By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN – As a shared services agreement between Allentown and Robbinsville enters its final weeks, borough officials are making plans to continue providing public works services in the community.
During the fall of 2016, officials in neighboring Robbinsville informed their counterparts in Allentown they were planning to end a shared services agreement through which that municipality provided Department of Public Works (DPW) services to Allentown.
The shared services agreement will end on March 31.
Robbinsville officials said the reason they chose not to renew the agreement was due to an increase in employees’ responsibilities in Robbinsville. Two Robbinsville DPW employees who have been reporting to Allentown will be assigned tasks in Robbinsville.
The agreement between the two municipalities was in place for nine years.
Allentown Mayor Greg Westfall said on March 1 that the borough has hired a full-time DPW supervisor and will look to hire a part-time DPW employee. The borough has its own equipment and a DPW building. The salary range for the DPW supervisor is $40,000 to $55,000.
Westfall said Allentown has applied to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for a waiver from a requirement to employ a certified DPW supervisor.
He said the reason officials believe they do not need a certified DPW supervisor is because the borough does not pick up trash or recycling materials, it does not operate a sewer plant and it does not operate a water plant. Those tasks are handled by contracted firms.
“Much to my chagrin, the shared services agreement is ending. We would have loved to have continued (the agreement) with Robbinsville, but they had obligations,” Westfall said.
Allentown’s new DPW supervisor will be responsible for planning, scheduling, directing, managing and actively participating in the coordination and performance of daily and seasonal operations.
The supervisor will be responsible for ensuring the maintenance and repair of the borough’s infrastructure, including parks, recreational fields, public buildings, vehicles and equipment; and the oversight of the effective delivery of borough services including ice and snow removal, trash and recycling removal, brush and leaf collection; and road maintenance and repair, according to a job description provided by Westfall.
