Politics & Government

Sparta SUV Discussion Raises Hackles

Deputy mayor questions need for new administration car.

Written by Michael Daigle

A discussion about the potential purchase of a new vehicle for township officials devolved briefly into a question about how deeply a township council member should be involved with the day-to-day management of personnel.

Administrator David Troust had proposed that the township purchase an additional police car  using some of the funds the township received from PSE&G for providing police coverage during the recent construction of a power line switching station in the township.

Troust said that Police Chief Ernest Reigstad said that the township is replacing one police cruiser this year, but the additional purchase would move the department ahead in its scheduled replacement of cars.

Under state contract, a new police cruiser would cost between $37,000 and $40,000,  Troust said.

That was the easy one.

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Troust’s second proposal was to use left over grant funds from a Clean Cities grant and a share of the recycling receipts  Sparta gets from Sussex County to replace a vehicle used by the township engineer as the recycling coordinator, and the plumbing, building code, and construction inspectors and sometimes  the fire code inspector.

Troust said the township garage supervisor said the current vehicle used by those township staffers was beyond repair. He said a small SUV could be purchased under state contract for about $18,000.

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Deputy Mayor Molly Whilesmith objected, asking why it was not possible for the employees to share the four remaining administration vehicles.

Troust said that because the employees perform inspections in different areas of enforcement, that was not possible.

Whilesmith insisted that better scheduling could take care of such problems.  She said she wanted Troust to first pursue such a solution before spending money on a new vehicle.

Troust said the funds were already in hand since the township already received the Clean Cities grant and been paid the recycling receipts, and that the funds would not come out of the current budget.

When Whilesmith insisted again that better scheduling could  solve the problem, Mayor Gilbert Gibbs said she was “micromanaging” the issue.

“Are you saying we should not believe the employees,” Gibbs asked.

The new vehicle was approved.

In related business, the  council introduced an ordinance to sell the township’s Summit Lake water system to Aqua New Jersey, Inc. for $10,000.

The water system in at Summit Lake in Hardyston.

The public hearing on the ordinance is set for Tuesday.

The state Board of Public Utilities must approve the transfer.



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