Credit unions embrace chance to compete for deposits

NJBIZ.com

By Ken Tarbous

November 21. 2011 3:00AM 

Across the state, credit unions — the not-for-profit cooperatives that provide banking services to businesses and consumers — are preparing to take advantage of their newfound ability to compete with banks and accept some of the $15 billion in deposits from municipalities, school boards and other government bodies.

"We're going to reach out to the local entities that we currently have relationships with. We're going to target more of a niche approach, and then look to branch out to other entities where we have branches in our markets," said Andrew L. Jaeger, president and CEO of the Credit Union of New Jersey, based in Ewing.

Jaeger said he already has heard from one entity, which he declined to name, interested in deposit accounts.

Earlier this year, Gov. Chris Christie signed into law changes to the state's Governmental Unit Depository Protection Act of 1970, commonly known as GUDPA, to allow New Jersey's approximately 1,500 local governmental entities — from libraries, to community colleges, to sewer authorities — to deposit funds with credit unions. But the rules are still being written by the state Department of Banking and Insurance in a process that's expected to last until the second quarter of 2012.

Since credit union membership is restricted to defined groups — employees, communities or institutions — the not-for-profits will be permitted to accept those deposits from only a limited number of government entities, depending on each financial institution's individual bylaws. Once approved by the state, credit unions plan to start the push to market their higher interest rates and lower fees to entities.

And since it's a new line of business for credit unions, Jaeger said, his organization and others in the Garden State are still in the product development phase as they await the final regulations on requirements they need to meet to qualify as public depositories.

At the home base of the state's largest credit union, Affinity Federal Credit Union, in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards, executives say they've long been hearing from municipalities seeking the opportunity to use the organization's services. But Donna LoStocco, vice president of member experience at Affinity, said once the state completes the rule-making process, they will court new business.

"I'd really like to contact, certainly, the entities that have contacted us first and showed interest, and let them know we're ready to have conversations," LoStocco said. "There's different types of municipal accounts, and I need to understand which types of accounts they have in mind for the credit union, and see if that makes sense."

Banks, for their part, are not content with sitting back and letting credit unions take away customers and market share.

"We're pretty confident … that our banks are going to continue to fare pretty well in that regard," said John E. McWeeney Jr., president and CEO of the New Jersey Bankers Association. "Many of our banks have such long-standing relationships with these clients over the years, and we do provide a high level of service."

Banks' willingness and ability to invest in bonds issued by local governments and the suites of banking services they offer give banks an edge on the competitive marketplace, bankers say.

Chris Martin, chairman, president and CEO of The Provident Bank, which has 81 branches across the state, said his bank's long list of loyal municipal clients avail themselves of services such as cash management accounts, in addition to deposits. In many instances, banks discount product bundles that would cost local governing bodies more if the packages were broken up and money moved to another financial institution.

"We try to cultivate a relationship with the municipality and try to make it all encompassing, so it's not just the municipality looking for the best rate for the short period of time," Martin said. "We help create a relationship that is mutually profitable, as opposed to the one-trick pony of just getting a rate for a two-month period."

As for the financial professionals in local governments who take care of taxpayer money, they're watching to see how credit unions — which have long touted their slightly higher interest rates and lower fees than banks — might fit into the picture.

But one hurdle credit unions will have to overcome is a common perception among people who serve on government bodies, as well as consumers, that the cooperative not-for-profit organizations are just for vacation clubs, said Joseph P. Monzo, chief financial officer for South Brunswick Township and other smaller municipalities.

"They're a bank," said Monzo, who also serves on the New Jersey League of Municipalities' finance and taxation subcommittee. "If I was approached by a credit union, I would look hard at what services they can offer. If they can offer a competitive rate, I'd have no problem moving my money over, because I think — I hope — I'd get better customer service from them than from a larger bank. Many towns are becoming disenchanted with the banking services they're getting from the bigger banks. They're cutting services, and they're cutting rates at the same time."

