hmmm .... council is trying to shove through the purchase of two new packers just before we put out bids for outsourcing. Let's undermine the case against outsourcing as much as we can...?

i used to think the manager, fried and Weller-Demming were just in over their heads and somewhat self-absorbed. Now i'm thinking their seeming incompetence might have a darker side.

This is not that difficult. Outsource trash and recycling, and move on to the more complicated problems.

This article says "the Public Works employees who currently work in garbage collection will start working with the roads division" in Millburn, but the Morristown example includes a reference to salaries and benefits in the total savings the town expects to achieve. While I'm all for the town of Montclair operating more efficiently, I'm very concerned about the employees who current work in garbage collection. How many would we expect to lay off? I think there are ample opporunities for the town to budget more effectively in areas that don't require lay offs of town employees.

Let me try to find out Maria... and let me take another look at the report on outsourcing that's linked to in the article.

Shortly after Remsen was elected Mayor, I spoke with him and suggested this type of outsorcing. He said back then that it was being seriously considered. So in theory it has been under consideration for what - 7 years? How long do decisions take in this town? How many millions could have been saved during this time? Sheesh!

I am deeply skeptic of this endeavor and I think the real question we need to address is the reason that the private corps. are able to underbid it and make a profit at the same time. Typically town employees are paid less but have a more stable job with more benefits. And in an ideal world, the private industry should never be able to underbid efficiently organized town departments.
What happens in our town is that this balance is seriously broken, part to the fact that private corps. in this recession effectively do pay their employee less wages and benefits (healthcare, vacation, pensions etc). The other reason I can see is that the town department itself is mismanaged in terms of efficiency, thereby increasing cost and hereby making private corps more competitive.

Here are the options as I see them:

a.) allow bids from outside contractors, but demand that their cost structure in terms of wages, benefits etc is comparable.

b.) assess the efficiency of the to-be-outsourced department ruthlessly and openly. The town manager needs to step to the plate here.

c.) Openly admit that:
- we failed as a town to govern ourselves efficiently
- municipal employee are overpaid
- we really do not care about working conditions and efficient government
- outsource everything

d.) Be a hypocrite and pretend that the current bids are fair to compare

Someone looked at our union contracts and tells me our employees get almost 9 weeks of vacation. I'd be open to employing a firm that thinks 2-3 weeks of paid vacation is acceptable.
Plus, if we outsource trash maybe we could take that headcount and use it to take over operations from the Parking Authority and hopefully turn parking into a profit center, as it is in other towns. According to Dashield's report the PA has over $750k in Administration and then another big number (think like $690k) in 'cost providing', plus the $340k we give them for Parking Enforcement. I think we could keep all our current headcount and handle parking for less than $2M. This could be all-around win.

why hasn't the town outsourced? Anyone remember the throngs of municipal employees who converged on a meeting when Hartnett was manager that was to propose across the board cuts to municipal spending? The town has become a large employer with no will or ability to substantially cut payroll should there be a valid reason to - like outsourcing garbage collection. There is a group of people who depend on the town for their paycheck and the council has traditional decided to keep those jobs even if the taxpayers and town can't afford the ongoing and long-term costs of having that payroll and the benefit and pension costs. They would rather pass the burdens onto the white collar citizenry in the form of added debt and increased property taxes rather than cut a blue collar workforce. As one long time resident told me - most of the garbage collectors went to high school with him in Montclair and they have stable, lifetime employment and benefits at the sanitation dept. It's essentially "workfare" given that this could be done much more efficiently but would then force those residents to find new jobs or face being unemployed.

Let's just get a bid out the door and see where we are when the bids are submitted. There are plenty of existing situations that we could review and use as a guide.

CMFAS55...I'm glad you had the cajones to say what needed to be said here. I was at the Remsen unionfest. It is no surprise that our services in Montclair are terrible. I remember reading somewhere that the refuse collectors are not paid for an 8-hour workday. If they can complete their rounds in 4-hours, then their day is over and they get to go home early. This is just one example why outsourcing is so much more efficient than insourcing. The fact that there is a profit motive and competition int he private sector as compared with always being able to sock it to the local taxpayer when revenues fall or efficiencies aren't maintained just add to the reasons why privatization makes sense.

As a wise person said at the town council meeting the other night. "This is a no brainer, we have to do this".

