$88.4M Budget Has No Room For Cuts, Parsippany Officials Say

PARSIPPANY, NJ — Township department heads presented their operation plans at a public budget hearing on Tuesday, May 2, kicking off what is now a two-day process.

Director of Public Works and Forestry Jim Walsh, IT Director Dave Miller, Police Chief Richard Pantina, Tax Assessor Dan Cassese, and Township Engineer Justin Lizza spoke before the public, saying they saw no way to cut out portions of the proposed $88.4 million budget.

The proposed fiscal year 2023 budget calls for a 3.76 percent increase in the town's property tax levy and a 2.57 percent overall tax increase, which equates to an estimated $100 more per year per homeowner, based on the town's average home valuation of $313,000.

Councilman Justin Musella advocated for the special meeting during the township council's initial budget presentation on April 18, expressing that the public deserved to have participation in the process. "It was mind-blowing to me that I had to even fight for there to be a public hearing," Musella told Patch.

First to speak at the meeting was Walsh, who, when asked what he could cut, said, "Right now, nothing."

Walsh informed the council that his departments have been understaffed since a hiring freeze imposed during COVID-19 reduced their ranks. Walsh stated that when he took over Public Works in 2021, there were 11 people down in sanitation, eight people down in roads, and eight people down in parks.

"We have gone through with the administration and cut our budget to the point where if we start cutting anything else, we're going to start cutting services," Walsh said.

Barberio explained that this year's increase was the result of "historic" inflation and the need to replenish the surplus in order to keep the township's bond rating.

"What this budget does is fix the past problems, it takes care of today and it prepares us for tomorrow. We have a lot of issues here in Parsippany. This is just the beginning, it’s either going to get worse or it's going to get better," Barberio said.

Cassese emphasized that point, saying that if the council had not approved the proposed budget, Moody’s Investors Service, would have lowered the bond rating. Maintaining the township’s "high-grade" bond rating will allow Parsippany to finance key projects, with positive impacts on taxpayers.

"We go through this by the skin of our bones. They were going to lower us. If you guys didn't approve the budget increase, our bond would have went down and I'm not kidding you, it's going to take ten years to put that back up," Cassese said.

Pantina, who did not give a presentation but instead took questions from the council, stated that the budget was the result of a difficult couple of years dealing with staff reductions.

"We know we are in a tough spot with adding officers, but if we could just replace what we have, it really is a benefit to the department and the township," Pantina said.

Musella questioned why a $400,000 increase in spending was requested between 2022 and 2023. Pantina responded by telling the public that the increase was due to salary and wage changes, the cost of adding additional officers and unanticipated maintenance costs.

"This budget is basically upkeep and maintenance; there is no fluff in this budget. We have cut a lot. There is nothing in this budget that you can say is a luxury," Pantina said.

Miller, who was representing the IT Department came forward with a prepared statement to read to the council and public, explaining why there was no room for cuts.

"The IT budget is as close to the bone as we can possibly get without compromising the security of our data. Our software position continues to be dictated by external pressure from constant phishing, hacking, malware, and other attempted breaches. We choose to be proactive in our approach by implementing solutions that protect the township and its data." Miller said. "Without cyber coverage, we could not handle financially what it would cost to recover from a breach."

This year, the department requested an increase of $100,000, which Council President Loretta Gragnani questioned.

The increase comes from the department switching over software, but needing to archive all old emails from the previous software. "In our business, we have to deal with something called OPRA, I need to maintain that data, I have no choice," Miller said.

Due to time constraints, residents only had about a half-hour to publicly comment on the $88 million spending plan at the public hearing.

Several residents took the opportunity to express their gratitude for the public hearing. Hank Heller, a resident, stated that he was concerned about the spending plan prior to the meeting, but his opinion changed after hearing the presentations.

The town has scheduled a second budget public hearing for Tuesday, May 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. The departments attending the meeting will be Planning, Zoning, Construction, Recreation, Water Sewer and the Knoll.

The budget is still subject to a final vote by the township council, which is scheduled to vote on May 16.