In recent years, counties have felt the crunch of the cap on tax increases and lower revenues from the realty transfer fee because of a depressed real estate market during the recession and drawn-out recovery. John Donnadio, executive director of the New Jersey Association of Counties, an advocacy group based in Trenton, hasn't heard much feedback from membership, but he said counties will consider the feasibility of any mechanism or resource made available to local governments.

"In theory, it could provide additional competition and better investment vehicles for county government. It's another resource where they (counties) can potentially save a couple of dollars, or make a couple extra dollars here or there," Donnadio said. "At the county level, we've got some sophisticated administrators and finance officers that could really run Fortune 500 companies, and I can certainly assure they will take a hard look at this."

 

Raising questions over the future of affordable housing

NJBIZ.com 

By Ken Tarbous

August 29. 2011 3:00AM 

New Jersey's affordable-housing problem has lingered for decades, and the Chris Christie administration's plan to abolish the Council on Affordable Housing, which would transfer its responsibility to the Department of Community Affairs, raises questions and concerns about just how the affordable-housing landscape — and how it's governed — will look in the years to come.
"We've been in a box for quarter century — an administrative-driven box — and when people dare to venture outside that box, it's attacked," said Michael Cerra, senior legislative analyst with the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. "I think everyone needs to realize that we need to start over. It's a mindset."

Christie's move is designed to streamline the process, and more effectively and efficiently enable the state to deal with affordable housing, the Fair Housing Act and the Mount Laurel doctrine — the constitutional principle that municipalities must eliminate exclusionary zoning so affordable housing for low-income groups is available. The takeover by DCA makes sense, in part, because the department already works with the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency and other housing initiatives and programs, supporters say.

In an e-mail, DCA Commissioner Lori Grifa said the change will be beneficial "by eliminating much of the excessive bureaucratic process created by the Council on Affordable Housing." Yet, no long-term solution appears in sight to address the state's need for affordable homes.

That doesn't mean the high-stakes players don't have wish lists of their own, though.
The League of Municipalities, a member group of local governments throughout the state, said it wants a cure focusing on four key areas.

"Any legislation would need to lay out reasonable and achievable obligations — whether that be a number, or a formula or a means to determine what the obligation is — it can't be a number that a town will never reach," Cerra said. "Second, and coupled with that, it should recognize work that has already been done by the municipalities, units that are deed restricted now should advance."

Cerra also emphasized the need for adequate funding sources to avoid what would essentially be unfunded mandates, and for the inclusion of legal protection from litigation for compliant towns with affordable housing that meet the promulgated standards.

But for housing advocate Kevin Walsh, of Fair Share Housing Center, local governments themselves are a big part of the problem. He said the law must rein in municipalities, because too often, local communities make unreasonable decisions that discourage private developments and interfere with economic growth.

"When left to their own devices, too many towns will make decisions that exclude workers, result in long commutes, and overall make our state less economically competitive and more racially and economically segregated," Walsh said. "There's a lot of towns in this state, many of which have train stations, that are refusing to provide the zoning to tap the market — and that's completely unreasonable in many instances, and it's why you need a check on municipal discretion."

Walsh would like to see a solution for the state's affordable-housing problem that encourages redevelopment and ensures that people can live close to where they work.

But for the commercial and residential builders in the state that put up those developments, new construction carries with it affordable-housing obligations, which can constrict development.

"The most effective means to do it is to simply allow the market to take care of it, not to necessarily become obsessed with fair share numbers and a whole bunch of rules and regulations," said attorney Thomas F. Carroll III, of Hill, Wallack LLP, in Princeton. "Builders would build where there's a market. It would be a self-implemented type of thing."

Carroll, also land-use counsel for the trade group New Jersey Builders Association, said the Garden State could consider a model along the lines of that provided by Massachusetts, where municipalities are obligated to provide a percentage, to be determined, of housing stock that would be multifamily or truly affordable housing, price-wise.

