New Bergen County Building In Paramus Will Offer Services To Towns

PARAMUS, N.J. -- A $20 million Bergen County consolidated services building in Paramus is going to make shared services for heavy-duty vehicle repair possible.

The Bergen County Annex at Paramus, located behind Bergen Regional Medical Center, will soon be able to accept repair orders for heavy vehicles from municipalities.
Photo Credit: *Werner Ennesser*

The new, $18 - $20 million county annex will save tax dollars by consolidating several scattered functions under one roof.
Photo Credit: *Werner Ennesser*

Mary K. Miraglia

12/10/2015 11:30 a.m.

Some county functions have already started moving into the public works facility at 500 Jerome Avenue, behind Bergen Regional Medical Center, County Executive Jim Tedesco told Daily Voice.

According to General Services director Ray Dressler, the idea of having shared services for vehicle repairs came from County Executive Jim Tedesco.

“The mechanical division will be fully equipped to handle the heaviest equipment that municipalities and the county have,” Dressler said. “We have a 75-ton lift to facilitate repairs of the heaviest stuff, garbage trucks and fire trucks.”

The 75-tonner is one of nine new lifts that will allow several vehicles to be worked on at once. Dressler said fire trucks in particular are very costly to repair, and most communities don’t have the necessary equipment.

Once they have fully moved into the Bergen County Annex at Paramus, the county will double repair shifts to 16 hours a day. Dressler said a town will be able to deliver a truck and have it repaired overnight, ready to go back into service the next day. The county will be hiring between 10 and 15 new certified mechanics to staff it.

The expanded repair initiative was Tedesco’s idea, Dressler said. Tedesco is former mayor of Paramus, and a volunteer fireman — so he's familiar with the problems towns have when equipment breaks down.

They’ll be able to use the services through a simple agreement with the county.

Dressler said the building will also house operations, the mosquito control division, consumer affairs, weights and measures, and hazmat.

The building will provide more savings by consolidating about 100 employees who were working in scattered locations around the county. Consumer Affairs and Mosquito Control moved Nov. 30; Hazmat and Weights and Measures are scheduled to move Dec. 14.

Dressler said there is “no doubt” the county’s repair facility will be more cost effective for municipalities than using outside services, and he expects the service to be well-received.

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