"For the next five years or so, people are going to be very wary about any tax increase," Sacco-Torres said.
Harding, a Morris County township about 45 miles from Manhattan that has an average residential property value of $1.26 million, merged its municipal-court services with three other towns in 2010. This year, the council closed its public tennis courts rather than spend $50,000 on resurfacing.
"Do we just remove it or do we repair it?" Gail McKane, 57, the township administrator, said by phone Dec. 19. "How does the community feel?"
Millburn estimates saving $800,000 a year when the private trash hauler takes over, and the mayor isn't expecting gripes. During the summer, officials ended Saturday drop-off for recyclables, and with it overtime costs for sanitation staff.
"I must say, I have not received one complaint from the residents," Haimoff said.