Please sign a petition for a 0% increase in Montclair’s 2011 Budget! Montclair’s Town Manager is saying a 0% increase is a doomsday budget, yet he hasn’t done the hard work to create a smarter, more efficient operating model for our government. We want creative solutions! Quick Information*: 1. Montclair’s municipal tax levy has increased 22% in 4 years. 2. Montclair’s non-uniformed employees have salaries that are twice as high as those in Maplewood. Montclair is 60% larger than Maplewood but our budget is 100% larger than Maplewood’s budget. Montclair’s municipal budget (does not include school budget) is $70M; Maplewood’s municipal budget is $36M. 3. Hoboken's population is 33% larger than Montclair's.  Hoboken has 10 municipal employees who make over $100,000; Montclair has 65 municipal employees who make over $100,000. Maplewood has 3 municipal employees who make over $100,000. Our town government should: 1. Streamline procedures and combine departments where feasible 2. Outsource when private companies can provide the same service for less money 3. Pursue union contracts that are fair to both employees and taxpayers 4. Seek out shared service contracts with surrounding towns 5. Automate manual procedures 6. Strategize and plan to reduce our long-term debt 7. Ask residents for suggestions --- and listen when they respond Is our town council interested in efficiency and smarter government or are they tied to the status quo? Some council members are asking the right questions and seem motivated to embrace change; they are being stymied by our Mayor and others on the council and in the government. Please help send a message: WE NEED MORE EFFICIENT GOVERNMENT! KEEP OUR TAXES FLAT! * Statistics provided by www.townstats.org. TownStats is an online database developed by The Independent Center, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy institute TownStats is funded as a joint project of The Fund For New Jersey and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.