I don't see how we can use municipal employment as workfare as defined above. These positions are for jobs with good salaries, long vacations, great benefits and pensions. Most people in town would react with horror if anyone suggested outsourcing critical services like police or fire, or outsourcing our fine teacher staff. But sanitation? Do our sanitation people pick up the garbage better than private industry sanitation people?

This is one reason why we are paying some of the highest real estate taxes in the country and our services continue to be diminished. We can't seem to reduce expenses anywhere without someone being against it.

We should spend the town's money on our most valued services.

You know me,

I don't doubt that it is a thankless, dangerous and difficult job. As far as I know, it does not require great amounts of skill nor job training. If Bob is willing to do it better for half of what Joe is willing to do it for, then so be it.

Your argument about paying more to avoid the workers from going on the dole just proves CMF's point about it being workfare. Isn't it just as likely that if a privatized hauler didn't employ Bob, we too would be paying for Bob's unemployment benefits likewise? Local government should not be run as an involuntary charity!

The way to proceed is not that difficult. Enough with the "Montclair is different," "We'd still need to do recycling," "We need the trucks for snowplowing," etc.

Montclair did not event trash or reclining pickup.

We should NOT be writing an RFP with our own employees. There are people who study this stuff for a living. A few thousand (and I've asked) and they'll do the analysis. Just tell them the parameters. Perhaps an outsourcing company can do a LOT more of what Community Services does. Let them at least make a proposal. Let's at least LISTEN.

And, certainly, one of our requirements could be that if a private firm takes over, it "has to" re-hire our workers. I suspect they would be PAID the same amount, or more, but I also suspect private industry does not have the same health and other benefits, and they most unlikely would pay pension and health benefits for life.

Incidentally, Chis Raths of Rockaway did an analysis for his town and pointed out that often these studies leave out the "present value" of health/pension for life as part of the costs of "in house."

Look at this analysis:

http://www.njslom.org/magazine/2011-06/pg-30.html

We don't necessarily have to adopt recommendations, but there's no reason why we shouldn't even listen.

It is amazing to me how the inability of Montclairs leadership to effectively manage cost historically has now become the fault of the the employees of the township...in this case Santitation workers. Let's be fair. The current high cost of living in Montclair is a result of poor leadership not the santitation workers whose character you have basically assassinated by your comments. These are human beings who like you are trying to provide for themselves and their families. Laying off employess should never be an easy decision...even when necessary.

Agree with Tryin'. Plenty of competition for garbage and it's the commodity of the service industry. Put our money into strategic services or areas with revenue/growth potential.
We can't afford workfare and it prevents us from thinking creatively about solutions. It encourages an atmosphere of defiance and resentment. It was one of the factors that almost sank the US auto industry. We need leadership that thinks we can do better than this. We can provide good jobs, but we can't do it mindlessly.

It is not the fault of the workers and no one is insinuating this. It IS the fault of terrible leadership. I think I speak on behalf of all of the pro-explore an RFP group who would like nothing more than for the outsourced haulers to hire the local workers who might be relieved of their local employment. I suppose, everyone deserves a trophy.

AC - should we not have EZPASS since it puts Tollbooth workers out of jobs? Should we not have ATMs because their are less bank tellers being employed? Efficiency and progress will hurt some but hopefully will help many more than are laid off. We have a ton of debt, we have ridiculous taxes and if there can be significant savings by outsourcing garbage pick up, then we need to explore it. I would feel bad for the sanitation workers laid off but would feel better for the middle class non-sanitation worker that can better afford to live in Montclair if their taxes are held in check.

If it is cost effective we should privatize!

It is not the fault of the sanitation workers, but it is the end result of arrangements made years ago that provide benefits that greatly increase the cost of an employee. When this cost is extrapolated for health care and pensions, it can become impossible to afford. Who knew years ago that health benefits and pensions would increase the cost of an employee (any employee) so much so that it has become such an overriding factor. In the private sector companies that have arrangements like these become unprofitable and eventually go out of business if this not rectified. In the public sector bankruptcy usually does not occur, but it can and has for some towns that let things go too far.

Please reread my comment. I am not disagreeing with the need to possibly privatize our Santitation services. If it is deemed necessary and lowers my property taxes...I am all for it. I was speaking the context of your own comments. Where does where they's individuals go to highschool have to do with privatizing Sanitation services? And where does the suggestion that this type of job is equal to workfare have to do with the subject of this article.
CMFF Don't partronage, I don't need you to school me on progess. And by the way not everyone who lives in Montclair and pays taxes is a white collar worker.