Local government leaders cast their eyes toward 2009

by Jessica Ercolino, Staff Writer
   Now that the holidays are over, local government officials are looking ahead to challenges new and old for 2009.
   Atop most of their annual concerns is keeping their communities affordable for local residents. The 2008 budget season was tough on most towns due to large cuts in municipal aid from the state and increased costs for energy and employee retirement plans.
   Millstone Mayor Nancy Grbelja said 2009 might prove to be tougher than 2008 from an economic standpoint.
   ”There are a number of foreclosures in the state and in our town, so we have less taxes coming in and revenue is certainly down,” she said, adding that a number of unfunded mandates from the state — such as those related to stormwater regulations — have added to towns’ financial concerns.
   ”We will have to be creative in making our money go a long way and look for opportunities to bring in additional revenue.”
   Other officials agreed.
   ”We must make sure that we continue to keep Robbinsville an affordable place to live, work and raise a family,” said Township Councilman Rich Levesque. “We have done an excellent job trying to keep taxes as low as possible even though the state has all but eliminated our aid.”
   Last year, Robbinsville municipal property taxes increased 2 cents per $100 of assessed value. Mayor Dave Fried had said that the local tax rate would remain flat, but a $144,000 cut in state aid forced officials to amend the municipal budget to make up the difference.
   Most other towns saw similar decreases in aid last year. Plumsted Township received close to $122,000 less than it did in 2007, but budget cuts in capital project spending and salary cuts for the Township Committee allowed the town to keep its tax rate stable at 9 cents per $100 of assessed value. Mayor Ron Dancer said maintaining that tax rate is one of the township’s main goals in 2009, as well.
   Plumsted, like other local townships, also hopes to continue its land preservation efforts. It has more than 3,000 acres of preserved land, and the acquisition of the 250-acre Grant farm on Route 539 in 2008 helped to add to that total.
   Millstone preserved a total of 6,000 acres last year and is eyeing another 500 acres for potential preservation in 2009, Mayor Grbelja said.
   Some towns are also looking to improve local economic development. Mayor Dancer said Plumsted will work on the revitalization of both the downtown business district and the light industrial and commercial districts throughout the town this year.
   Mr. Levesque, who is the Robbinsville Township Council liaison to the Economic Development Committee, said he is hoping the town will continue attracting new businesses in 2009.
   ”During these economically uncertain times, Robbinsville remains an attractive area for new businesses to grow,” he said. “We are looking at new ways to brand our town and bring businesses to the Route 130 corridor.”
   Allentown Mayor Stu Fierstein said he is concerned about the economic viability of the borough, not only as it relates to the current slump in the economy, but due to the impending Main Street bridge and dam repair project.
   There is no set start date for the project, county and local officials said last week, but they are hoping to solicit bids later this month. Since the project was announced in 2007, two of the borough’s major businesses — Off the Wall Craft Gallery and Black Forest Restaurant — have shut their doors. The businesses were located in the Old Mill, next to the proposed construction site, and would have been forced to leave once the project begins due to safety concerns.
   Municipalities’ COAH obligations also will be on the agenda this year: Towns throughout the state submitted affordable housing plans by the Dec. 31, 2008 deadline to be reviewed by state officials at the Department of Community Affairs this month.
   Millstone officials will be particularly concerned with the matter, as the town’s plan includes a much-protested 85-unit affordable housing development on Route 33. The development would require a sewage treatment plant, which drew the ire of dozens of residents toward the end of 2008.
   Township Committeeman Elias Abilheira, who submitted his own alternative housing plans deemed not viable by professionals, said he is hoping for a more transparent government process in the new year, especially based on the process to develop the town’s housing element.
   ”I would like to see an open government that permits involvement of groups with differing opinions so that we are not saddled with poorly thought-out plans like the one for sewage treatment plans in Millstone,” he said. “A more public process would have easily avoided the results we now face.”
   If the COAH obligations should change, Millstone officials have said the plan would be amended and the Route 33 development would be removed.
   ”We have ongoing litigation (versus COAH) with 17 other towns in similar circumstances as Millstone,” pointed out Mayor Grbelja. “It’s a top priority … and I’m very optimistic that we’ll be able to pull through in a productive manner and keep residents happy.”
   In Robbinsville, open government also is a top priority for Township Councilwoman Sonja Walter. She said she would like the township’s communication with the community to improve by providing public policy information on the township Web site and holding public forums in addition to council meetings for residents to ask questions.
   ”I’d like public discussion and debate to be a welcomed thing as opposed to something to be avoided,” she said. “I truly believe that most things can be solved not only by asking the right questions, but by answering the right questions.”
   In the spirit of strengthening community spirit, Ms. Walter also said she is looking forward to celebrating Robbinsville’s Sesquicentennial — or 150th — anniversary, beginning in March.
   ”I can think of no better way (of bringing the community together) than by celebrating 150 years of our town’s history, something in which we’ve all played a part,” she said.
   Towns are also looking forward to improvement projects in 2009. Upper Freehold Mayor Steve Alexander said he is anxious for roadwork to begin on Sharon Station Road, which has been the recent discussion of a possible Monmouth County takeover.
   ”We need to get a safe design for Sharon Station Road resolved and have the county start making improvements,” he said of the problematic road, which has proven unsafe for motorists due to its potholes, narrowness and high truck traffic.
   In Allentown, Mayor Fierstein said he is looking forward to improvements on roads in the Lakeview development, and for the borough to work on creating parking in the downtown business district.
   The mayor added that the borough has concerns over recently approved development applications at the town’s borders, specifically the three-story office building recently OK’d by the Robbinsville Planning Board. There also are two hotels approved to be built on Robbinsville-Allentown Road.
   ”Everyone may point to the economy and say that in today’s economy, none of this is going to happen,” he said. “But the economy will not always stay as it is now, and once you give those approvals, you will see those applications come to fruition.”