Parsippany Mayoral Election 2021: Michael Soriano

PARSIPPANY, NJ — Parsippany will soon elect a mayor and two new Township Council members. Patch has asked local candidates to share their thoughts before the Nov. 2 General Election.

Patch sent out emails to all candidates to the email addresses listed for their campaign provided to the office of the clerk. The responses received will get published between now and Election Day.

Here is the response from Mayor Michael Soriano, who is running for re-election.

1. Parsippany entered the last budgetary cycle with a $9 million revenue deficit. What would you do over the next four years to get the township out of that hole?

The finances of every town across the country were devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Parsippany was not spared. In our case, the revenue shortfalls associated with the pandemic only exacerbated the fiscal hole left by the Barberio administration.

As Mayor, I have proposed four budgets to the Council designed to correct the prior eight years of fiscal mismanagement. All passed, though with changes initiated by the Council. Once the budget is introduced the Council can make changes and the Mayor does not have veto power over them. This is why I need Cori Herbig and Judy Hernandez on Council because they also believe that we must be fiscally responsible and work in the taxpayers best interest.

The fact is that Parsippany needs to have a fiscal outlook that goes beyond the next election. In the short-term, I will continue to work with our state, federal, and business partners to address revenue shortfalls, including attracting new business ratables and improving the township’s fee structure. In the long-term, I will continue to propose budgets that work for our taxpayers and work towards planning for the future of Parsippany.

2. Both mayoral candidates have cast blame on each other's administrations for Parsippany's budgetary strain. Why do you feel your opponent is more responsible than yourself for the township's budgetary woes?

In Parsippany’s form of government, the budget is proposed by the Mayor, with changes and final passage the sole prerogative of the Council. I cannot veto changes made by the Council; the budget they pass goes into effect each year.

Former Mayor Barberio began the irresponsible process of transferring water and sewer utility funds to the general budget, temporarily allowing for increased spending without equivalent increases in revenue or cuts in services.. Conveniently, this allowed low tax increases in election years. This budget gimmick compounded and caused real harm to our township finances. We were left borrowing money to pay for burst pipes and not savings to improve our water and sewer pipes because of how Mayor Barberio created an addiction to the irresponsible process of raiding the Water and Sewer fund. Under my administration we fixed this but there is still more that we are working on to fix the irresponsible financial practices of the Barberio Administration. Parsippany taxpayers deserve to have a transparent budgetary process and not have someone in office who will return to the budgetary gimmicks of the past. Not to mention Former Mayor Barberio took a $30,000 taxpayer cash payout when he left office.

3. Outside of the budgetary situation, how would your administration improve the township over the next four years?

1. Public Safety. Bodycams and community policing are just the beginning of my administration’s efforts to improve public safety in Parsippany. With crime down from the levels seen under the prior administration, it’s clear that our efforts are already paying dividends. School safety, police-community interaction, and emergency communications infrastructure will continue to be priorities during my second term.
2. Open Space. Over the next four years, we will continue to seek out new tracts of open space for preservation. Acquiring more open space is the best tool we have against overdevelopment in Parsippany. Under my administration we have acquired land and are working on opening up the reservoir for 6 miles of walking and hiking trails. People move to Parsippany for the quality of life, easy access to highways and amenities, great schools, and all the parks and outdoor recreation. I plan on continuing to improve the quality of life in Parsippany in my second term by preserving more open spaces and restricting the overdevelopment of Parsippany.
3. Infrastructure. Our roads, particularly our main thoroughfares, are an ongoing project for my administration. Working with our county, state, and federal partners, my administration will continue to explore innovative solutions to speed repairs and improve traffic flow. A major component of the new Master Plan we passed in 2020 is improvements to mitigate traffic, increase pedestrian safety and save money on energy costs.

4. What accomplishments would you cite from your past as evidence that you can thrive in this job?

Over the last four years, my administration has worked tirelessly on real achievements for our residents. This includes keeping promises made in my campaign four years ago. Among the promises I am most proud of keeping are:

1. Ending the fiscally irresponsible process of using water and sewer utility funds to balance the general budget. Former Mayor Barberio in his last year in office used $3.2 million in utility funds to balance the budget. Millions more were used in prior years. This year, not a single dollar of utility funds were transferred away from your water and sewer services. I promised you that I would end this practice, and I have.
2. Passing Parsippany’s new, up-to-date Master Plan. This document is the guide for our township’s future. It had not been updated since 1976 before that.. In 2020, we passed a brand new master plan that addresses the challenges of the 21st century and sets Parsippany up for decades of success. This plan takes into account the challenges of climate change, safer roads for pedestrians, and mitigates traffic. I had promised a new Master Plan and I worked closely with the Planning Board and Township Council to ensure it happened.
3. Reforming Parsippany’s high-kill animal shelter into a no-kill shelter. Under the previous administration’s eight years in office, 980 dogs and cats were killed by our shelter. Under my administration, our animal shelter has qualified as a no-kill facility, with dogs and cats put down only in extreme circumstances. I promised to reform this broken piece of our government, and I have.

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