We are about to undertake an exciting new project in South Orange, thanks to the creative suggestion of a resident. Back in April, I was contacted by a resident who lived in the Mews and he was looking for a place to create a community garden. He suggested the open space across the street from the Mews, between the river and Church Street. Monday, June 15, 2009
Secret Garden
We are about to undertake an exciting new project in South Orange, thanks to the creative suggestion of a resident. Back in April, I was contacted by a resident who lived in the Mews and he was looking for a place to create a community garden. He suggested the open space across the street from the Mews, between the river and Church Street. Friday, May 29, 2009
Chaaaaarge it!
At our first BOT Meeting as a new Board this past Wednesday, it was a true pleasure to not have the unnecessary drama and petty political agendas that have permeated far too many meetings in the past. However, as I said the night of the election, this does not mean we will all agree and our first order of business proved just that.Wednesday, May 13, 2009
For You

First, I'd like to thank our opponents for a spirited competition that did not revert to the terribly nasty level that had transpired in past elections.
Most notably, I'd like to take a moment to thank the absolutely incredible team of people that donated their time, money and effort to make this successful election happen:
We had so many people that brought their expertise to make us successful - from web design, to photography, to graphic design, to marketing - you all know who you are and I am incredibly grateful.
To volunteers who stood on street corners holding signs, to volunteers who went knocking on doors, to volunteers who made phone calls, to volunteers who stuffed envelopes, to volunteers who wrote thank you notes, to volunteers who delivered lawn signs, to volunteers who hosted lawn signs, to volunteers who made goodie bags, to volunteers who reported election results, to volunteers who sent email blasts to their friends, to volunteers who hosted coffees, to people who attended coffees, to people who wrote letters to the Newspaper, to people who generously contributed money - every one one of you made a difference.
To my Pure Progress runningmates from 2007 - Thank you for all your support and endorsements this year. I look forward to continuing working with all of you.
To the core campaign team - treasurer, events coordinator, volunteer coordinator, media coordinator, you guys are amazing! The energy, effort and enthusiasm you brought was unparalleled and we clearly would not have been successful without you. I can't even begin to list all of the things you accomplished over the past 6 weeks at all hours of the day and night.
To my runningmates - You are two of the of the most passionate and intelligent people I know. I have been so proud to campaign side-by-side with you these past few weeks and I am really looking forward to serving with you.
Finally, I would like to thank the residents of South Orange for their support and their confidence in us to allow us the opportunity to continue serving the community. We look forward to moving forward and will do all we can to make you proud! Thank you!!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Crazy days
With respect to Trustee duties, we have begun the process to officially avert the layoffs of 14 employees. Although unofficially the layoffs were averted last week when the Union members voted to accept the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement negotiated between the Village and Union Management, last night, we passed an Ordinance on first reading which formalizes this. This ordinance will be read on second reading on May 11 and will "officially" bring closure to this very difficult chapter. I commend the Village President for his negotiating skills and I thank the Union members for coming to the table and agreeing to the significant concessions that were proposed.
Over the past few weeks, there have also been numerous events to attend, such as the annual Holocaust Remembrance Service, the annual Baseball parade, the annual South Mountain PTA fundraiser and a recent tour of the Firehouse - which is now scheduled for completion in May. There have also been many campaign related events, such as "coffees", media interviews, door-to-door canvassing and an upcoming debate.
Two weeks from today, the Municipal Election will be held in South Orange. I urge you to vote for myself and my Pure Progress runningmates, Janine Bauer and Nancy Gould on Row "B". For more information , be sure to visit our detailed website at www.pureprogress.org.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Don't Look Back
I am actually quite proud of the many accomplishments over the past 2 years and am glad we have been able to start to unwind some of the terrible decisions and attitudes of the past.
After a lengthy search process for the best possible runningmates, I am very proud and excited about the final result - I will be running together with Janine Bauer and Nancy Gould.
The notion of running together with Janine Bauer may come as a surprise to many people. As many of you know, Janine ran for Trustee on the opposing ticket 2 years ago. However, Janine and I have spoken quite a number of times over the past two years and she has actually been quite supportive of what we have been doing. We ultimately agreed it was time to look ahead and move beyond the politics of the past. In addition, Janine has stayed very active in the community - continuing to serve both on the Environmental Commission and on the River Greenway Committee. She also previously served on the Planning Board, where she helped advocate to preserve as much of the quarry as possible (a cause I was very passionate about, as well.) She is a practicing attorney, as a partner in a law firm specializing in land use, environmental, transportation, contracts and business litigation. She lives in West Montrose with her husband and 2 children. I urge you to get to know her and see that she will be a huge asset to the entire town.