Another builders trade group, the New Jersey chapter of NAIOP, which represents developers and owners of real estate, wants to de-link its industry from the concept of growth share and eliminate the 2.5 percent "COAH fee" on commercial builders, said Michael McGuinness, CEO of the New Jersey chapter.

Under growth share, municipalities are obligated to build affordable-housing units when commercial developments that createjobs are added, and the commercial developers are required to contribute funds toward future affordable-housing units or make other commitments. That fund is known as the COAH fee, which was implemented in 2008, but later suspended through July 1, 2010.

On Aug. 24, Acting-Gov. Kim Guadagno signed into law a bill extending the moratorium on the fee until July 1, 2013. Developers who paid the fee from 2010 until now will have the ability to "clawback" any funds not spent.

"Any type of funding mechanism for something as important as affordable housing should not be dependent on one sector of the economy, especially a sector that isn't doing well, is not healthy." McGuinness said. "Plus, it's a bit hypocritical. These towns that are charging the fees — they're not building affordable-housing units. There's hundreds of millions of dollars sitting in these local coffers of these towns that has never been used for affordable housing."

According to the DCA, 293 towns have more than $266 million in affordable-housing trust funds.

McGuinness suggested alternative sources of funding should be considered, including using a portion of the realty transfer fee, which is collected when properties are sold — a more stable and equitable way to fund affordable housing, especially in harsh economic times, he said.

State Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union) who sponsored the affordable-housing legislation that proposed new guidelines for providing low- and moderate-income housing and was conditionally vetoed by the governor, was unavailable for comment.

Summer Jobs Offer Teens a Head Start on Saving

Summer Jobs Offer Teens a Head Start on Saving

Packet Magazine - PM Fine Living
Tuesday, 05 July 2011

Written by Ken Tarbous

For many teens, summer presents an unbridled opportunity to explore the world of fun and games, but for others intent on looking to the future and planning their careers and lives, it’s a time to gain valuable experience – and make some money.

According to a recent study by Junior Achievement and The Allstate Foundation, 98 percent of New Jersey teens plan to go to college. With education costs skyrocketing, landing a job and saving money needs to be a priority.

Dreams and plans are one thing, but when faced with the temptation of the mall, Slurpees and music downloads, teens can use proven strategies, beyond mere discipline, to start on the road to building their financial empires.

“The savings basics for teens are basically the same for adults and everyone in between. You want to start small, you want to start early and you want to pay yourself first,” said Paul Golden, spokesman for the National Endowment for Financial Education, a nonprofit that runs the High School Financial Planning Program, online at http://hsfpp.nefe.org.

“Even teens who don’t have part-time jobs can exercise that concept, because if they’re getting birthday money from grandparents, for those that are graduating high school now and are getting a huge windfall as graduation money, they can do the same thing with that as if they had income,” Mr. Golden said. “They can set aside a certain amount that they will put into a savings account.”

Goal-setting and budgeting hold the keys to future economic success, and whether it’s saving for school books, a car or the security deposit on that first apartment, the No. 1 goal for any teen working this summer should be to save at least some of their money, says Don Silver, author of High School Money Book and The Community College Transfer Guide (www.adams-hall.com).

“As a goal, I would think, if they can save half would be great; that’s not always possible of course,” Mr. Silver says. “This is a time to have some seriousness about the level of savings.”

Financial gurus recommend that teens avail themselves of accounts tailored to young people, or minors, which often have low minimum balance requirements and little or no fees. And direct deposit a set percentage of paychecks into a savings account, often where the money is out of sight and out of mind, is a wise choice.

“You have to make saving a habit,” says Jean Quinn, vice president of community relations at The Provident Bank. “If you wait to pay all your bills and do everything you want to do, there isn’t going to be any left over moneys.”

As part of its mission to help young people develop financial literacy skills, Junior Achievement’s $ave USA Interactive Lessons provide free online money management skill-building exercises, at www.ja.org/courseware. High school students can learn about planning to buy a car or pay for college; middle school students can discover the advantages and disadvantages of spending with cash and credit and elementary school students find out about spending and saving and the differences between wants and needs.

