By ROBERT LINNEHAN | The Voorhees Sun
Challenges from the state, several new programs, and a continuation of successful services from 2009 will be the focus for Voorhees moving into the new year, township representatives have reported.
2010 should be an exciting, yet challenging, new year, Mayor Michael Mignogna said. Uncertainty at the state level and a change in government has municipalities wondering what will become of their state aid numbers, he said, and Voorhees is no exception.
With these problems, Mignogna said the top priority for 2010 would be keeping taxes down for township residents, a challenge that all municipalities in the state are likely to face.
“We are probably facing a cut in our state aid funding anywhere from 10 percent to 100 percent,” he said. “I just spoke to our chief financial officer and we’re waiting for the decisions to come in from the state. We don’t know what will happen.”
Coming down from the state are other costs out of the township’s control, Mignogna said, including a likely increase of health insurance costs at about 18 percent and pension costs for 10 percent.
“The biggest challenge will be, in light of state aid cuts and increases in costs, to control taxes. The two ways we can do this is to generate new revenue and to control existing spending,” he said. “I think this is a challenge for all municipalities.”
To help counteract these costs will be the continuation of several exciting projects in Voorhees, Mignogna said. The first and most visible project is the ongoing construction of the new Virtua hospital along Route 73 bordering Dutchtown Road on a 125-acre site.
The new $463 million state-of-the-art digital hospital will include women’s health services, maternity, pediatrics, oncology, cardiology, and surgery. A community meeting space, health and wellness retail shops, and a café are also planned for the new structure. The new facility is also projected to have 2,800 employees by the campus’ completion. When the medical campus is fully completed, the total number of employees could jump up to 4,000.
The project is scheduled for a grand opening in a little more than a year, according to Virtua representatives.
“This project will generate significant tax revenues, create a significant amount of new jobs for our township, and improve our sewer infrastructure significantly,” Mignogna said. “That will help decrease our sewer maintenance costs as well.”
The continued development of the Voorhees Town Center will provide the municipality with new jobs, revenue streams, and a boost to the general economy, he said.
Even with the challenges facing Voorhees in 2010, Mignogna said the township has maintained a healthy surplus over the years to help deal with any unexpected occurrences.
Also, the township has maintained a successful tax collection rate, which is a great positive for Voorhees.
Because the township has increased its overall population past 30,000 residents, Mignogna said Voorhees would qualify for an additional two liquor licenses in 2010. The sale of these licenses should bring in a significant amount of new revenue, he said.
The township’s recycling program will be improved as well, he said, with the department of public works transitioning to one-armed recycling trucks. The new automated trucks will be able to use a mechanical arm to collect the recycling bins, he said, which will allow for a reduction of DPW employees on the truck during recycling pick up.
This allows the DPW to use employees in other areas of service. Also, as DPW employees are lost through attrition, the township may not have to replace them, Mignogna said.
As always, the township will continue to seek new shared-service options to save funding, he said.
The township recently reached an agreement with the nearby borough of Gibbsboro for leaf collection, sewer maintenance, and recycling services.
Additionally, Voorhees and Cherry Hill are working at a solution for mutual sewer maintenance services, he said.
The township’s police dispatching service could also be merged with the county’s, he said, which would result in a significant savings for Voorhees.
The economic development committee will continue to stay very busy in 2010, Mignogna said. Its new Web site, VoorheesProspector.com, will be expanded in the new year.
The new Web site allows anyone throughout the country to see the commercial property available in the township.
“It really gives anybody in any area of the country the ability to check out Voorhees on their computer and see what commercial property may be available. It gives us the opportunity to sell our township to people all over the country,” he said.
The township has plans to expand its parks and recreation services, including adding an additional concert to its popular summer series.
The Halloween in the Park event will also be expanded in 2010, he said.
The township will look into every single possibility for its residents to maintain and improve the services it offers, Mignogna said.
“Every year we face the same challenge to control taxes for our residents,” he said. “But every year we are able to maintain our services and the quality of life our residents have come to expect from living in Voorhees Township.”
