- Set a goal of reducing municipal taxes and take steps to reach that goal since the taxpayers are not satisfied with maintaining the status quo. Expensive projects such as the Splash Pad should be subject to referendum and Town Council members should exercise their right to reduce items in the budget. Public participation in the budget process should be encouraged and the public meetings regarding the budget should be widely publicized.
- Develop a plan to improve our Township Committees and Commissions since they are a vital component of our Town Government. Our initial recommendations:
- The Committee meeting dates, a listing of members and a definition of its purpose should be easily accessible on our Township Website (see Parsippany website for an example)[1].
- Regular attendance by the Town Council Liaisons should be required.
- Recruit and retain members with Volunteer Fairs [2] and recognition.
- Minutes should be taken and made available to the members after each meeting
- Increase Community Engagement since volunteers are the lifeblood of our community:
- Volunteer Fairs [2]
- Recognition- Spotlight articles and videos featuring individuals or organizations
- Providing a New Resident Welcome Packet to welcome and inform our new residents about the many opportunities available to be involved.
- Improve Communication & Responsiveness-
- We look forward to the long-awaited launch of an improved website and will make any needed recommendations once it is published. As expressed by the Senior’s Club President recently, we need a variety of platforms to reach our diverse population.
- Create an Ad Hoc Communications Committee to survey residents and determine the best methods for giving and receiving information from residents.
- Publicize road closures through the Alert system and all the communication platforms
- Have a Late Night for our Township Departments one night a month.
- We pledge to hold Open Office hours once a week so that residents can voice their concerns in a comfortable setting.
- Solicit regular suggestions and input from the Township Employees to increase efficiency and improve morale.
- Improve Transparency- Increasing community engagement and improving communication are key components of a transparent and responsive government. There are also some procedural changes necessary:
- We recommend that the Town Council establish a policy to remind residents who wish to speak at a Town Council meeting that minutes are not taken during the Workshop Session of the meeting. The current practice of occasional reminders in certain situations could be interpreted as a way to manipulate or suppress information.
- We recommend that expenses for Shared Services are tracked since we cannot set a price for a service without accounting for the expenses.
- Adopt a Resolution in support of the New Jersey Green Amendment (SCR 134)[3]– Our residents should be guaranteed a healthy environment and should not have to wait years or file lawsuits to secure that right. Some Examples:
- Recently, residents on Waterloo Road had to file a lawsuit to close down a cement recycling plant that was bringing in 75 large dump trucks a day and polluting the Musconetcong River and air.
- Residents and business on RIngenbach Lane, Lucas Road and Old Budd Lake Road had to use bottled water from March 2016 through August 2018 because of pollution leaching into their wells from the Combe Fill North Superfund.
- The residents of Flanders have been complaining about the odors from the Mint-X plant since it opened in March 2015. The Township requested that the plant to be closed until it stops the odors on October 28, 2019.
[1] https://www.parsippany.net/200/Boards-Commissions
[2] https://www.volunteerhub.com/blog/volunteer-fairs/
[3] The Interpretive statement reads- “This amendment provides that every person has a constitutional right to a clean environment. This includes the right to clean air, pure water, and healthy habitats. The amendment would require the State to preserve public natural resources. The State would also be required to prevent others from destroying or damaging public natural resources.”
