Message from the Mayor: April 2012

April marks the beginning of the second quarter of my term as Mayor and the 2012 session of the Township Committee. A tremendous amount of progress has been achieved and critical action taken to improve the state of our Township. We are poised for a successful year and Springfield is on the right path towards rejuvenation.

Flood mitigation work is underway and this month, I invited the Mayors of the neighboring communities from Millburn, Union, Maplewood, South Orange and West Orange for a joint meeting on Monday, April 23 to discuss the East branch of the Rahway River in an effort to lobby for support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

We are committed to maintaining and improving local Infrastructure. In March, the Township Committee awarded a contract to repave seven of the worst roads: Berkeley Road, Midvale Drive, Mapes Avenue, Owaissa Avenue, Lynn Drive and Vista Way. Additionally, road work on Briar Hills Circle has commenced and the proposed 2012 capital budget appropriates another $400,000 for more road improvements and, at my request, money for traffic calming devices. With the support of the Governor’s Office, Springfield was awarded a $205,000 grant from the N.J.D.O.T. for Wabeno Avenue. I have also requested, in response to resident requests, that the 2012 capital budget include funding for curbing along Meisel Avenue between Linden Avenue and Morris Avenue and a pedestrian safety walkway along Mount View Road. The 2012 capital budget will be introduced this month and reflects sound fiscal policy and long-term planning. In fact, this year Standard & Poor’s assigned Springfield a ‘AA+’ credit rating citing our “strong financial operations and position, low debt” and recognized our “conservative management practices.”

The 2012 municipal operating budget was introduced and is scheduled for adoption at the Township Committee meeting on April 24th. This budget, which represents only about 30% of your property taxes, is one of the leanest in recent history and results in what is most likely the smallest possible impact to your property taxes. The property tax increase this year can be attributed to our responsible effort to pay down old pension obligations totaling more than $760,000 that were deferred in 2009 by then-Mayor Bart Fraenkel and former Mayors Hugh Keffer and Ken Faigenbaum. If we don’t repay this obligation that was kicked down the road to us this year, we will be at the mercy of interest rates exceeding 8%.

In contrast with previous years, several attempts have been made to increase communication and collaboration with Union County despite repeated disappointments. We have requested that the County consider safety over their profits and rescind their opposition to our red-light initiative that was approved by the State two years ago. We have asked for concrete timetables for the repaving of the County-owned Shunpike Road and in response to resident concerns, our Police Department is asking for pedestrian safety measures to be implemented on the County-owned Meisel Avenue near the park. I will continue to provide updates on these efforts.

At our April Township Committee meetings, we will continue bi-partisan, civilized discussion and debate on the reorganizing of our Community Center facilities and the possibility of changing of our form of government so residents can directly elect a Mayor. I am interested in hearing your thoughts on these plans. I will also issue several proclamations in April recognizing Autism Awareness Month, Parliamentary Law Month, Days of Remembrance, and the Library’s 80th Anniversary. Lastly, I am proposing the creation of the Springfield Improvement Team that was unfortunately abolished last year. Please contact me if you are interested in volunteering and would like to be nominated for consideration.

I am holding open office hours on Friday, April 20th at 9 a.m. and Tuesday, April 24th at 6 p.m. Please e-mail me at mayor@shehady.us or call 973-797-9423 to schedule an appointment or reserve a time slot.