Towns Meeting With County Regarding Shared Services for Debris Pickup

Several Ocean County officials are expected to meet on Thursday to discuss the details of a shared services agreement that will make Ocean County responsible for debris pickup.

Manchester became the latest Ocean County town to consider the shared service agreement at their regular council meeting Monday night.

Barnegat and Stafford Townships entered into similar agreements with the county last week. Despite the fact that Stafford Township had previously approved resolutions that appropriated some $21 million for trash pickup following Sandy, under the terms of this shared service agreement, that number now drops to $6 million, according to township officials there.

Manchester's Business Administrator Elena Zsoldos said that she and several other town officials have been invited to the Thursday meeting to hash out details of the agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, Zsoldos said that the county would hire a state-approved contractor, who would be hired by the county to clean up debris in Manchester and other towns. Individual towns would then reimburse the county for expenses occurred with FEMA funding.

Zsoldos reminded residents to "please be careful because there is still stuff out on the roads." She said that after consulting with the town's Public Works Department, the township will probably ask that cleanup start on the east end and move west. She added that Public Works officials noted that the shared services agreement would benefit them by alleviating some of the burden on the workers and equipment following the storm.