The private firm hired by the Morris County Freeholders last year to manage the county-owned Morris View Healthcare Center reported today that it has made significant progress in cutting the facility’s expenses.

Ron Deal, vice-president of Premier Healthcare Resources, told the freeholders that operating expenses through August were $1.2 million less than projected, with overtime cut by $173,000.

Since the company began managing the 283-bed former Morris View Nursing Home, Deal said Premier has enhanced revenue and increase the facility's population from an average of 259 residents a day in 2007 to an average of 272 today.

The admission process has also been streamlined, with no restrictions on when an individual may be admitted to the facility, according to Deal.

Deal said plans for 2009 include providing advanced training for clinical staff, improved marketing of the healthcare center, and establishing a clinical affiliation with the County College of Morris for a nursing program.

Deal also said the 2009 budget for Morris View should remain at its 2008 level of $25.5 million.

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The Morris County Freeholders have adopted a policy requiring that replacement vehicles or additions to the county fleet be compact, four cylinder models.

The only six cylinder exceptions allowed would be for marked patrol vehicles.

Freeholder Gene Feyl said the new policy is aimed at reducing the cost and the size of the county's motor vehicle fleet and also at conserving gasoline and cutting energy costs.

The four cylinder purchase policy also applies to SUV's, unless the employee is required to carry a significant amount of equipment at all times. In such cases the justification for such a purchase must be approved by the department director and the county administrator.

Where larger engine SUV's are preferred, justification must be made and the purchase must be approved by the county administrator.

Under the new policy, all replacement vehicles will be equipped with standard features.

The purchase of specialty vehicles such as vans, and requests for exceptions to the policy must be justified and approved by the respective department director or constitutional officer, and then by the county administrator.

The new policy is part of the county's ongoing review of county vehicle usage.

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The Morris County Office of Emergency Management is seeking the public's assistance in its development of a comprehensive countywide hazard mitigation plan.

The completed plan will include a risk assessment and a hazard-mitigation strategy that will identify hazard mitigation projects that can reduce the risk of loss of life, injury and property damage from future natural and manmade disasters.

According to the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders, creation of this plan will allow the county and the participating municipalities to be eligible for future mitigation funding from FEMA.

As part of this project, residents of the 39 towns in the county are being asked to participate in the planning process by completing an on-line survey that will provide the municipal mitigation planning group with detailed information concerning current and/or potential natural hazards in the community.

The survey may be accessed by visiting the Office of Emergency Management Web site, WWW.MORRISOEM.ORG. In addition, the link to the survey has been provided to all municipal Web sites.

Once submitted, all information will be used for official planning purposes only and will remain with the mitigation planning group.

The plan will identify and lay the ground work for implementing hazard mitigation projects, including those that are eligible for federal funding and those that may not qualify for federal funds but are of clear value to local communities.

Additionally, this plan will identify mechanisms for integrating hazard mitigation into other related planning efforts.

The primary natural hazard in Morris County is flooding, but other potential hazards such as drought, extreme cold, extreme heat, snow, ice, hail, windstorms and tornadoes will be included in the planning process.

The vulnerability to various natural hazards will be determined based on existing and future buildings, infrastructure and critical facilities that might be impacted. Critical facilities include shelters and hospitals; infrastructure includes power-generation facilities, water utilities, roadways, railroads and communication systems.

The risk assessment will identify hazards that may impact the county and municipalities; profile the relevant hazards and their potential consequences; identify assets that are subject to losses or damage, including physical structures, functions and populations; and estimate the potential losses that could result from each type of hazard.

Following the risk assessment, the county will develop a hazard mitigation strategy that will include the identification of hazard mitigation goals as well as a prioritized list of actions designed to reduce losses.

Information about the Morris County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazards Mitigation Plan will be posted on the Office of Emergency Web site, WWW.MORRISOEM.ORG.

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The Morris County Office of Emergency Management has begun working with the county's 39 municipalities to develop a comprehensive hazard mitigation plan.

The completed plan will include a risk assessment and a hazard-mitigation strategy that will identify hazard mitigation projects that can reduce the risk of loss of life, injury and property damage from future natural and manmade disasters.

According to the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders, creation of this plan will allow the county and the participating municipalities to be eligible for future mitigation funding from FEMA.

The plan will identify and lay the ground work for implementing hazard mitigation projects, including those that are eligible for federal funding and those that may not qualify for federal funds but are of clear value to local communities.

Additionally, this plan will identify mechanisms for integrating hazard mitigation into other related planning efforts.

The primary natural hazard in Morris County is flooding, but other potential hazards such as drought, extreme cold, extreme heat, snow, ice, hail, windstorms and tornadoes will be included in the planning process.

The vulnerability to various natural hazards will be determined based on existing and future buildings, infrastructure and critical facilities that might be impacted. Critical facilities include shelters and hospitals; infrastructure includes power-generation facilities, water utilities, roadways, railroads and communication systems.

The risk assessment will identify hazards that may impact the county and municipalities; profile the relevant hazards and their potential consequences; identify assets that are subject to losses or damage, including physical structures, functions and populations; and estimate the potential losses that could result from each type of hazard.

Following the risk assessment, the county will develop a hazard mitigation strategy that will include the identification of hazard mitigation goals as well as a prioritized list of actions designed to reduce losses.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Morris County a $300,000 grant under the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program. The county has contracted with James Lee Witt Associates of Washington D.C., part of the Global Options Group, to develop the hazard mitigation plan in accordance with state and federal standards.

The county and the municipalities will contribute an additional $100,000 of staff services, bringing the project total to $400,000.

A series of public meetings will be part of the plan development process, both to solicit public comment and to present the draft plan to residents and local officials. The meetings this year will be Oct. 22, Nov. 12 and Dec. 10.

The 2009 public meetings have been scheduled for Jan. 28, Feb. 25, March 25, April 22, May 27, June 24, July 22, Aug. 26, Sept. 23, Oct. 28, Nov. 25 and Dec. 23.

All of the meetings will be at 2 p.m. in the Office of Emergency Management in the Morris County Public Safety Training Academy, 500 West Hanover Ave., in Parsippany.

Information about the Morris County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazards Mitigation Plan will be posted on the Office of Emergency Web site, WWW.MORRISOEM.ORG.

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