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MONROE: Fire District 1 faces heat despite steady budget

David Kilby, Managing Editor
   MONROE — Saturday, three candidates will challenge Monroe Fire District 1’s three incumbents on the Board of Commissioners.
   Voters also will decide whether to approve the proposed budget that keeps the tax rate flat.
   District 1 is an all-volunteer station and serves the northern part of the township.
   The total proposed budget for District 1 is $1,212, 842, which includes $1,032,342 to be raised by taxation. The tax rate would be 11.1 cents per $100 of assessed value, the same as last year. A house assessed at $169,000 would pay about $188 per year if this year’s budget is approved.
   The three incumbent candidates for Fire District 1 are Mike Costello, Vincent DiLieto and Robert LeBrun. Timothy Eosso, Anthony Malanga and Tim McAuliffe are challenging them.
   Mr. DiLieto replaced Commissioner Scott Kivett in August.
   He has been a resident of Monroe for the last 12 years and has served as commissioner for four years. He also has served as a volunteer firefighter for the last eight years with Fire District 1, or Station No. 51, and volunteers as a Monroe Recreation Baseball and Basketball assistant coach.
   ”We lowered the tax rate from 16.9 cents a few years ago, and we’re supporting a strong volunteer force of 50 plus volunteers,” he said while explaining why he should be re-elected.
   Mr. Costello has been a resident of Monroe since 1948. He serves on the Monroe Township Environmental Commission and Bike and Trails Committee. He has served as treasurer of the District 1 Board of Commissioners for the last three years and served on the budget committee that helped reduce the district’s tax rate.
   He also has served as supervisor of the Monroe Township Transportation Department and as a member of the Monroe Zoning Board of Adjustment.
   ”We want to provide for residents in a fiscally responsible manner,” he said.
   ”The expenditures people seem to question, such as boats, were used extensively during Hurricane Irene,” he said, adding the district recently spent about $20,000 on new hurricane rescue equipment.
   Mr. LeBrun is a lifetime resident of Monroe and an active volunteer firefighter for 36 years. He served as the chief for the Central Monroe Volunteer Fire Company for more than two years and served on the Fire District 3 Board of Fire Commissioners for more than seven years before moving to District 1. He has served as a commissioner for District 1 for the past six years.
   ”Fire District 1’s main need is to keep the volunteers strong, and keep the tax rate as low as possible,” he said. “These (volunteers) are true Monroe residents, and they enjoy being volunteers. People are hurting in this economy. They’re losing their houses. That’s why we worked hard to lower the tax rate.”
   Mr. Eosso, Mr. McAuliffe and Mr. Malanga think District 1 can do some things better, though.
   Mr. Eosso has lived in District 1 for seven years. He has two school-aged children in Monroe and has been a firefighter for Edison Township for 17 years. He is also a Monroe Township Baseball director, coach and volunteer.
   ”We’re looking to beef up our volunteer department, especially during volunteer hours when the volunteers are at work,” Mr. Eosso said. “We’re looking to be fiscally responsible without compromising public safety. We’d like to see the staffing reinstated.”
   On their joint campaign flier, the three challengers wrote they stand for complete transparency in District 1 with no hidden agenda or secret meetings — alluding to the claim District 1 laid off two paid firemen in a secret meeting in January 2010.
   They wrote they also stand for full accessibility and board accountability.
   Mr. McAuliffe is a 12-year resident of Mill Lake Manor in Monroe and has three school-aged children in Monroe. He has been a sergeant for the Bayonne Police Department for 17 years and is a coach and volunteer for Monroe Township Basketball. He was not available for comment before press time.
   Mr. Malanga has lived in Mill Lake Manor for 21 years and has two school-aged children. He has been with the Monroe Township EMS for 20 years and is the supervisor of all four medical service stations in Monroe. He is also a Monroe Township Baseball coach and volunteer.
   ”I want to see the taxpayers get what their money is not supplying right now, and that is safety for our family and our kids,” Mr. Malanga said.
   Polls will be open at the District 1 fire station, 24 Harrison Ave., from 2 to 9 p.m.