$2M Reduction In Budget Proposed By Parsippany Councilman

PARSIPPANY, NJ — The second day of budget hearings concluded with Councilman Justin Musella's proposal to reduce the $88.4 million budget proposal by $2 million.

The two budget hearings were held as a result of certain council members advocating for greater transparency so that residents could better understand the overall increases.

Both public hearings included various township department heads presenting their operation plans for the upcoming year and explaining the figures in their section of the budget.

Over the course of the two days, the end results were typically all department heads saying they saw no way to cut out portions of the proposed $88.4 million budget.

After the nearly three-hour-long meeting on Tuesday, May 9, Musella stated that he disagreed with that statement and listed off certain items that he believed could be cut in order to lessen the burden on taxpayers.

One of those revenue sources was eliminating nearly 24 vacant and non-essential positions.

"These vacant positions alone are budgeted at a cost of $1,360,155. It is for this reason that I would like to eliminate these positions from this budget, so that way we can cut the tax increase almost in half alone," Musella said.

Other proposed cuts would include parts of the current salary raises and bonuses, which would eliminate $320,731 from the budget, and the summer concert series from the township budget.

Council President Loretta Gragnani expressed concerns about the impact Musella's proposed cuts would have on services for township residents.

"You just made a mention of $2 million. What is it doing to our residents? What about our safety? What about all the other services that we are receiving? We just can't arbitrarily say, 'Let's deduct $2 million from this budget.' I'm sorry," Gragnani said.

In response, Musella asserted that he never stated that the township should approve any cuts to the police department.

"I was fully supportive of the additional police officers that we have. In my view, these are mostly edits to ancillary items; it negates any layoffs and it's eliminating vacant positions, something that people on this council previously supported doing. If we can't go the full $2 million, that's fine, but let's at least take steps," Musella said.

Mayor James R. Barberio stated that reducing the budget will more than likely cause Moody’s Investors Service to lower the township's bond rating next year. Maintaining the township’s "high-grade" bond rating will allow Parsippany to finance key projects, with positive impacts on taxpayers.

"It's not going to be good for us next year. When the bond rating goes down, our leverage goes down with it. Guess what? When the leverage goes down, we're still not out of the range of inflation. I already told you how I felt. Do what you want to do, but our financial status will take a hit, and we will see where we go from there," Barberio said.

Following a short discussion, Barberio and Musella agreed to set aside time to go over the budget and identify potential cuts that could be made within the township.

In a conversation with Patch, Musella said that he has since reached out, but has yet to hear back about scheduling that meeting.