Civic leaders and public mingle at Mayor’s Breakfast hosted by Haddonfield Lions
At the annual Mayor’s Breakfast, hosted by the Haddonfield Lions Club at First Presbyterian Church on Jan. 19, borough commissioners provided a comprehensive look at the year that just passed, as well as a glimpse of what is ahead.
“If I had to sum up the year of 2018, I would call it the year of personnel changes. The borough saw quite a few key positions replaced: our police chief, our construction manager, our chief financial officer and our purchasing agent. Our family will miss them, but we wish them well in the new phases of their lives. I’m happy to report that all these positions have been filled by either current employees or new hires,” Mayor Neal Rochford said.
Rochford praised new Police Chief Jason Cutler, saying he’s hit the ground running with efforts to engage the community in policing efforts. In that vein, Cutler will be involved in a new activity called “Chief’s Corner,” where he will be available at local establishments during business hours to discuss residents’ questions and concerns.
The first of these open forums was to take place at Jersey Java on Jan. 29, and was expected to last from 9:30 a.m. until noon. Rochford added he expected these meetings will be a quarterly event.
One inescapable part of community engagement has been the addition of Officer Blue, under the care of Officer Jacob Sorg, who will be a key part of the police department’s new K-9 unit.
“We really tried to keep this low-key, but the department also purchased a new canine. Did anybody hear about that? In approximately eight months, Blue will be given his formal training, which will take about eight weeks. I don’t want to say that ‘Bluemania’ has gotten out of hand, but I was at Borough Hall last week, and we were making him a sweater,” Rochford stated.
Rochford also revealed the eventual creation of a new policing committee, which will exist as a partnership between schools, police and community intended to share information and discuss community concerns. The committee is expected to be comprised of one police officer, a school board member, a Partnership for Haddonfield member, a local business member, two residents, a council of churches member, a neighborhood watch member and a Civic Association member.
Regarding the Bancroft Hall dealings, Rochford assured the public all three commissioners were committed in their vision to use the site for housing, to promote open space and protection of the historic buildings. He also expressed support for the school district’s desire to use the site for future educational needs, and reiterated their mission to accomplish these goals that lessen the tax burden for borough residents.
Commissioner John Moscatelli opened his remarks by thanking residents for their patience as the job of fixing borough roadways is a long and thankless one. In 2018, thanks to the borough’s roads program, he revealed 18 blocks of roads were reconstructed at a cost of $1.8 million. Moscatelli said he anticipated that roadways to be reconstructed in 2019 will be done at a cost either at or near numbers from the previous year.
“At public works, we continue to replace worn out capital equipment, purchasing a recycling truck, a roll-off truck and two replacement pickups in 2018. In other capital work, the borough made significant repairs to the PATCO deck as well as installing underground drainage at the intersection of Avondale and Redman, an intersection right near Lizzie Haddon that had a history of taking on water and icing,” Moscatelli continued.
“We also reconstructed the Centennial athletic field. This project had a few unwelcome bumps along the way, forcing us to cancel fall play on the field. But we’re back on track and we expect it will be ready to play on in the spring.”
Moscatelli also mentioned the Shade Tree Commission and its efforts to keep the borough verdant, saying after the success of planting 85 trees in 2018, plans were in the works for two rounds of planting in 2019: 98 trees in the spring, and 35 trees in the fall.
Speaking about the ongoing Boxwood Hall situation, Moscatelli said, “Our two main concerns are making sure that whoever purchases the property honors the history of Boxwood, and then how they make use of it as acceptable to the borough. In order to facilitate this, the borough, with the planning board, declared Boxwood as an area in need of rehabilitation.
“A form of rehab will come in front of the planning board in early 2019. After that, we will be able to solicit proposals from interested parties, and then the commissioners will be able to choose which one we think fits the site best. Without this designation, the property would have been put up for auction and sold to the lowest bidder.”
Commissioner Jeffrey Kasko reported the financial situation in the borough is sound as 2018 concluded and 2019 arrived. He stated that last year’s municipal budget of approximately $18 million included $11.4 million raised through local real estate taxes. That $11.4 million represents about 17 percent of a resident’s property-tax bill, with the remaining 83 percent dedicated to the county and local schools.
“In these times when so much shopping and purchasing of retail goods occurs online, we are glad to have a downtown that is vibrant and attractive, with one of the lowest vacancy rates in the area,” Kasko said when referencing the current uncertain economic climate and its relatively mild impact on Haddonfield.
Kasko further made a point to explain the delicate balance between providing valuable municipal services and the price tag involved in maintaining them at a high level.
“The cost of providing local government services is not getting any cheaper. Staff and professional expenses, equipment and vehicles that need to be replaced, old buildings and facilities that require constant maintenance. Streets that are deteriorating and need to be reconstructed. Increases from the trash and recycling disposal fees, legal costs for litigation and lawsuits, and moving forward with redevelopment plans so we can pay back the debt that we acquired from purchasing the Bancroft property, we must face these and other significant financial challenges by continuing to economize where we can,” he said.
According to Kasko, successful operation requires vigilance to watch every taxpayer dollar spent, to consider options for outsourcing, streamlining and changing the way programs and services are provided, aggressively seeking grants and private funds, and taking aim to find ways to share costs with others.
“Our town is fortunate to have so many residents dedicated to our community and local government, and giving their time and talent to help me and the other commissioners face these issues and move our town forward,” he concluded.
