“Today they receive a fiscally sound and financial stable community again – one that they expect as taxpayers and one that they deserve,” Mayor John Bencivengo told the NJ Department of Community Affair’s Local Finance Board Wednesday. Hamilton Township petitioned and was granted release from State Supervision one year ahead of schedule.

“In Hamilton Township, today is the day that we begin to move forward and get back to the work we must do to keep what I believe is ‘America’s Favorite Hometown’ moving in the right direction,” said Mayor Bencivengo. “It does not mean our decisions will be easy or that we no longer have to run our government as efficiently as we can. We still must make difficult decisions and closely watch our expenditures. But for the residents and taxpayers of Hamilton Township, today is a victory for them.”

It was in early 2008 when Hamilton Township petitioned the State to be placed under the supervision of the Division of Local Government Services in order to take the necessary steps to correct the financial issues facing the government that Mayor Bencivengo, as the newly elected Mayor, inherited from the prior administration. In their first 30 days in office, Mayor Bencivengo and his administration identified a $15.7 million budget deficit, with the Township’s fiscal budget year more than half over.

“…I believe that my administration has vastly improved the financial condition of Hamilton Township government and that we no longer require the State Supervision we have been under,” stated Mayor Bencivengo after summarizing the several cost savings measures his administration implemented to address the Township’s fiscal condition in their first 16 months in office. The cost savings included:

* A Workforce Reduction entailing layoffs, position reductions and not re-filling some vacancies - saving $2.2 million

* Changing our Health and Prescription Drug coverage provider – saving $1.1 million

* Raising $140,000 in private sponsorships from local businesses to cover the costs of special community events such as the Independence Day Fireworks, Septemberfest, Fall Harvest, Winter Wonderland and the Azalea Festival, that previously were funded with large amounts of taxpayer dollars

* Instituted an automated security system for our Public Works Department, which eliminated the need for security guards – saving $140,000 annually

* Ending the practice of allowing non-public safety employees taking township vehicles home for non-governmental reasons – saving some $75,000

* The private management of the Township’s ecological facility, which should realize a $750,000 annual savings for the taxpayers

* Refinancing Township debt, which will save more than $350,000 over the next 7 years

* Negotiated additional contributions from employees in new Township contracts to reduce health benefit and prescription drug costs, which included frozen wages for 6 months, even for police contracts

During his comments, Mayor Bencivengo urged the Local Finance Board to never allow a situation such as what Hamilton Township faced to ever happen again. “No newly elected official should ever have to enter office under such disastrous financial circumstances that I did,” said the Mayor . “Most importantly, no Hamilton Township resident – whether they are a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent or a non-voting taxpayer – no Hamilton Township resident should ever have to endure the situation that our community was forced to address.”