Message from the Mayor - February 2012

I hope that everyone’s new year is off to a wonderful start. The first thirty days of my term as Mayor have been very busy and my colleagues on the Township Committee and I have been hard at work organizing this administration to ensure a successful 2012.

We held one meeting designated as a Goal Setting meeting with Department heads to set short-term and long-term goals.This will give focus to the sub-committees and offer government transparency to you, the taxpayers. These goals are available to the public on our website: www.springfield-nj.us You will also notice that the website is also receiving renewed attention this year. More information will be posted in a timely fashion and it will be updated more frequently. For the first time ever, Township Committee meetings are now being broadcast live on the website.

At our second meeting of January, we introduced landmark legislation commonly known as “Pay to Play” to curb the perception of improper influence in public contracting and local elections that has taken a toll on Springfield in the past. This month, we will vote on the final hearing of this ordinance and it is my hope that it passes so that we can restore public confidence in Springfield.

Deputy Mayor Jerry Fernandez has been extremely involved and helpful in the progress of the downtown Springfield Business Improvement District now named the “Springfield Community Partnership” that we started in 2010. This organization of property owners, businesses owners, residents and Township officials is determined to revitalizing the downtown once and for all. Instead of lifeless plans sitting on a shelf, this group is dedicating time and money to real change. At our January 24th meeting, the Township Committee voted to introduce the Springfield Community Partnership 2012 Budget in the amount of $400,961.90. This is money coming directly from commercial properties (not residential taxes) to improve downtown Springfield. The final public hearing and vote to adopt the budget will take place at our February 28th meeting.

I would also like to inform you that I met with our Recreation Director and Administrator to discuss areas for improvement within the Recreation Department and to develop a plan of action to move the Department forward. Our Recreation Director now has office hours and will publish regular updates to inform the public of upcoming dates, events and programming. Additionally, there will be a minor restructuring in the Department that will allow for more specialized attention to be given to Recreation offerings, sports, activities and our Senior Citizens.

By the end of this month, we hope that all Department budgets will have been submitted, reviewed and scrutinized in order to prepare our municipal budget for an early introduction this year. One monumental initiative will be considered this month at our February 14th and 28th Township Committee meetings – the project to build an athletic turf field for our community.

I announced a proclamation in January in recognition of National Blood Donor Month. This month, I will announce a proclamation to raise awareness for American Heart Month.

I am holding open office hours on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. and Tuesday, February 28th at 9 a.m. Please e-mail me at mayor@shehady.us or call 973-797-ZIAD (9423) to schedule an appointment. Additionally, contact me if you would like to host coffee/tea for neighbors and have me over to speak on any issue(s) of concern to the group.