Jackson looks to cut from fire districts after voters reject budgets
JACKSON — Amid the potential consolidation of two of the township's three fire districts, the township council must figure out where to cut – and how much – after voters rejected two districts' budgets.
Under state law, rejected fire budgets are sent to the municipal government to review, make changes and adopt. Township business administrator Terence Wall recommended the council cut the budgets by $350,000, which represents a 7% cut for District No. 3 and 11% for District No. 4 that officials said would undo a decade or more of planning.
District No. 3 proposed a $5 million budget, while District No. 4 proposed a $3 million budget.
"Most residents don't interact with us, and some interact with us on what is likely one of the worst days of their lives," District No. 3 chairman Frank Hruschka said. "They just want us to put the fire out and rescue anyone who needs rescuing. None of that is possible without sufficient funding or staffing.
In New Jersey, fire districts are separate, taxpayer-funded government entities overseeing fire services in a particular section of a municipality. Not every municipality has fire districts; in many towns, fire services are under the auspices of the municipal government and funded as part of the general budget.
Fire districts pass their own budgets, including their own tax levies. But unlike other government entities, their budgets are still required to go before the public in an annual referendum.
A state law allows fire districts to hold elections during the annual general election, which would remove the requirement for a budget referendum, but many still hold their elections on a Saturday in February each year – and usually see the lowest voter turnout of any election in the state.
The rejected budgets require council to figure out how to cut a budget – per the will of voters – while leaving the districts with enough tax revenue to operate and grow. They seemed more hesitant to cut from District No. 3, as it's in the process of consolidating with District No. 2 (whose budget, passed by voters, wasn't up for consideration by the council).
The council seemed more skeptical of District No. 4, which isn't part of the consolidation plans. The district's budget includes a $500,000 increase largely in planning for future capital, which district chairman Raymond Torres, Jr., said included an expansion and renovations of the district's North County Line Road fire station to include new space for offices, storage and training areas.
"We're dealing with a whole fire district on scraps," Torres said. "It's not like we're asking for $3 million for AstroTurf. We're asking for $3 million for a fire district."
Both Hruschka and Torres attributed some of the increases to mandates that require fire companies to take certain equipment and vehicles out of circulation after a certain time period, including million-dollar fire trucks
"We're running lean as it is," said firefighter Rich Marrero, president of IAFF Local 4395, the union representing firefighters at District No. 4. "We're not trying to raise a crazy number, just enough to put into savings for fire trucks and possibly hiring new manpower to keep up with the growth of residents."
The council is expected to pass a resolution confirming the cuts at its next meeting, scheduled for May 14.
Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and basically whatever else is going on at any given moment. Contact him at mdavis@gannettnj.com or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jackson NJ fire district budgets under knife after voter rejection
