Parsippany Mayoral Debate: What We Learned From Michael Soriano, James Barberio

PARSIPPANY, NJ — On a day both candidates accused each other of misconduct while in office, Parsippany's mayoral debate largely stuck to policy. Mayor Michael Soriano and former Mayor James Barberio discussed several issues, including development, taxes, crime and attracting new businesses.

Here are some takeaways from the debate — hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Morristown Area and the Woman's Club of Parsippany.

Budgeting and Taxes

Parsippany entered this year's budgetary cycle with a $9 million revenue deficit. But because of the pandemic's economic burden on residents, there was pressure not to significantly raise municipal taxes.

But the township's budget issues preceded the pandemic, and Soriano and Barberio have repeatedly blamed each other's administrations for creating the crisis. The lines of attack continued in Thursday's debate.

Soriano, a Democrat, said that the money Barberio's administration used from the water-sewer surplus created a low but "artificial" tax rate.

"Under this mayor, in his time, (Barberio) squandered and used budget gimmicks to the tune of $9.5 million of water surplus and sewer surplus," Soriano said. "This all culminated in about $3.5 million being used in his last year for a fake zero percent (tax increase) just to get re-elected. It was a budget gimmick that obviously did not work for him."

Barberio, who served as mayor from 2010-18, countered that he left office with a $23 million surplus for the township.

"So say I used $9 million," said Barberio, a Republican. "That leaves you with $14 million left. Where did that go? I could tell you where it went. You overspent the budget."

Flooding

On the issue of flooding, Barberio emphasized the importance of working with the township engineer for their knowledge on impervious coverage. He also mentioned that he's on the Green Team, which started last year.

"You can look at types of ways to make different types of rain gardens, stuff like that, to make sure you have the flow of that water that goes through the aquifers," Barberio said.

Soriano also cited collaboration with the Green Team and the township's commitment to going carbon-neutral by 2030, which he says will improve stormwater management.

"We also changed the stormwater-management zoning laws, which included increasing the amount of permeable surfaces in our township," Soriano said.

Crime

When Soriano entered office in 2018, reported crimes reduced from about 600 to about 500 in his first year, he says. Then the number went down to about 440 in 2019 and 366 last year. Soriano credited himself for redeploying the police when he entered office.

"I saw that the carryover chief (Paul Philipps) had put the same amount of officers in every shift and was not putting the officers where the crime was happening, where the speeding and the offenses were happening," Soriano said. "So I redeployed them."

Philipps retired in February 2018 — shortly after Soriano took office. Soriano named Andrew Miller the new chief. Barberio defended Philipps, who was not mentioned by name during the segment.

"As the mayor, you set policies," Barberio said. "You don’t tell the chief what to do. I guess the chief he was talking about — I’m not going to mention his name — he was a very good chief, knows what he’s doing and knows a lot more than the mayor knows on how to handle the township.

Barberio also mentioned that safehome.org named Parsippany the nation's second-safest town in 2016.

"In 2016, you may have been able to say that, but I made it even safer," Soriano said. " ... We’re using modern policing practices. We are instituting body cams, as well as getting ourselves an accredited police department, which lowers our insurance."

Barberio countered that it's not the mayor that reduces crimes.

"It’s our police department that reduces the crime," Barberio said. "It’s our men and women that reduce it. It’s not you. And it’s not me."

Soriano nodded in agreement.

The General Election takes place Nov. 2. Read more: Election Day In Parsippany: When, Where To Vote

Watch the full debate below:

Thanks for reading. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com. Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter and follow the Parsippany Patch Facebook page.