By: centraljersey.com
Editor’s note: On Nov. 2, voters will fill one three-year seat on the Township Committee, currently held by Frank DelCore. We asked Mr. DelCore, and Democratic challenger Maureen Vella to introduce themselves to voters and share their views on issues that will confront them, if elected.
Their responses are printed below.
Tell us about yourself
Biographical information voters should know about you, such as professional experience, public service and volunteer projects you’re involved in, etc.
Frank DelCore
My wife, Renee, and I have lived in Hillsborough since May 2001. We have 2 daughters. Rebecca, age 11, is a sixth-grader at Auten Road Intermediate School and Kristin, age 8, is a third-grader at Hillsborough Elementary. We are parishioners at Mary Mother of God Church in Hillsborough.
I am employed at Alcatel Lucent as the managing director for project finance, credit and collections, responsible for these functions in the Americas Region which covers North America, Central and South America and the Caribbean. I manage a staff of more than 40 employees and contractors.
I have both an undergraduate and graduate degree from Rutgers University. I graduated in 1988 with a BA in Communications. After working for several years, I went back to school at night for my MBA with a concentration in Finance. I received my MBA in 1997. I believe that my educational background, coupled with my business background, provides valuable skills needed for local government. I have extensive knowledge of and background in finance, budget preparation, people management and executive management. In my job responsibilities, I am required to make difficult decisions regarding staffing and budget cuts, oversee multi-country transactions, manage a large staff and meet aggressive financial goals and objectives. I understand the importance of being fiscally responsible and living within a budget. I believe these skills lend themselves well to the Township Committee role. I think my financial "watchdog" role has proven to be very beneficial to Hillsborough.
Prior to running for Township Committee, I volunteered for a number of community activities in town. Both of my daughters are active in Hillsborough softball and I have been coaching softball for the last six years. In addition, I felt it important to give back to the community in which my wife and I were raising our family, so I volunteered to serve on numerous boards and commissions in town including: Hillsborough Planning Board; Hillsborough Recreation Commission; Hillsborough Capital Planning Committee; Sustainable Hillsborough Steering Committee; and the Hillsborough Grants & Shared Services Committee.
I have served on the Hillsborough Township Committee since January 2008 after being chosen by the voters for a three-year term in the general election in November 2007. My first year on the committee, 2008, I served as the deputy mayor, and have served as the mayor of Hillsborough Township for 2009 and 2010.
Key accomplishments during my time in public service include: Initiation of the Hillsborough Township Economic Action Plan designed to build a pro-business environment in Hillsborough, cut business fees and eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy for our local businesses; Facilitated the commencement of the movement of the mercury stockpile from the VA Depot to the Hawthorne Army Depot in Nevada; Promoted a fiscally conservative and responsible agenda with tangible results for Hillsborough taxpayers; Minimized the potential overdevelopment of Hillsborough by continuing an aggressive open space and farmland preservation program; and Finalized the establishment of a complete railroad quiet zone along the length of the Norfolk Southern line in Hillsborough, the first quiet zone established in New Jersey.
Maureen Vella
I have lived in Hillsborough for 13 years with my husband, Jim DiCorcia and our three children, James, Jonah, and Gianna. James is a freshman at Rutgers University, School of Engineering, while Jonah and Gianna are in ninth- and eighth-grades, attending Hillsborough schools.
We live on a small farm tucked away in the foothills of the Sourland Mountain where we raise grass fed Highland cattle and chickens that produce organic eggs. We have a rescue pony named Coco and two dogs, Domino and Teddy that our children show at 4H in Somerset County.
Born and raised in New Jersey, I graduated from Rutgers University in 1981 with a BS in English and sociology and specialization in criminal justice. I did, however, find the time to work at the school newspaper and to be a Rutgers cheerleader. I remain a devoted Scarlet Knight Fan and have season tickets to the football games. In 1984, I received my juris doctor from Southwestern University School of Law. I have been practicing law in New Jersey for over 25 years, specializing in helping people work through difficult financial situations. I own my law firm, which has given me the special flexibility over the years necessary to be a class mom, present gallery time and go on my children’s class trips, whenever my name was chosen.
In the past, I have been a cheerleading coach for the Hillsborough Dukes. Currently, I volunteer as a religious formation teacher at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Three Bridges for the confirmation class. I have been vice president and a board member of Women Helping Women, which provides affordable therapy and support services for thousands of women and girls dealing with domestic violence, sexual abuse, depression, substance abuse, lack of self-esteem, death of a loved-one and many other challenges. I volunteer as an attorney at the Women Helping Women Legal Clinic.
