Steering the township through tough economic times while maintaining services and keeping a lid on tax increases are the biggest challenges that officials face this year, Republican Brick Township Councilman Joseph Sangiovanni says.
Domenick Brando Sangiovanni, 60, Tunesbrook Drive, is running with incumbent Daniel Toth, 32, Magnolia Avenue, and Domenick Brando, 41 Commodore Drive, for the three threeyear terms on the Township Council.
Cutting the municipal budget by $2.6 million this year was a first in Brick Township history, said Sangiovanni, who is also the transportation director for the Brick Township School District.
“Brick Township has never cut the budget,” he said.
But the budget cuts did not come painfree. The township laid off 42 workers on Dec. 21 to deal with a nearly $4 million shortfall in the budget. And even after the layoffs, the municipal purposes tax rate rose 4.5 cents, to 1.043 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation.
There is little left to cut, Sangiovanni said.
“There’s not many more you can lay off and still provide services,” he said. “We’re looking under every rock for ways to save.”
Joseph Sangiovanni Sangiovanni is currently Township Council president. He is seeking his second term. He ran unsuccessfully for a council seat in 1999 but was elected to his first three-year term in 2005. He served on the Board of Education from 1994 to 1997. He is also a former member of the Ocean County Vocational-Technical School board, a former commissioner on the Lakewood Industrial Commission, and a former treasurer for the Brick Police Athletic League. He has a bachelor’s degree from St. Peter’s College.
Toth cut his political teeth early. He grew up two doors down from longtime state Sen. Andrew R. Ciesla (R-Ocean). He remembers his father taking him to Township Council meetings back in the 1980s. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Brick Board of Education in 1995, when he was a senior at Brick Memorial High School.
Toth is also seeking his second term. He points to his work as chairman of the Land Use Committee and the Public Safety Committee as reasons to re-elect him.
Daniel Toth “I live in town; I grew up in town,” he said. “I want to make sure our town is developed in an aesthetically pleasing way.”
Previous administrations used “cookiecutter models” when it came to retail development, which the current administration does not do, Toth said.
That mind-set hampered the Republican council members, who were elected in 2005. But that has changed since Stephen C. Acropolis was elected mayor in 2007, Toth said.
“We were doing as much as we could,” he said. “We were up against the tide. When Steve took over, he opened the floodgates and let us do what we wanted to do.”
The township’s Department of Land Use’s architectural review board now assesses all new construction to make sure it fits a particular section of town, he said.
“It’s really just trying to make it fit,” Toth said.
The township also recently revamped the time frame for certificates of occupancy (CO), which gave landlords 60 days prior to renting out their properties to obtain a CO, instead of when they have a tenant lined up.
The council also changed the property maintenance code from the BOCA (Building Officials and Code Administrators) national building code to the International Property Maintenance code, Toth said.
“That really brought us into the 20th century,” he said.
Toth is the president and chief executive officer of American Importing Exporting Inc., a warehouse and alcohol distribution company. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1999 with a degree in political science. Toth served on the township Shade Tree Commission from 1999 to 2002. He was also vice president of the Brick Municipal Alliance Committee.
Brando is a retired South Hackensack police officer. He is the health and safety coordinator for the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority. He has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering technology from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He made an unsuccessful run for the Township Council in 2005.
Brando previously served on both the township planning and zoning boards.
“I think I could bring a lot to the table,” he said.
Taxes are the No. 1 issue, all three GOP candidates say.
“There’s no question about it,” Sangiovanni said. “Unfortunately, the way we fund schools in the state of New Jersey makes it very difficult. You have the 4 percent cap. It’s a juggling act at best. You can only go to the well so many times.”
“I’ve been going door to door,” said Brando, who is president of the Brick Little League. “That’s the first thing people say, is they want the taxes down. It’s a little tough with the 4 percent cap. But the township has started with shared services. That’s a great start.”
Brick officials entered into a shared services agreement with Toms River earlier this year. The township now uses Toms River for all construction inspection services.
“My vision is more consolidation of services,” Sangiovanni said.
Sangiovanni said he would eventually like to see a mega-transportation garage that could handle the repair and maintenance needs of the township, the Board of Education and the BTMUA.
The beginning of the redevelopment of the old Foodtown site on Route 70, the demolition of the Foodtown building, and the redevelopment of Traders Cove are also major accomplishments over the past three years, Sangiovanni and Toth said.
The three Republicans will face Democrats Kathy Russell, who is seeking her fourth term on the council, Democratic Club President Harvey Langer and newcomer Joseph Lamb.
Township Council members are paid $8,000 a year, and the council president receives an additional $1,000 per year.