The weekly message from Mayor Joann Gattinelli
On May 23, Council adopted the annual operating budget for Washington Township for 2018, which has no municipal tax increase without any reduction in municipal services. In fact, municipal services are being enhanced in order to improve the quality of life that Washington Township residents expect and deserve. This is the third straight year there has been no increase in the local purpose tax. I want to thank all of our department heads and in particular, Jason Gonter, our business administrator and Colette Bachich, our chief financial officer, for all the hard work that went into this budget preparation. I also want to thank all members of Council for their participation in the budget process.
Public safety is and will remain a top priority. We have entered into a shared services agreement with the Township Board of Education to hire additional school resource officers to increase the safety of our schools for our children, teachers and staff. I am dedicated to allocating resources to increase the safety of our residents. I also want to thank Chief Gurcsik for all his efforts and initiatives in community policing from National Night Out, updating the D.A.R.E. Program and all of the events that he has implemented.
With respect to economic development, we have a number of redevelopment projects in various stages, which will bring new business to the Township. This year, we successfully launched the Shop Washington Township Program. This program is growing each week. It is a fantastic way to market for merchants and also a huge benefit to the Washington Township community. By joining this program, merchants are able to thank their loyal customers for frequenting their business by offering a discount for shopping at their place of business, as well as residents receiving a credit toward their real estate taxes.
Each day, in every way, we are improving the Township for our residents. We continue to make upgrades to our roads, park system, the municipal golf course, and in public works. We continue to connect with residents in ways that have never been done before including the Washington Township ONE Application where residents can use their smartphones to access Township information and programs. We are currently working with our tax office and foreclosure attorney to reduce the amount of abandoned and foreclosed homes in our community. We also have partnered with the Board of Education to improve our youth sports athletic fields and facilities for the ever-growing demand of youth sports and recreation in our Township.
I look forward to an enjoyable summer of 2018 and I hope our residents make use of our many community facilities.
Joann Gattinelli is the Mayor of Washington Township. She can be reached at mayorgattinelli@twp.washington.nj.us.
