January Will Bring Big Changes at Borough Hall

Change is coming to Borough Hall on Jan. 5 in the form of a new mayor and a Republican majority on the council. The November elections resulted in the defeat of longtime Democractic mayor Frank DeBari and two incumbent Democratic councilmen Michael Putrino and Arthur Zeilner. Democrats had the majority on the council for more than a decade prior to this November's elections.

Republicans Dominic Colucci and Diego Robalino will be sworn into office at the reorganization meeting. Colucci and Robalino will join fellow Republicans Howard Berner and Keith Bachmann on the dais. Councilwoman Randi Duffie will be the lone Democrat on the council.

Subrizi still has a year remaining on her council term and the county Republican committee will be submitting the names of three possible candidates to fill that slot. The council will vote to select the candidate who will serve the remainder of Subrizi's term which runs through December 2011. One this office has been filled, the Republican majority will be 5-1.

During the reorganization meeting the mayor and council will also begin the task of appointing residents to a variety of committees, commissions and more. There are some major borough positions that also need to be filled in the new year.

The borough recently stated in a public notice that they are seeking a "Request for Qualifications" or RFQ for several positions for 2011 including: borough attorney, borough engineer, labor attorney, planning and zoning board attorneys, municipal auditor, planner and an appraisal service for tax assessments.

Mayor-elect Subrizi discussed the need to review the applications that had been received for these positions at the work session on Dec. 13. She and Councilman Bachmann will serve as the review team and present their recommendations to the council. These positions will begin to be filled at the Jan. 5 reorganization meeting.