Borough Council Hears Concerns Of Clerk, Fire, Health Departments

Candace Braun

Borough Council met with the clerk and administration, health, and fire and housing departments last week to discuss their goals for 2005, and to determine what specific areas the Borough's funding currently supports and where additional funding may be needed.

One of the major challenges for the health department in 2005 is to research alternative funding to support various programs, including the cost of vaccinations for the flu clinic, a dental program for children, HiTops Preventative Health services for teens, and the rabies vaccination program. Without alternative funding, these programs will have to be reduced, said David Henry, the new health officer for the department.

State funding for the Borough's health department has steadily decreased over the last several years, particularly this year, after the state surveyed the amount of housing on Borough and Township land, said Mr. Henry: "We basically lost $1,200 of funding in one year's time."

The health officer also told Council that the department is looking to assist area agencies in planning a regional response to any bioterrorism alert or other public health emergency.

One of the main points that William Drake, the Borough's fire official, made to Council was that while short one staff member, the Bureau of Fire Safety and Housing Inspection still holds strong, in large part due to the funding it receives from the Borough. He pointed out that the department currently receives approximately $150,000 per year in funding, as compared to $100,000 four years ago.

"We're steadily increasing our revenue each year and we expect that to continue," said Mr. Drake, adding that small changes, such as the library's building and location, have made an impact on revenue.

As head of the department, Mr. Drake noted that there are far fewer fires in the Borough now than when he began his post in 1991, which is in part due to Princeton University establishing rules in the dorms regarding candles and other fire hazards.

Mr. Drake also boasted a strong customer service staff, but voiced a concern with the amount of time employees must spend taking violators to court for housing issues.

"The cost to us [in time] doesn't come back to us in fees," he said.

In the clerk and administration department, Borough Administrator Bob Bruschi cautioned the Borough that all the departmental heads are due for retirement within the next three to five years, which would include himself and Carl Peters, head of Borough Engineering. This does not include those employees who may leave for reasons other than retirement, he added.

Having staff trained only in their specific area was one critical problem in the department that was recently rectified, noted Mr. Bruschi: "One of the things I noticed when I first got here was that if Lea [Quinty, the Borough Clerk] was on vacation, we didn't have pay roll," he said.

Areas that the department still needs to work on include crisis management, such as the recent Waste Management garbage strike, which distracted several employees from their regular administrative duties.

"It does grab a significant amount of people's time," said Mr. Bruschi.

Councilman Andrew Koontz suggested putting a bulletin on the local access cable network to notify residents during emergencies.

The Borough's next departmental conference meeting will be held on Thursday, February 24, when Council will meet with the police and engineering departments.