Bomgaars Receives Modest Response from Mailer Campaign

Council President Dave Bomgaars said he has received e-mails, phone calls, and some letters as a result of a mailer campaign he initiated recently to garner input from residents on what services they can stand to live without as Common Council grapples with a reduction in state aid and keeping the municipal tax levy increase around 2 percent.

Summit in state aid for 2010. City Administrator Chris Cotter had assumed a lesser reduction in aid that was already factored into the budget. So when coupled with the $800,000 in cuts the council wanted to make to reduce the tax levy to 2 percent, the total amont in cuts the city is looking to make is almost $1.5 million.

The mailer, a blown up business card, was sent to 3,500 households in Summit, a technique Bomgaars says he has used in the past.

"The number of responses are very few when it comes down to it," he said.

But the letters, e-mails and calls the council president has received, he says are often useful.

"I do get good ideas and I share those with council," he said.

Some of the e-mails Bomgaars has received are general in nature, asking him to stop increasing taxes anyway he can. Other have specific suggestions, such as additional shared services like consolidating school districts, moving to curbside trash pick-up, or havign fire fighters be crossing guards. 

But overall, the responses he gets, he says, are about ways Summit can maintain he excellent quality of life in the city but for a cheaper price.

"Maybe Summit can get by driving a Lexus instead of a Mercedes," he said.

One thing he did say he is opposed to is layoffs.

"I would rather see Summit newspapers saying there were union concessions than people laid off, he said.

The city has already frozen the pay of non-union employees and Bomgaars said they are in discussions with the unions to do the same.

Of the proposed cuts already, including to firefighters and police officers, Bomgaars said he is seriously considering a move to curbside trash pick-up and moving in house many of the city's road projects to save money.

In the area of the Department of Community Programs, Bomgaars said he didn't see much to be gained from cuts in that area since it is one of the revenue generating departments.

Bomgaars said council is planning a date for an additional budget workshop before the budget is formally introduced at the April 20 council meeting. The budget is scheduled to be voted on May 18.

If you would like to contact President Bomgaars, you may e-mail him dbomgaars@cityofsummit.org or call him at 908-522-0754.