Michael Nochimson
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Question 2: Verona officials have discussed the concept of shared services for many years, both with the Board of Education and with other townships. Which services should and shouldn’t be shared, and why?
Verona officials have discussed the concept of shared services for many years, both with the Board of Education and with other townships. Which services should and shouldn’t be shared, and why?
During my time on the council, I have strongly advocated for shared services believing efficiencies and economies of scale can improve services to our residents, minimize redundancy, and eliminate waste in our budget. I have proactively sought to work with members of the council, the Board of Education, and neighboring townships to achieve these goals of shared services.
By building relationships across the spectrum, I have helped to develop and deliver cost efficiencies through shared service programs. For example, a few years ago, I proposed doing more for the Board of Education to consolidate a number of similar services that the town excels at delivering. Specifically, we focused on exterior maintenance related services; such as landscaping, plowing, lawn-mowing, and fertilizing, as well as maintenance of the roads, sidewalks and turf fields. Through hard work and collaboration, we were able to come to an agreement with the Board of Education and coordinate the delivery of these services. The result: we eliminated wasted duplication of services and the related overhead that comes with separate equipment, crews, and organizational support. Thus, providing the Board of Education more money to focus on their core competency, educating our students. Additionally, some important benefits in schedule coordination created service improvements to residents and economies of scale were realized by consolidated purchasing and servicing which resulted in reduced costs.
As we move forward, I’m focused on helping deliver additional efficiencies and improvements via shared services. We are exploring areas such as our 911 Dispatch center, our municipal court system, and equipment purchasing. Further, transportation and street congestion are often voiced by residents as a growing concern. One solution to this road congestion problem is a “Jittney” bus service to help transport residents to and from the train station in Montclair. We have initiated discussions with neighboring towns as this service will reduce traffic congestion on the avenue and parking overload on the side streets.
There are areas where shared services do not deliver desired benefits. However, in most cases the discipline of asking the questions: can efficiencies be achieved?, can they reduce cost?, can they improve services?, often leads to new thinking and improved outcomes. These real results are what residents expect from their town leadership and this is what I have delivered and will continue to deliver with your support.
