Mayor Mahler's 2010 Re-Organization Address

Good evening and Happy New Year. Welcome to the annual reorganization meeting of the Wanaque Mayor and Council.

I would like to start by thanking our Assemblyman Scott Rumana for taking time out his busy schedule to attend our meeting. I would also like to congratulate both Geroge Theoharous and Tom Balunis on their re-election to the Council. I would like to offer a very special congratulations to Geroge Theoharous, as his re-election represents the ninth time that he has been elected to this Council. George is currently one of the longest serving Councilmen in the State of New Jersey, having just completed his 25th consecutive year on the Wanaque Council. This consists of being elected to 8 three year terms plus an appointment to a one year unexpired term. The New Jersey League of Municipalities has a “Hall of Fame” for long serving municipal officials and I am submitting George's name to the League for this honor.

At this time, in recognition of his service to our community I think we should all give George a round of applause. Thank you George.

I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our newest Councilman, Dominick Cortellessa. Dom has been a very active member of the Board of Directors at Wanaque Reserve serving as Trustee, Treasurer and currently Board President. Additionally he was a member of the Wanaque Board of Adjustment. Dom is a very intelligent and dedicated individual and we know he will do a great job on the Wanaque Council.

I would be also remiss in not thanking Ed O'Connell for his nine years of service on this Council. We are all extremely proud of Ed as he will be sworn in as a Passaic County Freeholder this Thursday. I am confident that he will do a great job in representing Wanaque and all of Passaic County.

When I became Mayor three years ago the economy was still strong as were the Boro's finances. We were in the midst of two consecutive years where we had no increase in the Municipal portion of the tax levy and the Council had great plans for the future of Wanaque. However, the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009 has presented a new set of challenges.

We had established 8 redevelopment zones in town and were planning for the construction of a new municipal building.
At present, only the Haskell Town Center project has been completed. The developer of the Candle Factory project has gone bankrupt and we are pursuing their bonding company for the funds to repave the section of Fourth Avenue near the Boulevard. The two redevelopment projects in Midvale have stalled and the plans for a new Municipal Building has been suspended indefinitely. The US Aluminum project has been moving very slowly. The Boro's rights to this property are being assigned to a developer who will fully reimburse us for our costs. The developer has proposed commercial condominiums for this property which will be used by businesses such as plumbers, electricians, contractors, small machine shops and light manufacturing. They intend to present their concept to the Planning Board once the property has received environmental clearance from NJ DEP.

In December, the Council cancelled the $2 million bond appropriation for this project. This money was never borrowed.

We are still working with a developer to redevelop Ringwood Avenue south of Doty Road (across from CVS), but this project is also moving very slowly due to the poor real estate market. We recently declared an area next to the Route 287 southbound ramp as a redevelopment area to try to attract a highway compatible business. We will be again reaching out to Cracker Barrel and to similar establishments for this area.

In early 2009, we received a $127,000 Community Development grant to reface the four buildings along Ringwood Avenue between Second and Third Avenues. This is the area that includes Kressaty's. This was a Federal grant awarded through Passaic County. This was a new program and the project became bogged down in Federal bureaucracy. We are hoping to get this project moving in early this summer. We were recently notified that we would be receiving an $83,000 Community Development grant in 2010 to alleviate storm water runoff problems along Second Avenue. We also recently received notice that we received a transportation corridor enhancement grant from Passaic County which will be used for a new “Welcome to Wanaque” sign at the intersection of Ringwood Avenue and Union Avenue.
Last week the Council approved the contract for the installation of new lighting at Memorial Field. This project is being funded by a $150,000 grant from Passaic County Open space and a $150,000 low interest loan from Green Acres.
During 2009, we continued using Transportation Trust Fund Grant money to improve our neighborhoods. First Street and Second Street, along with the second half of Laura Avenue, were rebuilt with curbs, sidewalks, water mains and new roadways.

While upgrading the roadway, we also made it safer to walk to Wanaque School. We have already received a grant to do the same work in 2010 on Melrose Avenue and Furnace Avenue. PSE&G replaced the gas mains and paved half the roadways in the Rainbow Valley Lake section of Haskell. In 2009, the Boro paved the other half of these roadways and installed underground drains on Evergreen Avenue to help alleviate flooding problems.

