STATE OF

THE
TOWNSHIP
ADDRESS
2019
 State of the Township Address 2019

To the East Brunswick Township Council, Administration, Township Employees,

Professional Advisors, and most importantly – the residents of East Brunswick, let me
wish you all a Happy New Year.
As I begin the second half of my first term as your Mayor, I am humbled by the
support I have been given. I am excited about 2019 and expect that this will be the
year that we begin to see demonstrative evidence of positive change regarding
Redevelopment. This is the result of the groundwork – which is not so exciting, but
important, nonetheless. But more about that later.
2018 was a year of significant changes and accomplishments. A review of the most
significant milestones will help set up the expectations and challenges for 2019.
Two major changes came at the end of 2018:
The first change came as the result of the 2018 Mid-term Elections. Despite the
national mood for change, East Brunswick voters overwhelmingly supported the
Democratic vision for our community that began with the 2016 election victory for
myself, Councilmen Sterley Stanley and Michael Spadafino. With the re-election of
Councilman Jim Wendell and the election of Councilman Kevin McEvoy and
Councilwoman Sharon Sullivan, the Democratic Party has complete control of our
township government-something we have not seen in decades. This places an even
greater responsibility to administer the affairs of the Township with transparency
and openness. We will insist on nothing less.
The second major change that came at the end of the year was a record number of
retirements. These include: Lou Neely, CFO – 44 years, Greg Potkulski, Director of
Planning/Engineering, Debra Rainwater, Planning/Engineering, Steve Gottleib,
Planning/Engineering, Ed Grobelny, Construction, Linda Rubenstein, Housing,
Sharon Reilly Marosy, Dept. of Aging, Marion Van Derveer, Dept. of Aging, Charles
Gahrmann, DPW. I am sure that I have left some people out and for that, I apologize.
The long tenure of these employees speaks to their commitment to this township
and their work. But, with such a dramatic change comes opportunity to shape a new
administration. We have found exciting and well-trained professionals to pick up
where our retirees have left off. The quality of our new professionals speaks to the
legacy of those leaving and the reputation of the workforce here in the township. I ask
that you and our residents welcome all of our new staff.
As far as accomplishments, let me take you through a quick review of our
administrative and department achievements.
1. After several years of conversations and meetings, the NJDOT finally agreed to
repave large sections of Route 18-concentrating on overpasses, turnarounds,
intersections, and parts of the highway. This is NOT a substitute for the
massive repaving that is needed, but will serve drivers and residents until the
final roadway project begins in 2020.
2. The Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders kept to their road
commitment and began repaving much of the county roadways within the
township. This project will continue over the next few years.
3. The Department of Planning/Engineering continued our commitment to roads
by repaving 4.75 miles of roads as my administration committed $1.8 million
to this work-almost double the amount spent yearly since the Recession.
Other road projects included:
• Mason Avenue Water-main Replacement
• Dunhams Corner Road Improvements
• Bike Lanes on Hardenberg and DCR – all part of a four year project to
provide Bike paths, lanes and walks throughout the township.
4. Highlights from Parks & Recreation include
• $2.7 million in revenue – the second largest on record
• Heavenly Farms Turf Replacement
• Basketball court refurbishments in most of our parks
• Lighted Pickle ball courts at Community Park
• Our Youth Council logged in a combined 9,622 hours of community
service
• 400 Programs and 17 Special Events. EB Day had a record attendance
and a record number of vendors.
• Fourth of July had the largest attendance on record.
• Despite the rainy summer, Crystal Springs Waterpark realized almost
$1.3 million in revenue. As a self-liquidizing utility, the Council and
residents should be reminded that all profits must stay within the
Utility to purchase new equipment, pay staff, make improvements, and
service its debt.
5. The DPW and Water/Sewer Utility are responsible for building maintenance,
road maintenance, vehicle maintenance, Recycling and Solid Waste, Water
infrastructure maintenance, and Sewer maintenance. Aging infrastructure in
all these areas continue to pose a challenge.
• The 2017/2018 Winter season saw a record number of water main
breaks which were repaired, in-house, despite frigid and wet weather
conditions.
• The department continued and benefited from our Brine Production
System. This resulted in significantly less use of salt – something that is
corrosive and harmful to the environment. We also profit by selling
excess production of brine to surrounding towns.
• Despite a slight increase in water costs from our supplier, our rates in
East Brunswick remain significantly lower than all towns in Central NJ.
6. The Department on Aging had 260 new registrants and maintains an active
daily attendance of 150 members. These numbers continue to rise due to new
and innovative programming.
• The Senior Center saw renovations to the bathrooms funded through
an $85,000 Community Block Grant.
• The Lobby furniture was replaced and the Computer room was
upgraded as the result of generous donations from area businesses and
the East Brunswick Chamber of Commerce.
7. Library
• The Library had another year of 300,000 plus visitors
• Checkout was improved by the installation of a RFID (Radio-frequency
identification) system that allows for self-checkout.
• The Library hosted over 500 programs, many in partnership with other
township organizations- HRC, Environmental Commission, the BOE,
Parks & Recreation and others.
• The Library continues to draw praise for their health and wellness
initiative – “Just for the Health of it”. The year ended with a two-year
$100,000 grant from the RWJ Foundation to mobilize the program
throughout Middlesex County
• EBTV – produced 242 original programs and 194 segments of “This
Week in EB”.
• The station took over managing my FB Live presentations and was at
every major EB event.
• The year ended with the station management moving over to the
Township Administration. The transition was smooth and respectful of
our professional staff. There will be no changes in the quality of
programming and the change is expected to result in a greater role for
EBTV in the marketing of East Brunswick.
8. Our Department of Public Safety continues to provide the township with the
level of protection that makes us one of the safest towns in New Jersey. This is
done through proactive management and community policing.
• All statistics show exemplary performance by our 83 sworn officers.
• The department investigated approximately 2400 MVA. Of note is the
fact that there was a 4.8% decrease in injuries and NO fatal motor
vehicle crashes for 2018.
• The department implemented the “Cry Wolf” program to reduce false
home alarms.
• Community Policing continued to increase the number of programs
and saw a significant increase in requests for Security programs and
training at our Houses of Worship in the wake of the attack at the Tree
of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.
9. As it relates to the Township Finances – 2018 saw an additional $7.5 million
in ratables with a significant increase from commercial sources. This was the
first reduction in ratable percent to residential homes, bucking what had
become a trend of increased reliance on residential property taxes for our
ratable base.
• Part of the ratable increase was negated due to a $2.5 million loss of tax
revenue due to commercial tax appeals.
• EB continues to remain a desirable community as evidenced by stable
tax rates, a competitive real estate market and good schools.
• The Assessors processed 1,114 new deeds in 2018.
 As for Property Taxes, last year we were able to hold municipal property taxes flat.
This was due to smart fiscal management, flat healthcare rates, increased revenues,
and minor increases in pension costs. Several factors will make this very difficult in
2019. These include:
1. Contracts with our collective bargaining units, some of which have yet to
settle.
2. Massive increases in pension costs – mostly for our Police Department.
3. Increased costs of solid waste and recycling.

