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Saving Money via Energy Efficency

The Central NJ Guide — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:40:12 +0000

See related story from Nov. 3, 2008: Cutting Metuchen’s Energy Expenses by Nearly One-Third

How can Metuchen’s buildings become dramatically more energy-efficient?

The answer to this question was discussed at a May 4 borough council meeting, when the council voted to participate in the New Jersey Clean Energy Program (NJCEP). Four government buildings – borough hall, the public works building, the library, and the senior center – will be the subject of an intensive audit to determine the structures’ current energy usage and efficiency.

“It is a very beneficial program because it helps us move to greener and more efficient structures where we can hopefully save money on our utilities going forward,” said councilman William Waldron. “The office of clean energy will be subsidizing our municipal audit by 75 percent, and the borough will be obligated to incur 25 percent of costs.”

The NJCEP, which is administered by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU), promotes energy efficiency and the use of clean, renewable sources of energy, according to NJCEP’s website. The BPU is a state government agency that works to ensure safe and proper utility services at reasonable rates across New Jersey.

However, it’s possible that the borough may eventually get off the hook for the entire cost of the audit.

According to the program’s publicly described guidelines, the state would study municipal buildings chosen by Metuchen and will reimburse the borough for 75 percent of the study’s cost. The remaining 25 percent may also be reimbursed if the borough implements the study’s recommendations, as long as the cost of the renovation work meets or exceeds that amount. The cost is capped at $100,000 to encourage as many local governments as possible to apply.

Waldron had said at a Nov. 3, 2008 council meeting that “there are some estimates we can save 30 percent year over year [on energy costs].”

As part of the program’s guidelines, Metuchen had to solicit bids for the energy audit from firms qualified to conduct it, and the borough must accept the lowest bid that comes in.

This lowest bid came from the firm of Steven Winters and Associates in the amount of $20,328 for the four buildings, said Waldron.

“Of that, the borough would be financially responsible for $5,082 of that cost,” Waldron said. “There has been some discussion as to whether or not we should include borough hall because it is a newer facility. Unfortunately, the second two pages here show what Steven Winters’ cost per building were,” he said, referring to documents detailing the bid offer.

According to Waldron, if borough hall were not part of the audit, the cost of the entire audit would be $12,498, of which the borough would have to pay $3,125.

In other words, if the borough decided not to include borough hall in the audit, Waldron said that it would save Metuchen “essentially only $1,950.”

“I think the $1,950 differential is an expense well worth undertaking with the goal of long-term savings,” he said, a statement that was agreed on by the rest of the council.

“While we do have a beautiful new building here, I don’t know if we had any baseline studies of the utilities used or how they are used or if the heat functions correctly or what the energy usage is,” Waldron said. “We certainly never had an energy audit before on this building, and the environmental commission has discussed this since they are spearheading this, and they are in favor of including borough hall in this program. Again, the goal is that we are trying to save money over the long term in terms of our utility usage.”

Mark Hertzberg, chair of the Metuchen borough’s environmental commission, added that including borough hall in the audit could ultimately allow the building to serve as a very “exciting” example of energy efficiency.

“Of particular interest, I think there will be nothing more exciting than the possibility of a demonstration project for solar if the auditors see [borough hall] as a viable location,” Hertzberg said the May 4 meeting. “Under a power-purchase agreement for renewable energy, a company would install solar panels, and the town would buy the electricity that would rate cheaper than buying it off the grid.”

“It is very exciting to having these kinds of programs out there,” Hertzberg added. “The critical first step is the energy audit because that gives us the infrastructure to be able to move. It also fits in very well with the actions taken at the last meeting where you folks passed a resolution declaring us a sustainable town in the Sustainable Jersey program.”

For more general information on how you can personally save on energy costs in your own home, please go to EnergySavers.gov.

Audit Results of Metuchen’s 2007 Municipal Budget

The Central NJ Guide — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:13:54 +0000

The audit results for the 2007 municipal Metuchen budget are in six months late and includes a few critical findings.

“We have an audit that says we have problems with our internal controls and the work being performed managing our funds,” said councilman Justin Manley at the Jan. 20 Metuchen Borough Council meeting. “I think it is incumbent on us to get to the bottom of it.”

The 2007 municipal budget audit was conducted by auditing firm Ernst and Young (EY, company homepage). Among its more critical findings, the audit concluded that the borough overpaid “by a significant amount” the sum due for local school taxes and over-estimated the amount in the borough’s municipal budget at the start of 2008 by close to $30,000.

The audit was also completed approximately six months late.

“The statute says that the governing body shall cause an audit of its books and accounts to be completed within six months of the close of the fiscal year,” said Manley. “This resolution is the acceptance of the audit of fiscal year 2007, so it should have been filed by the end of June 2008.”

