The governing bodies in Helmetta and North Brunswick have agreed on plans to institute a two-year shared-services agreement for vehicle maintenance services.

Helmetta, which previously outsourced its labor to a private facility, will use the garage, services and rates for parts of the North Brunswick Department of Public Works.

The contract, approved earlier this month, is based on a one-year agreement that was formulated between Spotswood and North Brunswick last year and was subsequently extended an additional two years this past February.

“Based on vehicle maintenance costs and the state’s desire for shared-services agreements, we started to do research,” said Darren Doran, director of Public Works for Helmetta. “We did a lot of research with Spotswood, and they had nothing but good things to say about the program.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Helmetta will bring its nine public works and police vehicles to North Brunswick for preventive and regular mechanical maintenance. CarteGraph Systems software will be used by North Brunswick to track the number of hours of maintenance and the parts and materials costs to produce an invoice the same day.North Brunswick had taken care of Helmetta’s sanitation needs back in the mid-1990s.

“We are utilizing our manpower to the fullest … [and] we are always looking for ways to make us better and more efficient in our department,” said Glenn Sandor, Public Works director for North Brunswick.

Thus far, the North Brunswick-Spotswood agreement has generated $7,000 in revenue, and the Helmetta deal is expected to bring in a few thousand dollars as well. The funds are returned to the North Brunswick Public Works vehicle maintenance fund.

“It may not seem like a lot, but every penny counts in this economic climate. … Our union has worked with us in getting the shared services in place,” Sandor said. “We are looking forward to working with Helmetta in a partnership.”