“Students have to own their future economic success,” says Catherine Milone, president of Junior Achievement for New Jersey. “Budgeting and learning about budgeting at an early age is probably one of the best ways that a young person can be successful in their lives.”

Catherine Milone, President of Junior Achievement for New Jersey

Part of that success lies in being wary of debt and the high cost of credit cards. As part of training to use credit responsibly, young people can opt for prepaid spending cards to practice using plastic money to get an understanding of account limits.

While establishing good habits and a credit rating, teens also must protect their reputation and their assets, because they’re not too young to have their identities stolen, personal finance experts say.

“There are instances where a young person has no idea there’s any problem until they apply for a student loan, and then they find someone has stolen their identity and run up huge credit card balances,” Ms. Quinn said. “They need to protect themselves by safeguarding their information, watching out for shoulder-surfing, Dumpster-diving, pre-approved credit cards that get in the hands of other people, phishing.

So it’s important that they shred documents, safeguard their wallets, use strong passwords, don’t give out their Social Security number.”

If all the talk of personal finance and responsibility seems daunting, the pros say teens need to think about retirement … yes, retirement.

“This is a great opportunity for teens, because the greatest ally for a retirement nest egg is time, and that’s one thing teens have a lot of until they’ll need to retire or want to retire,” says Mr. Silver. “It’s probably more important now than within the last 50, 60 years for teens to be thinking about retirement, something that is completely in opposite to instant gratification but we’re talking about ultimate survival here, possibly.”

Teens themselves don’t expect to learn about personal finance on their own or on the streets; however, many parents find talking to their kids about money more intimidating than talking about sex.

Ninety-two percent of teens responding to a recent Junior Achievement USA and Allstate Foundation survey said they learn about money management from their parents, but only 43 percent of families discuss money management as a family.

“We have to recognize that parents have the No. 1 influence on how their kids are going to manage money, whether those are positive behaviors or negative behaviors,” Mr. Golden said. “So they want to be involved … in helping them establish goals, helping them establish how much of their pay they’re going to save, and just opening the lines of communication and getting involved.

AVOID STUDENT LOAN MISERY

PM Fine Living
January 2011


Federal programs afford borrowers ways to manage out-of-control education debt

By Ken Tarbous

If you’re one of the millions of college graduates who left the halls of academia in the past decade, you’re probably still paying off your student loans. You might be among those burdened with student debt two, three or even four times your salary, facing years, if not decades, of excruciating monthly payments hampering your ability to save for the future, buy a home or raise a family.

You’re not alone. Debt for graduates in the Class of 2009 averaged $24,000, according to the Project for Student Debt.

But hasty decisions or ill-advised actions while handling your debts in your 20s or 30s can do irreparable harm to your credit rating and have dire consequences for your financial health.

“If you’re having trouble making your payment, affording your student loan payment, don’t ignore it,” says Edie Irons of the Institute for College Access & Success, a nonprofit independent research and policy organization. “Do not avoid the phone calls and stick your head in the sand and hope it’ll go away. It won’t. It will get worse. But if you find out what your options are and talk to your lender and get informed, there are actually a lot of tools you can use to keep your loan in good standing and make your payments more manageable.”

So it’s important to know what type of loans you have. Federal student loans, such as Perkins, Stafford and PLUS loans, have much more flexible repayment options, and protections for borrowers, than private student loans.

You might want to consider consolidating your loans with one lender to simplify your record keeping and payment schedule, although generally it won’t lower your interest rates unless you have older, variable-rate federal loans. Valuable tools are available to help you mange your debt if you have federal loans. You’ll want to check out a relatively new program known as Income-Based Repayment, or IBR, under which your monthly payments can be adjusted based on your income and family size. If you qualify, debt that remains after 25 years of repayment may be forgiven.