Nancy Gould is currently a Real Estate Agent and formerly a Partner in a large Architectural/Engineering firm in New York, where she managed multi-million dollar large-scale development projects and was in charge of the Planning and Urban design departments for the firm. She also currently sits on the South Orange Planning Board. She lives in Montrose with her Husband and 16 year old son. Nancy is a fantastic person and will also be a huge asset to the entire town.
We also decided that we will be running under the name "Pure Progress" (www.pureprogress.org) to continue the vision and platform we laid out and began implementing two years ago. Obviously, Janine and Nancy will each bring their fresh perspectives, but the core of our values remains the same.
I look forward to the campaign over the next 7 weeks and hope you get a chance to talk with Janine, Nancy or myself to learn about our ideas and values. It's time to spring forward and not fall back.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sad Eyes
With respect to Recreation, it was agreed to do the following:
- increase the fees for Summer Camp to $700/child, with a $100 discount for each additional child per family (beyond one)
- increase the fees for Recreation Badges to $30/person, with a maximum of $120/family
- increase the fees for programs at the Baird by $10
- implement a $10 discount for residents that sign up for Baird programs and have a Recreation Badge
With respect to the Police Department, no formal decisions were reached, however it was recommended that the vacant positions that currently exist in the Department not be filled at this time. However to help meet the Policing needs of the community, it was strongly suggested that the Police Officer currently assigned to Information Management be utilized as a Police Officer and the position of Information Management be filled by a Civilian. In addition, it was strongly suggested that additional per diem dispatchers and Crossing Guards be identified, so Police Officers are not utilized to fill-in for those jobs, causing costly overtime expenses to occur.
With respect to Public Works, the joint bid with Maplewood for large turf mowing was discussed and identified as an area to save around $180,000/year.
However, even with all of these changes, an enormous budget gap still remains. As a result, this past Monday night, the BOT voted to submit a layoff plan to the State of NJ which proposes the elimination of the following positions:
- Public Works – 5 positions
- Recreation and Cultural Affairs – 2 positions
- Code Enforcement & Inspections – 4 positions
- Municipal Court – 1 position
The Board of Trustees also is recommending to the Board of the South Orange Library that it eliminate two positions, in addition to not filling one open position. (The BOT simply controls the amount of money provided to the Library, but the Library Board actually determines how that money is spent)
Clearly, this process has been the most difficult thing we have been faced with and none of these decisions were reached easily or with any pleasure. However, the Village taxpayers spend over $22M for personnel (including salary, benefits and taxes) in a budget of almost $34.5M for 176.5 full time employees across all departments. In addition, over 62% of personnel costs are just for Public Safety (Police and Fire) alone.
As I have said on this blog and publicly numerous times, this financial situation is simply unsustainable. South Orange is one of the most "tax-stressed" communities in the State and something must be done to help the residents. I urge the Unions that represent the majority of the Village employees to work diligently to put an end to the spiraling costs of salaries, health care and benefits for the sake of all residents and employees.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Big Muddy
Clearly, a 27% increase is completely unacceptable. However, we are now faced with the difficult task of determining what elements of the budget should be trimmed to reduce the gap.
At this point, the largest drivers of the increase are: Reduced Surplus (about $1.8M), Personnel Costs, Fixed Costs, Reduced State Aid, (last year we received $600k in extraordinary aid that we cannot count on again), Debt Service and Capital Improvements. With respect to Capital Improvements, we have identified approximately $11M of projects that are LONG overdue, such as replacement of vehicles, building maintenance and roadway improvements for which money has never been set aside. To undertake these projects, requires a 5% "down payment", which equates to almost $550k. It might be easy to suggest deferring these improvements, but the problem is that has been the "answer" for many many years and at some point the work must be done or we will face the situation of the Old Stone House with many more assets of the town.
So, to deal with these challenges, we asked all Village Departments to propose how they can cut a percentage of their current budgets by reducing services/staff costs and/or what revenue could be increased. Monday night, we met with the first two departments - Library and Recreation to hear their proposals.
From Library, the proposals came to a net change of 0%...which unfortunately does not help the situation.
From Recreation, some proposals were presented as follows:
- Increase the cost of Recreation Badges/Guest Passes/Babysitter Passes
- Increase the cost of Summer Day Camp
- Increase the cost of program fees
- Eliminate the fireworks from Village Aglow
- Reduce some costs for Holiday Lighting
At this point, no final decisions have been made. Depending on the severity of these increases, this COULD generate an additional $200k or so, but that is still a long long way away from $5M!
The next Budget Workshop is February 17 at 7:30pm in Village Hall
