This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

DWC Debates Impact of Christie Cuts on Beautification Contest

America in Bloom competition could be impacted by governor's budget.

Gov. Chris Christie's budget cuts dominated discussion at Monday night's Downtown Westfield Corporation board meeting with some saying programs could be cut.

This discussion started during talks about participation in the America in Bloom Competition this summer.  Westfield has already announced that it would enter and given the entrance fee.  They have to submit a form listing some basics about the town by April 1.  The judges for America in Bloom have already announced that they will be coming to Westfield on July 12.

The America in Bloom competition is a national gardening and downtown beautification program. Westfield entered for the first time last year and received recognition in the program, along with a comprehensive report detailing the state of the town's beautification and public horticulture program.

Find out what's happening in Westfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Westfield has already started to think about ways that it will acquire materials and services to put into action the preparations for this summer.  However, with the budget cuts that were announced last week, things may have to change some around the town.

Town Administrator Jim Gildea, brought up the budget issue after DWC Executive Director Sherry Cronin presented plans for Westfield in Bloom.  He pointed out that Christie's budget presents huge challenges for the town as a whole and may have an effect on how things are run. Christie has cut in state aid to Westfield's town government, along with $4.22 million in state aid to the school system. The school system cuts do not effect the DWC.

Find out what's happening in Westfieldwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Town leaders have expected cuts in state aid this year and have said they were planning for this. Councilman Mark Ciarrocca said in a budget briefing last month that personnel and service cuts are likely in the town budget for the coming year. The town has already eliminated the custodial services deparment at the Municipal Building and merged the Department of Human Services with the county government.

Gildea acknowledged that Westfield in Bloom is a great program, but it may be considered a luxury now.  The Department of Public Works has previously helped with the program by really working at their upkeep of the parks and by setting up and watering some of the plants that are set up in downtown area.  Gildea said the DPW's work in areas such as street cleaning and snow plowing are considered essential by the town government, while the beautification program is an extracurricular activity.

Therefore with lack of funding it will be moved to the bottom of the list.  Gildea also warned that while Monday to Friday work done by the DPW will remain essentially the same, there will be cuts on work done in overtime hours and on weekends.  This could affect the Westfield in Bloom due to changes based on weather and the budget cuts. If this were to happen then the judges could wind up being shown the town when it would not look as nice as they wanted.

The DWC discussed these warnings, but ultimately Cronin felt that this program was very important.  She feels that this program engages the whole community in efforts to beautify the town we live in.  She felt that we ought to "continue the pride element that this allows us to have." 

She said she would try to get the necessary equipment at the lowest price possible and would encourage as much volunteer involvement as she could get.  While the budget cuts make things harder to do she concluded that "we still have to run our downtown.  That's our mission." She also added that when there is need the community in Westfield has always pulled together to make things happen.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?