In the same week that acting Gov. Richard Codey gave his State of the State address to the citizens of New Jersey, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell sat down to rehash the accomplishments of his administration in 2004 and to ponder the goals and agenda for 2005.
“It has been another great year for the town of Secaucus,” said Elwell. “Now, we have to use that momentum and continue to progress, using our accomplishments as a springboard for the New Year.”
Elwell referred to physical upgrades around town as well as fiscal achievements. Last year the town saw the expansion and renovations to both the middle school/high school and the town’s animal shelter as well the grand opening of a new daycare center at the site of the old library on Plaza Center.
Financially, the town has continued its trend of stable taxes with its sixth consecutive year with no increase in the municipal tax rate.
“There are really three key points at work here,” said Elwell. “First is the fact that our community’s ratable base [the amount of taxable property] keeps growing each year, which certainly helps. Next is the issue of spending and keeping costs to the town down. Third is the careful negotiating of our professional contracts within Secaucus and keeping those rates reasonable.”
Elwell noted that the third point should be attributed to the hard work of Town Administrator Anthony Iacono, who successfully navigated the negotiations of five or six outstanding municipal contracts at a rate of a 3.9 percent annual increase. Elwell said that many municipalities hit higher marks of close to 4.5 percent. The fact that Iacono did almost all of the work in-house with minimal legal fees is another facet to how the town keeps spending down.
Professional contracts include the police and police supervisors’ unions, the Department Heads Union, the Clerical Union, and the DPW and DPW Foreman’s unions. Of the six, the Clerical Union is the only one still outstanding, but according to Iacono, that union has a year left on the current contract.
In addition to the buildings and finances, there was a third component to 2004’s success, and that was the residents. Elwell was most enthused by what the administration was able to do for the people living in town. “The people in any town who need the most attention are the youths and the seniors,” said Elwell. “Last year we targeted both groups with upgrades to daycare, schools and senior citizen programs.”
When the weather turned cold and the flu season began, Elwell made a flurry of calls to the state Department of Health. Soon after, the first free clinic in Hudson County for flu and pneumonia shots was set up at the Senior Center on Centre Avenue.
Besides the flu shot clinic, the mayor and council enacted the Senior Preferred Prescription Savings Card program that received an enrollment of 244 members. In a sample period from July 1 through Sept. 30, there were 843 prescription claims processed for a savings of $10,997.89 or an average of 26 percent per claim. Using a Preferred Prescription Savings Card, seniors over the age of 55 are saving between 10 and 50 percent on prescriptions.
Down the road
With 2005 marking the onset of a mayoral election year, Elwell mentioned the importance of keeping Secaucus moving in the right direction.
“Our goal is to try to maintain the highest level of service to residents at a reasonable cost,” said Elwell. “That constitutes continuing in the same vein as before with a fiscally conservative government.”
A couple of items in the works include taking a closer look at the town’s ambulance contract, which recently increased in service fees because the service provider, Jersey City Medical Center, is trying to move closer to a privatized service rather a public service which traditionally carries lower (and sometimes subsidized) rates.
Another possible agenda item could be the construction of a new recreation center. It may be partially funded by a recent developer’s agreement for an unrelated project. At the Jan. 11 Town Council meeting, the mayor and council adopted a resolution authorizing a developer’s agreement that will pay Secaucus a $5 million impact fee for development on the southeastern end of town (see related article in this issue).
Also, look for the final design for the Golden Avenue Pumping Station, a $3 million project to help alleviate flooding along Sack Creek, which should materialize early this year. Also anticipated is the continuation of the curb, sidewalk and street repaving program. According to Elwell, the state will be contributing $175,000 in 2005 to the repaving program through a series of grants to the township.
And still, with all of that on the table, Elwell smiled and said the administration would still be able to introduce this year’s budget as early as March.
“Every year, we try to beat out our neighbors and get our budget down to Trenton earlier than the rest,” said Elwell. “And every year we get it done by spring and we’re one of the first to get it approved.”