In addition, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF, program may lower payments or even cancel federal loans if you have a qualifying job in government service or the nonprofit sector, with loan forgiveness after 10 years.

Other avenues to explore for federal loan forgiveness are national service organizations like AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps, or jobs in education, health services and social work in underserved areas.

Private student loans, unlike the loans guaranteed by the government, often carry variable interest rates, and Ms. Irons warns that although interest rates are low now, the banks and other lenders might raise your rates at any moment.

If you can’t make your payments on time, lenders of both federal and private loans often grant forbearances and deferments. During those periods you won’t need to make payments, but use caution because interest accrues on unsubsidized loans, leaving you with higher balances due than when you started. If you take that route, ask about interest-only payments until you can afford full payments.

If you do slip behind on your payments, you need to stay in contact with your lender to ensure you don’t default on your loans. The federal government has powerful resources to go after defaulters. It can garnish your wages and confiscate your tax refunds among other things. And private lenders can secure judgments against you that can ruin your credit.

And don’t think bankruptcy is a realistic option in your struggle with the staggering student debt. It’s not. Federal loans are difficult if not impossible to have discharged or canceled through bankruptcy, and since the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2005, private loans have special protection in bankruptcy court — so you’re not likely going to find solace in that forum.

So what to do? The first step is to create a plan that attacks the debt with the highest interest rates, like credit card balances, first.

Andrew Petrone, a financial adviser at Princeton-based Petrone Associates Inc., says learning to manage student debt can have a positive effect on future finances.

“You need to understand money, learn budgeting and regularly make repayments. These skills are valuable as you begin to save for retirement and other goals — like buying a house or saving for your children’s education,” Mr. Petrone says.

To save money, many recent and not-so-recent grads have moved back home, and if you’re among them you have a huge opportunity.

“In one sense that’s a good thing, because it obviously frees up a lot of money that would go into living costs that could be used for debt repayment,” says Barbara O’Neill, a Rutgers University professor of financial resources management. “If they’re going to be in that situation, it’s a window of time that they can really make a dent in that debt repayment, especially if Mom and Dad aren’t going to be charging much rent.”

Prosecutor Details Duties, Crime in County

Romankow describes challenges of law enforcement in speech to men's club.

November 10, 2010
By Ken Tarbous

Union County has more than 2,000 gang members, county Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow told the Old Guard of Summit during the club's meeting Tuesday morning at New Providence Municipal Center.

The western part of the county, including New Providence, Summit and Berkeley Heights, has much less of a problem than Plainfield, which is home to 800 gang members and Elizabeth, where at least 600 live, Romankow said.

"We know there are a lot of gang members we don't know about," Romankow said. "Elizabeth has many more gang members than has been documented."

Romankow and his staff of attorneys, detectives and analysts have been actively combating gang activity and the related drug distribution and homicides that go with it. As part of its ongoing efforts, the Union County Prosecutor's Office has won 350 convictions of major drug dealers, Romankow said.

Besides gang activity, the prosecutor spoke passionately about his background as an attorney, his experience fighting crime and putting away criminals, and his office's responsibilities.

In its push to tackle the homicide problem in Union County - there have been 23 this year, up from last year's 13. Romankow said that he has strengthened the prosecutor's homicide task force has been strengthened to include seven attorneys and 16 detectives.

In addition to investigating murders and other homicides, Romankow's office also is responsible for investigating child abuse. The prosecutor described in graphic detail the physical and sexual abuse children suffer at the hands of abusers.

Last year alone, 400 new files on the abuse of children age 12 and under were opened, and there were more than 650 reports of sex crimes and abuse of children 13 and over in Union County, he said.

"It's incredible what these people do. I tell people, 'If you don't believe in the devil, come to my office for about a week,' " Romankow said. "It's incredible what they do to these kids."

But Romankow, who oversees all of the police officers in the county, said there is more to his job than just convicting bad guys.

His has more than 260 employees in his office, which has an annual budget of $28 million, and he leads 68 assistant prosecutors, 75 detectives and other staff in helping keep the streets safe.

