The Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority (LTMUA) formally introduced an $8 million dollar balanced budget for the upcoming 2011 year. This is the first balanced budget at the LTMUA in over a decade. The balanced budget calls for no water or sewer rate increases, reduction of services, employee furlough days, or employee layoffs.
Under the direction of the current Executive Director, C. Mike DeMarcantonio, the MUA Board was able to introduce the balanced budget at its October 6th meeting. Some of the changes made during the past two and a half years are, reduced wasteful spending, hiring a staff engineer, hiring a certified chief financial officer, modernizing equipment, installation of solar power, improving efficiency and operating the MUA in a fiscally efficient manner.
The MUA Board also settled employee contracts which included some concessions by the MUA employees. The employees have agreed to some concessions in these tough economic times. The employees have also taken on additional tasks such as water and sewer main installation and repairs, completing smaller projects in house, working safely and efficiently, streamlining office procedures and reducing redundancies all in an effort to reduce the overall cost to the rate payers for which the MUA Board is thankful.
The MUA looks to start the Townbank water main project in January or February of 2011. This will add approximately 2,500 new water customers and help to spread out the cost of daily operations of the MUA for the future. The $12 million dollar Townbank project is funded through a grant and loan from the USDA and the ARRA Federal project funding.
The LTMUA routinely reviews its daily operations for green alternatives, cost savings, such as solar power, and other efficiencies, which results in savings for its rate payers.
