Election is 2-9 p.m. Saturday at township hall
Residents will elect two Saturday to the five-member Board of Fire Commissioners, the body that oversees firefighting operations in the township.
Three men are competing for two seats. Voters can cast ballots at only one poll, which is at the municipal building on South Branch Road, from 2 to 9 p.m.
Incumbent Matthew DeCicco, who has been a commissioner since 2004, is running for another three-year term. Charles Nuara and John Catrombon Jr., both of whom are firefighters from the Woods Road-based fire company, are the other candidates.
One seat comes vacant with the retirement of Kenneth Wetzel, who served 24 years, including 12 as chairman, on the fire commission board.
Mr. Nuara, who had been Woods Road chief for three years until January, has been on the force there for 20 years after moving to Hillsborough in 1990.
Mr. Nuara has two businesses: as a real estate agent and as a food consultant and broker developing items and selling them to supermarket chains. He generally works from home as a base, he said.
Mr. Nuara said the biggest thing he wants to do is open lines of communication between the commissioners, company officers and firefighters.
”I’ve dealt with commission for years,” he said. “You get a of lot communication at meetings, but lot needs to be had.”
In his time as a company leader, he said he found out a lot about firefighting issues from rank-and-file guys
Most people are standoffish and don’t want to suggest or criticize to commissioners, he said.
”I always been very open as a firefighter,” he said.
Mr. Nuara said he has been a Top 10 responder to drills, fire calls and meetings in his company for last 10 years.
”Since I do participate a lot, I was very vocal,” Mr. Nuara said, adding he found commissioners to be receptive to ideas and comment.
”I think commissioners have done very well the last couple of years,” he said. “The budget is very tight. We’ve got a lot of equipment to buy over the next couple of years so you have to be very careful what you spend it on.”
Incumbent DeCicco is a plant project engineer with Reckitt Benckiser on Route 206 in the township.
Mr. DeCicco lives in the Flagtown section of the township. He has been a member of Fire Company No. 1 for 29 years and was its chief from 1996-2003. He was a Top 10 responder in his company in 2012.
He’s seeking a fourth three-year term as a fire commissioner.
”I believe we are fortunate in Hillsborough to be able to provide, through the fire district, excellent fire education, fire prevention and fire suppression services,” he said. “The challenges I see moving forward, during these difficult financial times, are to maintain the value and high level of service, protection and safety for the residents, firefighters and visitors of Hillsborough Township.”
Mr. DeCicco said that, in spite of the tough economic times, Hillsborough continues to build and grow, which creates “considerable additional demands on our fire marshals, firefighters and emergency services,” he said.
Mr. Catrombon is an 18-year volunteer with the Woods Road Company, including being its chief in 2007-08. He spent eight years as an on-scene officer and two years as an executive.
An owner/operator of a consulting engineering firm and project manager for data construction centers, he said his business background has given him knowledge about budgets, bidding and procurement.
He said, “I feel like I have something to bring to the table” to serve the community and emergency services personnel.
He said he wanted to serve to get firefighters the proper tools and to work as a team — “not one company versus another,” he said. “We’re all brothers.”
He called the proposed budget “very good” with no wasteful spending.
”We all are trying to get better services and make firefighters safer,” he said. “In the end, we all want to go home.”
Mr. Catrombon has lived in the township for 35 years and built his current house, he said.