At the 1988 Republican National Convention, George H. W. Bush famously spoke the words “Read my lips: No new taxes,” as he accepted his bid to run for presidency. Long story short, Bush’s administration inevitably raised taxes and many believe he lost the 1992 election because of it.
Like Bush, one of the cornerstones of Rich DiLucia’s mayoral campaign last year was to hold the line on taxes. Unlike Bush, DiLucia kept his promise.
“Happily, we’re going to have a zero municipal tax freeze. They usually say ‘Tax increase,’ but zero is not an increase,” DiLucia said. “This is the third year in a row that we’ve kept it at zero. We changed a lot of things, a lot of hard decisions were made.”
One of the decisions DiLucia referenced was cutting out overtime. He thanked the department heads for their cooperation in the budget process.
“I think we have good, solid, realistic budgets. I feel confident we’re going in the right direction,” he added. “I know we’re not going to be getting any more increases from the state, so we’re going to have to be self-sufficient moving forward.”
The budget will be up for adoption at the June 24 council meeting.
In other news:
- Scott Whyte of Lead The Way gave a presentation about cleaning up the entrance to the Mary Mazza Duffy Memorial Park. Whyte wasn’t looking for monetary donations, just the approval of council to allow for a new sign to be erected in front of the park, along with cleaning up the surrounding area. He passed around two versions of what the entrance to the park could look like.
“I’m hoping to do a whole day of it,” Whyte said. “Just address the whole corner. It’s a focal point coming down Clayton Road and Corkery [Lane]. We have towns coming into our complex, to see that corner it’s just a disgrace.”
This isn’t a jab at the parks and recreation department, Whyte made that adamantly clear. If approved, the cleanup will consist of volunteers and donated time and resources from landscapers. No date was set for the cleanup, however Whyte said he is looking to have it done the first week of June.
- Councilman Pat O’Reilly discussed the location for an electric vehicle charging station. O’Reilly said the grant is guaranteed to be approved for $6,000, which should cover the cost of installation. The location for the first charging station will be the Pfeiffer Community Center.
“I discussed the location with Sustainable Monroe, they have a group of 20 to 30 people with electric vehicles,” he said. “They would like the first one to be at Pfeiffer.”
The possibility of placing the charging station at the municipal building was discussed. While more residents visit the municipal building, they are doing so for a short period of time. The accessibility to Main Street and the parks make the Pfeiffer Community Center an ideal choice because the cars can charge for more time. Check future issues of The Sun for updates.
- During the old business segment, council Vice President Joe Marino brought up possibly adding disabled veteran parking spots to the municipal building similar to the ones seen at ShopRite or the shopping mall. DiLucia quickly replied, saying the signs are being made now and three will be added to the municipal building parking lot. One will take the place of the mayor’s spot and two others will be added as well.
- The next council meeting is scheduled for May 29 at the municipal building. The work session starts at 7 p.m. with the regular meeting set for 8 p.m. Both sessions are open to the public.
