I thought it might help folks if I put out a list of topics I would pursue on day 1 if I am elected to serve on our Town Council this year. I view this agenda as a dynamic list and it is absolutely not static. Rather, I intend it to be flexible and subject to change or to reprioritization as I learn about new issues, challenges, and, of course, costs. I hope this offers some specificity and will help West Orange residents differentiate me from among the candidates for Council. These items are topics I plan to dig in on and follow through on. I think they are critically important to the way we govern ourselves in West Orange and I think they are critical to us maintaining and building community among our residents. I this election, I think you should think about who you would trust to focus on and follow through with each of these issues.
Budget Projections
Currently West Orange does not produce any budget projection beyond current year budget and every year West Orange takes at least 6 months to adopt the budget. I believe that if we are to successfully plan projects and effectively manage our residents' property tax burden, we must understand and closely monitor our town's financial position. I would propose that West Orange require detailed budget projections for each of the coming 5 years. That way, we will be able to include planning for things like tree replanting, investment in infrastructure, personnel needs and emergencies, as well as gaining a greater ability to manage the part of our real estate tax burden that the Municipality controls.
Part of this is inclusion of a requirement that items presented to the Council for consideration or approval requires a statement of budget impact. Such requirement will allow residents and Councilmembers to better understand how projects and initiatives in town will impact real estate taxes into the future.
I think these two components will allow us to significantly improve our ability to manage our finances in town and will help us focus on initiatives that provide greater positive impact for lower cost.
Creative and Effective Plan for Meeting West Orange's Fair Housing Obligation
This is a new item as a result of the State of New Jersey publishing new fair housing obligations for every town in New Jersey. According to an article in the West Orange Patch, West Orange has a "Current Need" for 409 units and a "Prospective Need" for 660 units.
Towns have several tools to use to help meet an obligation, but it requires planning and requires active engagement with the Fair Housing Authority to ensure we have a viable plan in place before the June 2025 deadline.
It appears to me that in recent years West Orange's plan for its Affordable Housing obligation has been simply to require new developments include approximately 20% of the units to be developed to qualify as "Affordable" under state law. Reliance on this planning method has at least two detrimental consequences. First, it makes the town exclusively reliant on developers and limits our ability to protect our environmental resources (trees and greenspaces) because the town is essentially forced to accept developers' proposals or risk being sued for inhibiting fair housing development in town. Second, whenever new development does not qualify as "Affordable" the Township's obligation subsequently grows as the town's growth profile changes. In addition to these two consequences, we need to consider what the development would need to be if we continue to rely on developers to solve our fair housing obligation for us. Just thinking about the prospective need (660 units), if we rely exclusively on developers to include that number among their proposed projects, we would need a total of 3,300 new housing units (20% Affordable + 80% market rate) to be built by the end of the 10 year obligation period (2035). We must find another way to comply, otherwise we will either irrevocably and radically change the character of the town with large complexes or risk being sued by developers and the state of New Jersey for failing to meet our obligation.
I therefore think we should be very highly motivated to establish a solid plan to meet our significant fair housing obligation. For voters in this election, I think the question is who we trust to make sure that we will plan for compliance with our obligations.
I will actively work with township personnel and the Fair Housing Authority to ensure that we have a plan in place that helps seniors with affordable housing, encourages diversity and equity, while also preserving our town for our residents.
Review of Municipal Governance and Legal Advice
We must make sure that our municipal government is working effectively for Residents and creating a sense of community at every opportunity. I will meet with all department heads to make sure that the right resources are available in every department. I want to, for example, make sure that we have the right resources in the Engineering Department, and make sure that we understand the state of our town's infrastructure, including all pipes, roads and sidewalks. I want to make sure that we celebrate PRIDE month next year. I also want to review sidewalks, crosswalks, and green spaces and make recommendations for increased walkability, access to greenspace, and to explore programming community events in different parts of town, possibly as part of holiday celebrations like PRIDE or Independence Day.
Further, I want to make sure that our Municipality is not hampered by conflicts of interest and I will push for a review of work done by lawyers and consultants on behalf of the municipality. Part of this review will include the issues described in Item 4 on this list. Depending on the makeup of the Council, such review could result in recommendations to the Mayor's office or direct action to mandate any changes as endorsed by a supermajority of the Council.
Review of Settlement Agreement for the West Essex Highlands Proposal
I will lead an effort to understand the context and legality of the 2020 settlement agreement between the town and the developer sponsoring the project. I am concerned that there are foundational aspects of the agreement that may be flawed or improper and I worry that further progress on the development may expose the Township up to legal liability because of these flaws.
Tree Ordinance and Enforcement
This initiative has two parts. First, the municipality needs to undertake a systematic program to educate residents and tree care companies about the new tree protection ordinance to ensure that everyone operating in West Orange understands the rules for managing our tree canopy. Second, the new Council should review the tree ordinance to determine if further enhancements are needed. For example, we need to do more to ensure that tree destruction like that that occurred at The Manor property does not recur. If we need more stringent penalties that will, for example, impose a delay on other permitting, then perhaps property owners and companies engaged in tree services will not fail to obtain the proper permits to remove trees from their property. The continued disregard for the Township's clear priority to protect our tree canopy must stop.
Status of Green Acres Funding for Rock Spring
On my first day as a Councilmember I will get involved with the application for Green Acres Funding to preserve the Rock Spring Golf Course as greenspace. The discussion when it was purchased approximately 6 years ago was that the Township would immediately pursue funding, which at the time was estimated to cover approximately 50% of the cost of the property. My understanding is that we have not received that state funding and my concern is that discussion of debt service, cost and operation of the course, and Township finances are ignoring this available funding that would prevent future development on the vast majority of the property. It will be a priority of mine to make sure we receive this funding and prevent development on as much of the course as possible.
Edited on 10/28 to add that I learned that the Township applied for green acres funding for the entire property (yay!) and has received at least part of the funding. Next I'm interested to learn how much the total funding will be, and how it will work into the budget over the course of us receiving it. This links back to item 1 in this list. This needs to be included in a budget projection so we can plan for necessary debt service and projects in town and so that our residents can have a better understanding and expectation related to property taxes and the financial condition of the town.
Status of Request for Proposals Regarding Renewable Energy Resources
I know there have been discussions about installing renewable energy sources on municipality properties and I am eager to investigate those opportunities further. I want to understand as soon as possible what the cost would be and what the payback period would be before the municipal buildings would see an accrual of funds resulting from the investment. Understanding the financial realities of such a project will be a primary consideration. To gain this understanding, the Township should make a request for proposals public and we should begin to fully understand any opportunities to benefit our residents.
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