to do and spending whatever we wanted to spend and we're not there anymore," Brundage said.