Mayor Nolan Higgins FREEHOLD — For the first time in almost three decades, Freehold Borough has a new mayor.
With a group of former mayors looking on, Nolan Higgins, 55, took the oath of office and became the town’s mayor when the Borough Council held its 2012 reorganization meeting on Jan. 2 in Borough Hall.
Higgins ran unopposed in November and was elected to serve a four-year term as mayor. He succeeds Michael Wilson, who served as mayor from the spring of 1985 through Dec. 31, 2011.
Higgins took the oath of office with his wife, Chris, their daughters, Jessica King and Allison Higgins, Jessica’s husband, Scott King, their children, Bexley, 2, and Callie, 2 months, and Higgins’ brother, Gregory, standing by his side.
Residents packed the council’s meeting room to watch Higgins become mayor. The audience included former mayors William Boyle, John Dawes, Roger Kane and Wilson .
Michael DiBenedetto, 52, and George Schnurr, 54, who were re-elected in November, were sworn in to begin serving new three-year terms on the council.
Democrats hold a 5-1 majority on the governing body and hold the mayor’s office. Councilman John Newman is the lone Republican serving in elected office in the borough.
Councilwoman Sharon Shutzer was selected by her fellow council members to serve as council president for 2012.
Higgins announced that he will be at Borough Hall every Thursday from 4-5 p.m. and said he will be available to meet with residents at that time.
“If you have a complaint, just wish to speak to me, cannot attend a council meeting but want to raise an issue, or hopefully have a compliment about our services, you are welcome to visit,” he said.
The new mayor said his administration will be marked by a call to residents for volunteerism. Higgins has been a volunteer firefighter in the borough since 1979 and is a former chief of the Freehold Fire Department.
In his remarks to the audience, Higgins said, “It is with a great sense of humility that I assume the chair of longtime mayor Michael Wilson, who has served our community for 26 years with an unwavering concern for our public safety and for the needs of all of us, from our youngest residents to our vibrant senior community. It is never an easy task to follow a popular and successful figure but, Mayor Wilson, this mayor and council will work to carry on your tradition of public service excellence.”
Higgins said government is challenged to provide services and care for its citizens in a difficult economic environment.
“All levels of government, from our borough to our county and state governments, to the federal government, face difficult decisions which will affect the delivery of services for our citizens,” he said. “We will need to do more with lower overhead and develop partnerships with our neighbors.
“Facing this challenge, we will work to provide those necessary services to protect and serve, and to advocate for the interests of our residents and business and professional community. Decisions will not be easy and all may not agree with those decisions, but as Councilman Kevin Kane said at the December workshop meeting, ‘We all need to work for what is best for Freehold Borough.’ ”
He congratulated DiBenedetto and Schnurr upon their re-election, and Shutzer upon her election as council president.
“I look forward with great excitement to working with these council members, along with Councilman Kane, Councilman (Jaye) Sims and Councilman Newman.”
Higgins said Freehold Borough is served by “an extraordinary group of volunteers, from the first aid squad to citizens who dedicate much of their time on our commissions and committees, to a group that is special to me, our fire department. We appreciate all you do for our citizens.”
The new mayor, who is a funeral director at the Higgins Memorial Home on Center Street, received the John G. McGackin Award in 2007 in recognition of his volun- teer efforts and public service to the community.
He asked residents to volunteer for a committee, a service club, or a community organization.
“Stay active or become active in one of our many places of worship, promote our borough, be proud of who we are, encourage your neighbors to participate in our community life and ask your friends to join us,” he said.
Higgins thanked people who have expressed their support and given him encouragement and their best wishes, and said he was looking forward to beginning his term of service as mayor.
As one of his first acts, he launched an initiative that will create a new set of committees. He said five areas of government will be reorganized to bring together related activities of government.
A public safety committee will be formed and will consist of three council members to monitor public safety services provided by the police department, the fire department, the Freehold First Aid and Emergency Squad and Office of Emergency Management.
He said the goal of the committee will be to bring police, fire and emergency services into a coordinated effort to make certain that public safety issues are reviewed and addressed.
A planning, historic preservation and code enforcement committee will consist of three council members, one who represents the Freehold Borough Land Use Board, one who represents the Freehold Borough Historic Preservation Commission and one who serves as the liaison to the code enforcement office.
Higgins said this panel will bring together procedures and make sure all groups are consistent in their mission to the borough.
An events committee will meet as needed to coordinate and facilitate events that are planned by the Memorial Day committee.
A recreation commission and/or historical preservation committee will be formed that will report to the mayor and council as needed and maintain communication with the citizens information committee. This committee will ensure, with the assistance of the borough’s chief financial officer, that funds generated through certain events are accounted for through the use of borough accounts.