In 2009, we completed the renovation of our 1 million gallon water tank in Haskell. This is an investment in our infrastructure, and this work guarantees a long life for the tank. We added two cellular telephone carriers at the water tank, generating an additional $50,000 per year for the Boro. In 2009, we welcomed a new fire truck and a new ambulance, equipment that keeps us safe day in and day out. And after a long delay, the Holiday Inn Express on Union Avenue finally opened.

Currently, we are also very close to finalizing the purchase of the Pulte sales office in Haskell and leasing the building to Passaic County. Under the terms of the 10 year lease with Passaic County, we will be receiving in excess of $82,000 per year in rent for the first five years with increases in rent for years 6 through 10 based on the percent increase in real estate taxes. The County also has the option to extend the lease for an additional 10 years to 2029. This lease is “Triple Net” which means that the tenant will pay virtually all operating costs. The net annual effect of this lease, net of lost municipal taxes, will be approximately $70,000 of additional income to our budget. Passaic County will be using this building for Social Services and an up-county Clerks office. As a result, residents of Wanaque and surrounding up-county towns will no longer have to go to Paterson for a variety of County services including probating wills and obtaining passports.

Our Boro employees are like a family, and this year we lost Gerri Marotta, our longtime secretary to the Planning Board, Board of Adjustment and in the Construction Office. Gerri passed away in July after a short illness. Gerri did her job well, and was the backbone for the Boards she served, as well as the Construction Office. We miss her, and our prayers are with her husband Vince and her family.

In 2009, Police Sergeant Lee Smith and Water Supervisor George Kostro retired. Each of these men dedicated over 25 years of service to our community. Lee Smith is continuing to serve our community as Chief of our Volunteer Fire Dept. We wish both of these gentlemen well in their retirement.

Wanaque is not immune to the economic problems of our State and Country. For our 2010 budget, we are looking at lower revenues and mandates from the State which go against every principle of good financial management. In May 2009, we appeared before the State Local Finance Board and were ordered to use all of our surplus and over anticipate 2009 revenues. When we asked “What about next year” the Board's reply was “We don't care about next year.” Since Governor Corzine did not get re-elected, these Board members will not be reappointed. They do not have to live with the consequences on the 2010 budget, but we do. By the way, the consequence of not following their recommendations was that we would have lost a $330,000 Tax Levy Waiver and a $350,000 pension deferral in 2009. The prospect of cutting $680,000 from our budget over the last 7 months of 2009 would have meant that we would have been forced to layoff almost 20% of our Boro employees, including Police officers. This was not a feasible option.

Going into the 2010 budget process, we have four less employees than we had in 2009. Our negotiations with the Police Union resulted in the elimination of the costly Traditional health benefit plan and the move of all employees to a HMO point of service plan. The Police Union also gave back 2 holidays. We renegotiated our dental insurance and achieved a 20% savings. We participated in a joint bid with other communities for garbage disposal, which resulted in a 20% decrease in costs which will stay at that price for the next five years. These are some of the things that have been accomplished in the past year alone. But our work is not done.

We all know that the 2010 budget process is going to be difficult. We already have reduced the office hours for the Health Department and the Tax Assessor. We have two less employees in the Road Department, which effects grass and leaf collection, snow plowing, grass cutting, and road maintenance. We are not like big cities that can absorb cuts without reducing services. With probable reductions in State Aid, increases in State Pension costs and a tight tax CAP, we are facing more reductions in services. All of us sitting up here, along with the Administrator and all of our employees, must be creative and enterprising to give our residents the level of service they expect. We must think “outside of the Box” in both how we generate revenue, how we spend it, and how we operate.
In closing, I would like to thank all of our Borough employees, volunteers, veterans, and friends who have supported me for the past three years as Mayor. With your help, we can weather this storm and keep Wanaque moving forward. I would also like to thank my wife, Marie and my family for their continued support in allowing me to be Mayor of this great town.

I enjoy the opportunity to serve as your Mayor and as a result I am happy to announce that the Republican party recently approved me to seek a second term as Mayor in 2010.

Thank you and God Bless America.

Daniel Mahler