Middlesex County Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel gave his annual State of the County address on Sept. 18.
Crabiel began by mentioning the economic hardships that residents are feeling at the federal, state, county and local levels. He said the county must “remain diligent in bringing financial prudence to our day-to-day operations to lessen the burden on our tax-paying citizens” while being able to continue services.
He said that so far in 2008, some of the achievements by the county have been:
• The cutting of equalized property tax rate for 15 years straight;
• The investment of over $20 million to replace bridges and culverts and an additional $30 million in county road and traffic projects;
• The addition of more than 590 acres to the county’s Open Space Preservation inventory;
• The renovations of the Medwich, Heavenly Farms, Johnson, Donaldson and Thompson parks;
• The designation by the state Department of Environmental Protection as the No. 1 recycling county in the state for the fourth time since 1995;
• The monitoring of fuel quality and pricingmethods used by local gas stations, which brought in over $328,000 from fines;
• The opening of the Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences in Woodbridge, while its sister school, the Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies, received national recognition as one of America’s Best High Schools as reported in the US News and World Report magazine;
• The establishment of a joint nursing program by Middlesex County College and Raritan Bay Medical Center, in which 90 full-time nursing students enrolled;
• The groundbreaking of the county’s second state-of-the-art, 180-bed long-term care facility in Old Bridge;
• The development of the first Care Giver Certificate program for individuals who are involved in or may be considering the home care field;
• The generation of the Middlesex County RX Savings program of over $206,000 in savings, which is an average savings of more than $40 per prescription;
• The development of the Public Health Department’s new school program “Healthy Habits” to educate children on ways to prevent the spread of illnesses;
• The implementation of the Housing and Community Development Department’s “American Dream” first-time homebuyers program to help families purchase their first home;
• The expansion of hybrid vehicle use
• The implementation of the BrunsQuik Shuttle, formerly known as the Hub City Trolley, which serves the New Brunswick and JerseyAvenue rail stations;
• The receipt of the National Community Transit Award from the Community Transportation Association of America for outstanding service;
• The opening of the seventh satellite office of the Office of the Surrogate in Spotswood;
• The upgrading by the county fire marshal of an 800-megahertz radio system to improve communications; and
• The enabling of video psychiatric evaluations to aid the Adult Corrections Department and local municipalities.
“It is quite clear that our accomplishments demonstrate the progress we made in 2008 and how they have set the stage for 2009. Though the year ahead holds many challenges, I am confident we will continue to be vigilant in conducting prudent financial planning to ensure that each precious taxpayer dollar will be used for the services that best serve our residents,” Crabiel said. “The role of government is two-fold: First, we must care for those who need our assistance. Second, and equally important, we must provide opportunities so our residents can enhance their quality of life and their own economic success. We made great strides in both these areas in 2008 and I expect continued progress in 2009.”