As of this writing, three of our bargaining units have settled for a four-year contract
that calls for 2,2.5,2.5,2.5 percent salary increases while holding healthcare costs at
the top level per Chapter 78. This means that all settlements will continue to require
employees to pay a percentage of healthcare costs. The remaining two bargaining
units represent the two public safety unions – the SOA and PBA. The township has
offered the same contract as the other bargaining units which have settled. We are
also required to pay an additional $3,600 per officer in to their pension. This makes
the full cost to the township a staggering $35,000 per officer compared to all other
township employees where the pension contribution averages $8,000 per employee.
We are still in talks with the PBA and SOA. The cost of all contracts, assuming these
unions settle for terms equal to that of the three municipal unions, would still bring
additional costs to the township as we had budgeted only 2% per year for all of the
four year contracts.
As mentioned already, the township was hit with massive increases in our pension
costs this year. These increases total about $500,000 with 60% of these costs
provided to the 83 police officers and 40% to the, approximately, 260 municipal
employees.
Our contract for Solid Waste and Recycling was renegotiated for 2019. Due to
consolidation within the industry and increased operating costs, we only had ONE
respondent to our RFP. Due to this limited bargaining position and the added costs
due to the loss of profit in the recycling market, we had to incur a substantial increase
in our costs. Our carrier and our schedule of services will remain the same for this
contract and our costs will incrementally increase over the life of our five-year
contract.
On a good note, healthcare costs will remain flat for the second year in a row. Our
employees continue to take advantage of wellness programs, weight loss programs,
generic drugs, and mail-away drug programs. In short, by promoting healthy lifestyles
and preventive care, we have been able to enjoy healthcare cost savings.