Last year, the Prosecutor's Office reviewed approximately 7,000 cases that resulted in an estimated 1,500 indictments, 1,500 plea deals, and 1,500 downgrades of charges that were handled by municipal courts, the prosecutor said.

"My job isn't just to prosecute these," he said. "We have other areas where we can do some good as well."

In his position, Romankow has championed an initiative to make the legal system more humane in its treatment of people with mental illnesses.

His efforts helped lead to the establishment of a mental health court in the county, and now the recidivism rate for offenders with mental illnesses has been reduced to just 25 to 30 percent, way below the national average of 90 percent, Romankow said.

"I am to the right of Attila the Hun when it comes to punishment. I just think there are some things that just should not be forgiven," he said. "But when it comes to mental illness…we need to do something."

He said it wasn't only the right thing to do but that it could save taxpayers the $65,000 per year it costs to keep people with mental illnesses in jail.

During his talk, Romankow told the audience his career as a crime fighter almost didn't happen. In 2002, he was considering retirement after a long career in private law practice when then Gov. Jim McGreevey offered him the job. Romankow felt he could be effective in pursuit of justice. And he said he enjoys the work.

"This is actually fun, and they pay me," he said.

Romankow spoke at the 3,605th meeting of the Old Guard of Summit, which celebrates its 80th anniversary next week. The club bills itself as a "retired men's organization" for men over 50, and it draws its membership from New Providence Summit, Chatham, Berkeley Heights and other surrounding communities.

The club holds weekly meetings on Tuesday mornings at New Providence Municipal Center, where featured speakers talk about relevant issues of the day. This week's meeting was attended by 112 members. The club boats an active roster of 150 members, with the rolls totaling nearly 350 men, according to Membership Chairman John McCloskey.

"We're doing a lot to replenish the membership, because in the past guys have been dying and moving on," McCloskey said.

Next week's Old Guard meeting features retired New York City police officer Richard L. Cowan, a club member who will speak on "Wasteland and Beyond: Anatomy of Undercover Cops."

For more information on the Old Guard of Summit, go to summitoldguard.homestead.com or contact McCloskey at (908) 233-0236.

Thoms Concedes Support for Park Sale Led to Defeat

But outgoing mayor says agreeing to sell the Oakwood Park to Union County was the right decision for the borough.

November 4, 2010
By Ken Tarbous

Incumbent Mayor John Thoms, who failed in his bid for re-election to a second term, acknowledged Tuesday night that he lost the mayoral race because he backed the proposed sale of Oakwood Park to Union County.

"I made the decision to support the park because it was in the best long-term interest of the borough of New Providence," Thoms told NewProvidence.Patch.com. "At that time, I did not think of the political consequences, and if I had to do it all over again I still think it's the best long-term decision for the borough of New Providence."

Councilman J. Brooke Hern defeated Thoms by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. That was about the same as the losing margin for the non-binding ballot question on whether to sell Oakwood Park to the county for $1 and a commitment by county freeholders to make $3.5 million worth of improvements to ball fields and other facilities in the park.

Resident Sherry Zabel said the mayor's misstep in casting the deciding vote in favor of the park deal cost him the election.

"I think John Thoms didn't lose to Brooke Hern, he lost to Oakwood Park," Zabel said. "I think he made a mistake. Maybe he should have brought it to a town vote."

Shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday, Thoms, who was elected four years ago as a Republican but failed in his bid for re-election to a second term as an independent, thanked the nearly 50 family members and friends gathered at the William Paca Club. Thoms also congratulated his opponent, Hern, on the victory.

"We've got some significant challenges in New Providence," Thoms said in his concession speech. "I wish our new mayor well. Let's get behind our new mayor, our new council because we've got some tough times coming up ahead."

Thoms' supporters said the outgoing mayor was handicapped by the decision of the borough's Republican Committee to endorse another candidate this past spring. When that candidate, former Mayor Al Morgan, lost in the June primary to Hern, Thoms decided to run as an independent.

