Five Questions With Cedar Grove Incumbent Joseph Chiusolo

Joseph Chiusolo has lived in Cedar Grove for 24 years and served four terms on the Cedar Grove Township Council.

Chiusolo is a small-business owner of a multi-location business that markets public safety uniforms throughout the United States.

“I enjoy volunteering and serving the community and offering my experience as a small business owner,” he said.

What issues are important to you as a resident?
Low taxes and keeping our communities infrastructure strong.

What other organizations or bodies have you been a part of?
Cedar Grove UNICO, Cedar Grove Recreation advisory board, Past National President of the National Association of Uniform manufacturerss and distributors, Assistant Director of the Hudson County American Red Cross disaster services.

What makes you qualified for this position?
I’ve been a small-business owner since I’ve been 16 years old. I’ve worked hard and created jobs for over 25 employees.

I have instilled customer service as being the most important aspect in running and managing a business so I believe that is the most important thing in serving the public.

What issues do you plan to tackle if re-elected/What changes do you plan to make if re-elected?
I will continue to look for cost savings throughout the year. Hopefully we will be able to achieve a sizable surplus over the next few years and find ways to improve the downtown business parking issue along with completing the last portion of Panther Park.

What have been some of the biggest challenges on the council and how did you resolve them?
Managing the town’s budget is always a challenge. All municipalities are doing more with less. So we are fortunate in our community to have a town manager who runs the township on a daily basis as a business.

By doing so, we have a stabilized budget which allows us to plan and forecast improvements throughout our community.

Serving the township as a councilmember is a collaborative effort which requires you to be well rounded on issues when dealing with the public, the various levels of government and township personnel.