Ordinance provides $1M for public works

Ordinance provides $1M for public works
Council introduces funding for capital improvements
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS — The Borough Council voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance appropriating $1,095,000 for various public works equipment at the Nov. 10 meeting.

Public Works Director John N. Bucciero said the funds would make it possible to replace some trucks that are no longer serviceable.

"The trucks are replacements for old trucks that are no longer functioning or will not be functioning much longer," he said last week. "One of them we got rid of because of failure, and the second one is no longer usable because of structural failure.

"The third one is showing structural failure and has engine problems," he added.

Bucciero said his original request to the council for funding was amended after a third truck failed.

He said the department would be in a tough situation if the ordinance is not adopted.

"I don't know how we are going to do it without the vehicles," he said. "It's just going to be more breakdowns and more spending money on old equipment to try to keep it functioning.

"At some point, a piece of equipment is not worth keeping up," he added.

Bucciero said that there is a misconception about the relatively low miles on the garbage trucks. According to Bucciero, a garbage truck usually exhibits more wear and tear than the mileage may indicate.

"One of our trucks that I want to replace is a 1994," he said. "It only shows 74,826 miles, but the running hours are 11,626."

Bucciero said that if you do the math, that truck would have 1,453 days of solid running and added that the stop-and-go nature of garbage truck operation really shortens their useful life.

"A truck will pick up around 800 cans in a day going one house to the next to the next to the next," he said." This is one of the things I'm trying to explain, that the mileage on a garbage truck is going to be less important than the hours."

Bucciero noted that the request for funding is higher than usual, but not that much more.

"We usually run around $450,000 a year," he said. "I didn't request anything in 2008, and I had warned them in 2008 that I was going to combine both years.

"Of course, that was a different administration at the time, but I had warned them," he added.

Bucciero said one of the reasons he didn't request anything in 2008 was that the DPW is in the process of changing the way trash is collected.

He also said that within the last year, the department has started trash collection for condominiums and townhouses.

"Part of this capital is for more dumpsters to do that," he said.

At the Oct. 20 council meeting, Bucciero also requested that the council adopt a single stream recycling policy, which he said would put Tinton Falls ahead of the curve.

"We are going to be one of the first to do the single stream in Monmouth County," he said.

Bucciero said that regardless of whether or not the council adopts the recycling policy, the Public Works Department needs capital improvements.

"It is the exact same vehicles that will pick up the exact same cans whether it is single stream or not," he said.

Bucciero said the department might actually need more equipment if they don't change to the single-stream system.

"If we don't go to single stream, I'm going to need another truck and more employees, because then we are going to have to pick everything up by hand," he said. "What I'm trying to do is eliminate the need for more trucks."

He also said that in the single-stream system, all recycling is collected together in one can, as opposed to separating out newspapers and cardboard. The recycling is then sent to a recycling plant in Farmingdale to be separated.

Bucciero said that using this method, residents would be more likely to recycle because it will be more convenient for them.

The council will vote on the capital improvements at the Dec. 1 meeting.

Contact Kenny Walter at

kwalter@gmnews.com.