2014 Edison State of the Township Address

Transcription

1 2014 Edison State of the Township Address Welcome to the 23rd Annual State of the Township Address. We want to carry on the tradition of delivering an annual presentation on the current position of Edison Township. Tonight s presentation will be unique and forward looking. We are still in the middle of our assessment of the current state of Edison and we have a lot of analysis and fact-finding yet to perform. I want to thank the Edison Chamber of Commerce for putting together tonight s event. I also want to thank all the sponsors that have made tonight possible. I want to extend thanks to the many business and community leaders, township employees and residents who are in attendance tonight. The dreams we have of a better Edison start and end with all of you. If you are here tonight or if you are watching this on TV, you are part of our team and you are crucial to move Edison forward. Some dignitaries have already been introduced tonight. I want to acknowledge some additional key individuals: Council Members Council President Rob Karabinchak Council Vice President Michael Lombardi Councilmember Robert Diehl Councilmember Alvaro Gomez Councilmember Wayne Mascola Councilmember Dr. Sudhanshu Prasad Councilmember Sapana Shah Transition Team My friend, Mayor John McCormac, Chairman Dr. Zubair Dr. Allam Melissa Perilstein Anthony Russomanno Prabu Patel

2 Laura Fong Jonathan Jaffe Former Councilman, Mayor, Assemblyman & state Senator Dr. Thomas Paternitti Bill Northgrave, Township Attorney Freeholder Charles Tomaro Guy Gaspari Joe Petrocelli Attorneys Allan Roth and Jim Nolan Department Heads Business Administrator Maureen Ruane Director of Engineering John Medina Director of Finance Janice Saponaro Director of Public Works Jeff Roderman Director of health Jay Elliot Director of Recreation Denise Halliwell Police chief tom bryan Fire Chief Brian Latham Library Director Judith Mansbach Human Resource Manager June Breshcer Purchasing Agent Laura Popick Township Clerk Cheryl Russomanno Mayor s Office Administrator of Policy & Strategic Initiatives, Melissa Perilstein Administrator of Constituent Relations Anthony Russomanno Mary Leight-McAvoy Dana Ligato-Grego Lori Williams Deborah Donald I want to also acknowledge and thank all other township employees in attendance tonight. Tonight, I want to declare that the State of Edison Township is confident and optimistic.

3 We understand that there are many challenges and much work to do. But my administration is dedicated to bringing whatever change is necessary to make Edison Township a better place for all of its stakeholders. We are dedicated to instill an environment of cooperation and teamwork. We will communicate and be inclusive. We will undauntedly continue to move this town forward, one step and one day at a time. I have said it many times to quote Bruce Springsteen: Nobody wins unless everybody wins! As I have said: Our challenges are many. We face a depleted surplus, a winter that will go down as one of the worst and costliest in history. We face mounting tax appeals in a system that needs fixing. The town s infrastructure is aging and it was not intended to handle the kind of growth that Edison has experienced. The operational structure of our municipal government needs to be re-engineered. Its mission and vision needs to be modernization. And clearly, the image of Edison Township has been battered over the past few years. We must look at these challenges as opportunities! We must begin to zero-base municipal operation in all areas. This cannot and will not happen overnight. We must begin by developing a strategic plan, for the short-term and the long term. We must do so by sitting with our team which as I said, is all of you here tonight or watching on TV and we must create a vision for where we want Edison to go, and how we want our town to look and function. We must develop and implement best practices based on careful examination of how other communities do things. We have started to meet with other towns and will continue until we are confident of success. We must instill an environment of accountability so that we all understand our roles and accept our responsibilities. A municipality s role is to provide a better quality-of-life for its residents and businesses by providing first-rate services.

4 The challenge is to provide these services within a balanced budget. This can only be done with input and cooperation from all. We are embarking on some major initiatives to achieve those goals. We are in the process of re-writing the code of conduct for all township employees so that everyone will know what is expected of them. This is a first step to begin an imagerestoration project to show residents from outside of Edison what our residents already know that Edison is a great place to operate a business or raise a family. This is essential for our economic development strategy to flourish. Working with the Township Council, the Chamber of Commerce, business and community leaders, area residents and others, my administration will host an economic summit. This will kick-off our ambitious economic development plan. We must also work with our local and state environmental groups to identify any potential open space and areas that need to be cleaned up. This includes finally closing our landfill. Other areas that have been identified as objectives to build a better Edison are: A housing violations ordinance Shared services and cooperative purchasing Pursuing new grants Reducing legal costs Re-examining contracts and benefits Infrastructure improvements Traffic studies and red-light camera analysis A municipal services hotline Improving financial reporting in Town Hall Working cooperatively with our public schools Continuing to build the Raritan River Walkway Improving our recycling program Re-implementing the police accreditation process Creating a new public dog park Updating the tax appeal process Cooperation with county, state and federal officials. We face many challenges and needs, but there are also countless opportunities.

5 We need to allow smart growth while we creating cost-efficiencies. These two items in tandem will allow us to focus on fixing our infrastructure and equipment needs, enhance our image, and improve our quality-of-life while we maintain an affordable budget. This will not be an easy task. But there is no alternative. Edison is too rich in history and too important to not succeed. We are the 5th largest town in the state. We are ideally located between major roadways, train stations, ports and airports. We are blessed with amazing diversity which makes our town even greater. We have a progressive and innovative school system, more than 25 parks, many proud neighborhoods, each with their own unique attributes and traditions. I am extremely excited about the challenges ahead. I am amazingly excited about the prospect of Edison s future. Why am I excited? It is thanks to my confidence and optimism in all of you here tonight and watching on TV. With our collective ability and brainstorming we cannot fail. We must stay focused on our task, be goal-oriented and work cooperatively as a team. We celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King s birthday not too long ago. As you know, he had a dream for this country. Well I know that we all have a dream for a better Edison. We must discuss that dream together and work toward making that dream a reality together. As Bruce Springsteen says in Badlands: Talk about a dream, try to make it real. Let s dream, let s talk, and let s make it real together! In conclusion, let me once again declare that the state of Edison Township is confident and optimistic. Thank you. # # # #