My experiences includes my serving on the board of directors of Women Aware, which provides emergency shelter and services for women and their children suffering with domestic violence in their lives. My volunteer commitment includes my participation in the New Jersey Legal Services program, where I provide free legal services to people in financial need. I have served on the board of directors of the Metuchen/Edison YMCA and on the Finance Committee.
I have broadened my scope as an attorney by becoming an Accredited Professional Mediator and a member of the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators, enabling me to facilitate the resolution of disputes between two or more parties in a non-adversarial manner. Most recently I have been certified to practice Collaborative Law in New Jersey, a family law process enabling couples to achieve a settlement. I am vice president of the board of directors of BizNet, a regional business-networking group.
The wide-ranging variety of all of my experience provides an excellent background for serving on Township Committee. I have a deep understanding of people’s concerns and a dedication to improving the quality of life in our township. As a business owner, farm owner, wife, and parent, I know how this economy has affected me and my neighbors, and I pledge to do everything I can to decrease the burden of local property taxes. This is the number one issue to the people I have met in my door-to-door campaigning.
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The Township Committee must balance budget pressures with the needs of the community – reduced maintenance expenditures can lead to higher costs later; eliminating positions can lead to reduced services to residents. What factors will weigh most heavily in your budget decisions, if you are elected?
Maureen Vella
In these difficult financial times, we need to rethink our old ways of looking at our municipal spending and begin thinking outside of the box. If elected, I know I will have to make tough choices that will impact all of us because increases in taxes are hurting people.
The number one factor weighing in my budget decisions will be the health and safety of the residents of Hillsborough. All service related to health and safety would not be reduced.
With an eye towards maintaining the current level of services in all other areas, I would look for savings. I would call for the renegotiation of all professional contracts to achieve cost containment. I would explore all possible shared services and shared purchasing with the Board of Education and the County. I would call for the elimination of health insurance benefits for part time professionals.
The people of Hillsborough will be called upon to help as well. I would utilize volunteer groups wherever practical.
All of this would be done before any reductions in services are considered and would aid in keeping the budget lower. We must stop increasing taxes.
I believe the residents of Hillsborough will understand if cuts need to be made when they are convinced that every dollar being spent is being spent wisely. Residents must know that tough questions are being asked about the budget with answers that must make financial, not political, sense.
I know that every dollar counts and every taxpayer has the absolute right to have complete confidence that their elected officials are committed to this principal. If I am elected, I have chosen not to take my Township Committee pay and health care benefits. This demonstrates my commitment to Hillsborough taxpayers to save them every single dollar possible.
Frank DelCore
The most important thing is to understand that a balance is necessary, and we must be willing to work hard, and work smart, to make difficult choices to get the right balance. However, too often the easy road has been taken in Washington (and until this year in Trenton), where politicians avoid tough choices, and simply borrow and spend on "popular programs" today, while leaving the consequences to the future.
My Township Committee colleagues and I have taken the fiscally responsible path for Hillsborough. We have little debt, and we keep our spending under tight control, because we have made the tough and smart choices to "pay as we go" for truly necessary expenses, and we have refused to borrow for routine capital items and operating expenses. Sam Van Nest, the late owner of Ace Hardware, and a Planning Board member for many years, had a very wise thing to say to local officials – "The most dangerous words in government are: ‘That would be nice to have.’" I agree that philosophy, and the policy the Township Committee and I have followed has been very simple – "nice to have" is not a sufficient justification to spend. That policy has kept us from racking up an unnecessary debt burden, and has allowed us to keep our budget, and our taxes, under control. In fact, in 2010, we spent less in our municipal budget than we did in 2009. That was the first time in 20 years that a municipal budget in Hillsborough spent less than the prior year.
Our budget process remains difficult, because we have experienced a material decrease in state aid in recent years, down $1.4 million over the last several years. Yet, we still we have been able to deliver sound, fiscally prudent budgets because of the way we have managed spending during my time in office and our willingness to make difficult decisions regarding cost cutting and consolidation.
Clearly, to maintain the excellent quality of life we are accustomed to in Hillsborough, some maintenance activities and programs are necessary, but they carry significant costs. So, we work to make them as efficient as possible (e.g., an inexpensive new hot patch device for roads makes repairs last much longer), to privatize what we can (e.g., maintenance of medians on Auten, Triangle and New Triangle Roads is now done by private landscapers, in return only for the right to place small signs), and to charge reasonable fees where appropriate (e.g. recreation programs, flu shots), all to ease the taxpayer burden. We also work hard to secure every grant we can (e.g., our farmland and open space preservation is heavily supported with County and State grants), and will continue to explore every grant opportunity.
One new key initiative will be to seek grants to support a solar panel program for the roof of the municipal building which may help us pay for its necessary repair, and the solar panels will help defray or eliminate future electrical bills. In addition, we have already undergone a bid solicitation process regarding establishing a solar farm at the current location of the Sunnymeade Landfill and will continue to make progress on an alternative energy solution at that location to further offset the town’s energy costs.
