Longtime Middlesex County freeholder and South River resident Christopher Rafano will serve his first term as director of the board this year.
Christopher Rafano Upon being sworn in to the role earlier this month, Rafano, who has been a freeholder since 1998 and was deputy director last year, pledged economic revival and continued success heading into the new decade. Presenting his Director’s Message at the Middlesex County College Performing Arts Center, Rafano plans to work with the people of Middlesex County to safeguard their best interests in and beyond 2010.
He thanked last year’s director, Freeholder Stephen J. “Pete” Dalina, for “guiding the board through the difficult year of 2009.” Dalina had filled the void left by longtime Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel after his death in 2008.
“I want to personally thank you for the guidance you have given me throughout my years on the board,” Rafano told Dalina. “You are truly a great friend and public servant.”
Rafano spoke about the commitment Middlesex County voters have shown to him and his colleagues, which he said was reiterated through the re-election of Democrats Carol Barrett, H. James Polos and Ron Rios to the board last November. He thanked the voters for their continued support.
The director touched upon the new sense of determination given to the governing body last year after Crabiel’s death and again after the election of President Barack Obama.
“We gathered here last year with heavy hearts over the loss of our longtime friend and mentor … yet we left determined more than ever to work tirelessly to serve the people of Middlesex County — because that’s what Dave would have wanted,” Rafano said. “[And then] Jan. 20, 2009, brought a new sense of hope and a renewed determination as the nation welcomed its first African-American president.”
But last year, Rafano said, did not come without its challenges. The United States was engaged in two conflicts overseas and an economic downturn that tumbled stocks and hiked unemployment. Despite the national trends, however, the county retained a lower unemployment rate, he said.
“We were not unscathed by the turbulence of the economy … we met the new challenge head-on,” Rafano said.
The county tackled last year’s challenges by identifying and implementing areas of savings and new revenue sources, while at the same time increasing efficiency, he said. Cost-saving methods included union members who agreed to freeze their salaries in 2009. The county also passed a budget that was $5 million less than the year before, but maintained a high level of service, he said.
Other 2009 achievements he cited were the shared-services agreement to oversee operations of the Monmouth County Medical Examiner’s Office, the purchase of state-ofthe art fingerprint scanning equipment for local police departments, the addition of the 21st municipality to the county’s public health services, creation of a public safety dispatch partnership between Dunellen and Rutgers University, expansion of the Family Courthouse, rededication of Donaldson Park in Highland Park after a complete reconstruction, preservation of the 188-acre historic Pulda Farm in South Brunswick, and groundbreaking on a new environmentally friendly teaching facility at Middlesex County College.
A new organization called Coming Home Middlesex County was set up last year and established a plan to fight and rid the county of homelessness in 10 years. The organization has already established a Homelessness Trust Fund and allocated federal housing funds to help renovate an empty church in Highland Park into apartments for homeless Middlesex County veterans. The county’s trust fund for homelessness is one of only three of its kind in the state, according to Rafano.
However, Rafano said it is not time to rest. There is a greater need for innovation, to be proactive rather than reactive, and to challenge the status quo, he said.
In order to face upcoming challenges, the county will create a council on economic development to maintain and attract businesses to help boost local economies. This council and the county will work on a new marketing strategy to help attract new residents and businesses and fill vacant offices and warehouses.
Also, the county will build five communication towers and a wireless network over the next 18 months to reduce telecommunications costs and bring in additional revenue, Rafano said.
One of the largest undertakings this year, he said, will be the implementation of an automated process of county operations. This will help to reduce the county’s work force through attrition, reduce paper usage and increase public accessibility, he said.
The county will implement a five-year strategic plan in 2010, Rafano said, to regionalize services such as information technology, health insurance, and tax assessment and collection in order to ease the tax burden on county residents.
The Department on Senior Services will refocus its mission to offer direct services to the county’s seniors, according to Rafano. The board and county will begin working on an initiative this year called “Working Together for a Strong Healthy and Supportive Middlesex County,” which will help seniors stay healthy and active using a coordinated and cost-effective continuum of care through the combined effort of treatment centers.
Green initiatives are also on tap in Middlesex County this year, including meeting a goal of having 10,000 acres of preserved open space by 2012 and the opening of the county’s 20th park at the border of North Brunswick and Milltown. County officials will also search for ways to continuously reduce energy costs and make use of alternative energy sources, according to Rafano.
Safety and security will also remain an imperative among the board and county as discussions will ensue with Monmouth County on an agreement to house juvenile offenders in Middlesex County’s Youth Detention Center. This will make for better use of the facility and increase revenue, according to Rafano.
“I believe that Middlesex County has the right mix of people and ideas to face the uncertain future,” Rafano said. “I believe we can make opportunity where others only see obstacles [and] bring growth where others cannot.”