"I'm very disappointed. John worked very hard as mayor. Unfortunately we had to run off the [Republican Party] line," said Bob Dougherty, an advisor to Thoms and a former New Providence GOP chair.

Thoms' supporters, while praising the man and the job he has done as mayor, lamented the actions of the party establishment in a town with an all-Republican council.

"As long as he got one vote he was a winner, because the bureaucrats cut him off as a governing mayor," said 82-year-old lifelong borough resident Nicholas Perillo. "He should have been No. 1 on the ballot. He had to run as an independent. He's been a great mayor."

A decorated Vietnam veteran, Thoms reflected on his years as elected official in the borough.

"I worked hard for the residents of New Providence not only as a mayor but as a councilman going on seven years of service to the town, probably in the worst economic crisis we've had since the Great Depression," said Thoms, who served three years on the borough council before his election to mayor. "I did the best I could in coming up with innovative ways in dealing with the challenges we had."

New A&P Draws Raves. Parking Lot? Not So Much.

Residents, town official concerned about safety at growing Village Shopping Center

November 4, 2010

By Ken Tarbous

Many residents are thrilled to have the new A&P Fresh supermarket in the Village Shopping Center, but for some residents, navigating around the parking lot is proving to be a difficult task.

Residents say they love the downtown location and have even been able to find parking spots. But the spots they're finding in the busy area are giving them longer walks to the store than they were used to when the Acme market was in the shopping center. Residents with small children, however, say they're struggling to deal with narrow driving lanes and a lack of traffic signs, among other concerns.

"I think it's a mess. I think it's dangerous for people. It's dangerous for the cars," said Erin Skotarczak, a mother of three who has lived in the borough for a little more than a year. "There are so many ways to get in and out of that lot. I just don't think there's any rhyme or reason to that lot. It's just very dangerous."

Adding to the confusing flow of traffic are the multiple parking lots behind McGrath's Hardware, M&M Liquors, Colorado Snow & Skate, and adjacent to Ferdinand Jewelers that feed into the Village Shopping Center. Drivers often use the South Street entrances and exits for those lots to access the center's lot.

Also fueling residents' frustration is the noticeable absence of corrals to catch carts left behind by shoppers. And in recent months, contractors' vehicles and garbage containers have crowded spaces near the free-standing building that houses Braunschweiger Jewelers. Smashburger, a Colorado-based restaurant chain, will open in the building this winter, bringing additional traffic into the parking lot. This Monday, an Allstate Insurance office will open its doors in the shopping center.

Councilman J. Brooke Hern said that spaces will be harder to get as time goes by and that the lot's configuration needs to be addressed to improve safety as more tenants move in.

"The parking situation is obviously bad. There is not really much that can be done to turn back the clock and achieve what would have been the right result, which would have been not to build that building [housing Braunschweiger Jewelers] in the center," said Hern, who is the Republican candidate for mayor in this year's election. "It really is a situation, I think, the town is just going to be living with, and it's going to get worse if and when those empty stores get filled."

For his part, the owner of the Village Shopping Center, Larry Paragano, is actively pursuing solutions to the traffic flow and safety problems, according to the center's property manager.

"We're going to tweak the flow of traffic from in front of the Investors Bank down through the cleaners. We're going to make that one way. We're going to put up a stop sign to impede some of the traffic," said Bill Woods, chief operating officer of Hazelwood Management Inc., which runs the Village Shopping Center for Paragano. "The actual traffic flow is now going to be refined. We didn't know what it was going to be until the A&P was open. We now see how the traffic is flowing. It's still a work in progress."

The owner will ask the borough Planning Board on Nov. 9 for explicit permission to add stop signs, make lanes one ways, add cart corrals, and perform other adjustments to the lot. Rather than go ahead with the work immediately, Woods said, the owner wants to avoid any bureaucratic hassles during or after the work.