In regards to 2019- we have a very exciting year ahead. To give you some idea, let
me give you some highlights:
1. As mentioned earlier, Redevelopment will be in high gear.
a. Expect demolition of the former Wonder Bread Factory this winter; Site
Plans will be before the Planning Board by the spring; and Construction of
the first phases should begin by Summer/Fall of 2019.
b. RFPs were received for large segments of the Loehmans Site and The Wiz
Site. Expect the Redevelopment Agency to name redevelopers for these
 projects soon and work to begin 2019. Plans include a Mixed Use walkable
downtown that is a large component of the project. The area should also
be home to a community center, hotel, and restaurants.
c. The township is in contract to purchase the former David’s Bridal and
corner properties on Ruth St. and Route 18. We will look to proceed with
plans for construction of the township’s third parking deck and bus station.
We will look to see if additional properties will be needed for this project.
d. The township will see the addition of a 500,000 sq. ft. fulfillment center on
Edgeboro Road near the Landfill. In addition, the developer has paid for
Redevelopment designations for most of the Edgeboro properties in order
to assist owners in cleaning up and redeveloping much of the buildings that
have fallen in to disrepair.
e. Let me publically thank Councilman Jim Wendell and the Redevelopment
Agency for all their hard work. This is a very detail driven process and
much of the work is laborious and unexciting. We have come a long way
and will be able to reveal exciting plans in the days and weeks ahead. A
shout out to the Redevelopment Advisory Committee as they will also
begin the process of reviewing these plans and will provide the forum for
public participation in what can only be described as a generational change
in the look of our most valuable commercial corridor.
2. The Department of Planning and Engineering will continue on much of the
work we began since I took office in 2017.
a. We have committed almost $2 million to township roads. The repaving and
repairs will begin as soon as the weather allows.
b. We are going to use State Transportation funds to repave parts of Riva
Avenue, Old Stage Road, and Rues Lane. Applications for DOT grants for
Riva and Old Stage Road are pending.
c. We will continue the Bike Paths and Bike Lane program. Federal funding
has been approved for the bike path that will connect Crystal Springs to the
Community Arts Center.
d. We have a DOT grant pending for Local Freight Infrastructure Funds to
repair Edgeboro Road. If approved, the township would receive
$1,650,000 towards this much-needed project.
3. Our Department of Public Safety expects to receive accreditation from the New
Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police. This would be a big achievement and will
be celebrated as soon as we hear that it was received.
We are negotiating in good faith with both bargaining units and I expect we
shall achieve a settlement of our issues very soon.
4. Parks and Recreation are gearing up for another banner year. With the
establishment of the East Brunswick Arts Coalition, we are working on
providing our own version of “Plays in the Park” this summer. We will be
piloting the program with two three-day performances over the summer at
the Community Arts Center.
5. We will be seeking stronger partnerships with the East Brunswick Board of
Education. There are a number of areas that we can work together to help
enhance services for our residents and control costs.
 6. We will need to invest in our Information Technology Department as we
continue to have needs in human capital, software and hardware. We intend
to move towards replacement of our Township Web Site- an upgrade that is
long overdue. A hearty thank you to the IT Department for implementing
“Burbio” the application based interactive community calendar. I encourage
all residents to download the application to their handheld mobile devices.

I am actively working with the Departments, Business Administrator Joseph

Criscuolo, and our new CFO-Angel Albanese on the 2019 Budget. It is unlikely that we
will be able to repeat the flat budget we were able to achieve last year, but we are
working to keep increases to a minimum. There is still work to be done and some of
the numbers can change as we get closer to adopting a budget. Areas that can impact
the final budget include:
• Final contracts between the Township and the PBA/SOA
• State Aid- expected in the first quarter of 2019.
• Settlement of large outstanding commercial tax appeals
• The winter – snow removal, winter damage, water main/sewer line breaks.

Overall, the State of the Township is very strong. This is due, in part, to tight fiscal
management and a low debt ratio. East Brunswick remains one of the premier towns
in New Jersey and demand to live in the community remains high. Our plans for
Redevelopment have been noted and followed by industry leaders and organizations
throughout the state. These include New Jersey Futures, Globe Street, and the Urban
Land Institute.
Despite the changes ahead, what remains stable is the quality and commitment of our
residents. You are the reason that I work so hard and you are the reason that this
Council sits at this dais. We are a team where everyone is called upon to contribute,
every person matters, and no one person is more important than any other. No one
has cornered the market on good ideas.

Thank you and God bless the residents of this great town, God bless the members of
the Armed Services that keep us safe, and God bless the United States of America.