During the meeting, councilmembers were unable to determine who was at fault for the audit’s delay.

“Obviously, there is a six month delay,” said councilman Christopher Morrison. “If there is anything we could have done to get it sooner, I think we ought to be taking steps to make it happen. What we need to do is to find out what that is and rectify it. If it was the auditor’s fault, let’s hear it. If it was our fault, then let’s work to fix it.”

Councilman Richard Weber asked why the auditor never notified the council that the audt was running behind schedule.“Why didn’t the auditor tell us that they weren’t getting the information or whatever the problem is or that they weren’t starting until June when it was due? I would like to know the answers to it. I wish we would have known,” Weber said.

The NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA, agency homepage) has been notified that the audit came in late, according to borough administrator William Boerth.

The DCA is a state agency that provides administrative guidance, financial support, and technical assistance to local governments, according to the agency’s website.

In the Jan. 20 council meeting, the council also voted to replace EY with a new auditor, Suplee Clooney and Company, to conduct the audit for the 2008 municipal budget. However, councilmembers stressed that the change was made for reasons of cost and not because of the 2007 audit results.

“We are looking at a firm whose bid came in cheaper than the current auditing firm,” said councilman Peter Cammarano. “It is cheaper to the tune of $5,000 to maybe as high as $7,000. When we are facing budget problems and a likelihood of no state aid, this is exactly the kind of cost-saving measures we need to be taking.”

“We are going to have to save, whether it is $500 or $5,000, we need to be aware of every penny we spend this year,” Cammarano said. “I think [Suplee Clooney and Company] is reputable, and they do a lot of municipal work, as has the firm we have had previously. But when we get two proposals, and they are basically equal but one is $5,000 cheaper, it seems pretty much common-sense to me that we should go with that firm.”

“I do believe that the public needs to understand, because it does look like [EY] gave us some news we didn’t want to hear and we let them go,” said councilmember Chris Morrison. “We used Ernst and Young in 2006 and there were no comments. We then hired them again in 2007, at which time they gave us negative comments and we let them go. But I think the public should understand the reasons as to why we are doing it.”

Councilmembers also determined that the fact that the borough’s chief financial officer, Rebecca Cuthbert, was at one point in her career an employee of Suplee Clooney and Company did not disqualify the firm from now serving as the borough’s auditor.

Councilman William Waldron stressed that the council’s main objective now should be to take a “close look” at the borough’s “internal controls.”

“We have an audit that critiques our internal control systems,” Waldron said. “Regardless how you characterize it, I think we have some internal problems we have to take a hard look at, and we are going to have our own CFO’s response to this audit.”

Cutting Metuchen’s Energy Expenses by Nearly One-Third

The Central NJ Guide — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:32:08 +0000

How can Metuchen’s buildings become dramatically more energy-efficient?

The answer to this question was discussed at a Nov. 3 Borough Council meeting, during which it was disclosed that the borough plans to apply to a state program to investigate how some municipal buildings could become more energy-efficient, and in the process, save taxpayer money.

“There are some estimates we can save 30 percent year over year [on energy costs],” councilmember William Waldron said.

“The program will assist us in identifying cost-justified energy efficient measures for buildings we identify as being part of the program,” he said. “It will help us to reduce energy costs and in turn hopefully lower the local tax burden. The [Clean Energy Program] is quite optimistic that all municipalities that participate will see some savings. It will also help us lower our carbon footprint in the world.”

The New Jersey Clean Energy Program (NJCEP), which is administered by the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU), promotes energy efficiency and the use of clean, renewable sources of energy, according to NJCEP’s website. The BPU is a state government agency that works to ensure safe and proper utility services at reasonable rates across New Jersey.

“This is a first-come first-serve program, and it has been announced for three weeks now, so we are looking to get in before it is too late,” Waldron said.

“Long story short, we would get all our buildings audited for energy efficiency at no cost to us,” Waldron said. “The only cost to us would be to implement the energy efficient recommendations they set forth.”

The time frame for the study would be six months from its start, he said.

“They will look at our historic energy consumption, and our energy conservation measures such as lighting and heating in the buildings. They will estimate the annual energy cost savings as well as the lifetime cost savings we could realize.”

Precisely which government buildings that would be part of the study had not been determined as of the Nov. 3 council meeting. Those that were suggested as likely candidates included borough hall, the library, the department of public works building, and the senior center.

For more information, go to NJCEP and click on “Local Government Energy Audit Program Now Available” at the right under Program Updates. For more general information how you can save on energy costs, please go to EnergySavers.gov.

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