In 2005, the borough changed its parking ordinance at the request of business owners, easing the number of parking spaces required per square foot at each store. In 2007 and 2008, when Paragano received approvals to expand the supermarket space and put up the "outbuilding" where Braunschweiger Jewelers is located, the town gave the center two variances to allow for fewer parking spaces.

Some downtown business owners say part of the parking problem is that the downtown district has reached its limit for land available parking, with little space for further expansion.

But Woods said he doesn't believe shoppers will have a problem finding places to park. He pointed out that approximately 130 of the center's 350 parking spots are behind the stores, accessible through two walkways, one next to Aladdin Cleaners and the other between Village Pet Center and the A&P.

Shoppers who have been frequenting the new supermarket agree there are plenty of spaces available.

"I am pleasantly surprised with how easy it has been to get a spot," said resident Ali Solomon. "Obviously, this might be temporary as new businesses file in, but for now no complaints."

Whether there are enough parking spaces to meet demand in peak parking periods, such as Christmas shopping season, is still being debated.

"I live in town and am in the new grocery store a least three times a week, and I have yet to have to circle to find a spot," said resident Kate Forbes. "I am sure it will get even busier as the new stores open, but it is great to see downtown thrive."

Mayor John Thoms, who has been in contact with Woods over safety concerns at the lot, said professional parking studies by the borough and Paragano found that the current number of parking space, including those behind the buildings, were found to adequate.

"Can people park right in front of the store like when they used to go to the old Acme, run into the place and then come right out and leave? No, they can't do that anymore because this is a popular shopping center now," said Thoms, who was elected mayor as a Republican but is running for re-election this year as an independent. "So they're going to park a little further away, but it's all within the confines of the center. So, far it's working."

The Village Shopping Center and its parking issues have a long history. The center was built in the early 1960s, and fell into what residents and business people call a state of disrepair over a 20-year period that culminated with the Acme supermarket leaving the center in summer of 2006. Paragano then began plans for his $6 million renovation of the center.

There also has been a long, ongoing dispute over the tangle of access to the parking lots behind buildings on South Street and Springfield Avenue and which customers use those lots. There has been an unofficial arrangement between the nearly dozen property owners along South and Springfield and Paragano to allow people to park in any lot regardless of where they shop. But under that arrangement the costs to maintain lots, clear snow, and meet other expenses are unfairly borne more by some businesses rather than others, owners in the area say.

Bill Ferdinand, the chairman of the New Providence Business and Professional Association's Downtown Improvement District and the co-owner of Ferdinand Jewelers on South Street, said an effort to form a single, consolidated parking lot fell apart a few years ago and that talks on reaching a formal, cooperative parking agreement have stalled.

Part of the difficulty in getting all sides to agree have been issues relating to two businesses, Feathers Hair Specialists and Avenue Deli on Springfield Avenue, that do not have their own parking lots and concerns over the large number of customers of Springfield Avenue and South Street businesses parking in the Village Shopping Center lot.

"What I would like to do, at some point, is possibly work something out with all the landlords and people on South Street," said Ferdinand said, who helped run the Downtown Improvement District's parking study. "Whatever is good for the town is going to be good for us."

Woods said the shopping center's owner would like to resolve the parking issues to the benefit of all the businesses in the area.

"We want to get a cooperative solution for all this downtown," Woods said. "We haven't seen any progress made since 2007, but now that the center is getting repopulated quickly [with new businesses] we're looking to have a solution that works for everybody downtown."

Meanwhile, business owners are celebrating a reinvigorated downtown shopping district which has been enjoying a renaissance of sorts since the renovation and in the brief time the new supermarket has been open.

"This shopping center's a huge upgrade. It's a huge part of the downtown, " said Bill Braunschweiger, owner of Braunschweiger Jewelers, who sees the need for adjustments in the parking lot. "This is as good as the place has looked since it was basically brand new in the mid-'60s, and it was a long time coming. It was truly an eyesore."