Finally, I understand that business growth eases the property tax burden on homeowners, and also provides jobs to the community. With the Economic Action Plan that I initiated, with full support from the Township Committee, we have taken many steps to ease burdensome regulations, and make Hillsborough a good place to own a business. The township has in return gotten positive feedback from business owners, and business organizations such as the Somerset County Business Partnership, and seen nearly 120 new businesses established in that last two years since the Economic Action Plan was enacted. Every new business helps the taxpayer.
Again, we have to work smart and hard to make this all happen. We have not taken the easy road, and I pledge to ensure that Hillsborough does not take the easy road under my watch, as I believe that this approach has served the township very well. I look forward to the opportunity to continue with my fiscally conservative approach to local government.
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Other than taxes and budgets, what do you believe will be the most challenging issue facing Hillsborough in the next three years?
Frank DelCore
Given the ongoing economic difficulties, both locally and nationwide, the most challenging issue for Hillsborough will be to get even more businesses interested in coming to Hillsborough, so that we can eventually (with the help of the completion of the Bypass), build our Town Center into a truly thriving destination, workplace and focus of our community. Business growth is vital on so many fronts, not only because of the impact of ratables for the Township, but clearly job creation is a benefit to all of our residents.
We have made a good start with the Economic Action Plan, and believe that because of it, we have not been as badly affected by business loss as many surrounding communities. In fact, we continue to have significant new business growth in town. In 2009, we had 60 new business starts in Hillsborough, and in 2010, we have had another 57 new business starts through the month of September, putting us on pace to well exceed the 2009 results. I believe that our Economic Action Plan has contributed significantly to the new business starts by giving entrepreneurs confidence and assurance that Hillsborough is a community that welcomes and supports local business.
The completion of the Route 206 bypass will certainly be a benefit to our business owners as it will expand access to highways such as Route 287 and 78 that will expand both the employee and customer reach for business. The bypass will also be a major step in the development of the town center area but we must also create a willingness for our business owners that are located in the town center area to be willing to make the investment to create a vibrant and attractive Town Center, one that is conducive to people eagerly coming by foot and bicycle as well as by car, and walking around and staying for awhile. That sort of Town Center can be the economic engine of the township, and a vision that will help keep us fiscally healthy.
It takes a great deal of vision, planning, and effort to map out and effect such a transformation. Years of activism and negotiation finally resulted in our making the necessary agreements to get the Bypass built, and it is now finally under construction. We have continually re-examined the provisions of our zoning, construction rules, and other regulations, have enacted some 20 ordinances to improve them, and will continue to make them more conducive to investment in Town Center.
And I believe that with the same persistence that finally resulted in the Bypass, the railroad Quiet Zone, and the removal of the mercury from the DLA Depot, we will get to see that new and thriving Town Center take shape under the direction of me and my colleagues on the Township Committee.
Maureen Vella
It all begins at home; here is where we set the standards. Do we raise or lower the bar? Do we set the high standards or ride the tide of status quo? Are we as a town going to approve everything that comes before us, or are we going to say that we need a vision and then create a beautiful future for our children and make Hillsborough a Sustainable Hillsborough, not in name only. Should our Town Center Plan be one to only add density or should it create a walking community of restaurants, shops and professional offices that we loyally patronize? Or are we going to continue with the same old empty stores and restaurant shells with turnstiles for the next one to open in and close through?
Over the years, the concept of our Town Center has been impacted by questions about the when the bypass would be built. Even in this tough economic climate, now that the roadwork has begun, we must, keep our focus on this plan.
The Town Center should be a focal point for future growth providing a unique Hillsborough experience to residents and visitors alike. Why shouldn’t Hillsborough be a regional destination? This would be the economic engine providing good solid tax dollars, which lessens the burden on all of us.
Efforts to undermine the Town Center concept began under the guise of economic action. On Dec. 22, 2009, the decision to eliminate the Architectural and Site Design Review subcommittee was lead by my opponent. This committee was conceived in a bipartisan manner, to provide guidance for business while developing their plans for building in the Town Center. Doing away with this committee, coupled with recent changes in zoning requirements, has threatened the very nature of the Town Center concept.
If Hillsborough becomes nothing more than a series of glorified strip malls then we would have lost the unique character and specialness we are seeking to create for our future.
Our core community values must be definable and stated in such a way that we do not need to constantly erode away at them for the sake of the moment. Only we can make the hometown difference. This can only be a reality in our future if we get it done locally here and now. In a few years it will be too late. We cannot slowly continue drifting off the mark and hope to find our way back; we have to get back on track now.

