Five Questions With Verona Candidate Teena Schwartz

Teena Schwartz and her husband Larry moved to Verona 34 years ago from New York City seeking a cleaner, greener and safer place to raise their four children.

They moved to the town when their first child was born.

“We wanted him to grow up in a place where he could play outside in fresh air and safety, and grow up in a town with people who have values that we share,” she said. “From the first day we moved here, our neighbors welcomed us with open arms, good cheer, delicious home made meals on moving day and lots of help and advice”

Schwartz has been active in town for more than years and served two terms on the Verona Township Council, from 2001 to 2005 and 2007 to 2011. She served as mayor from 2009 to 2011.

Schwartz currently runs the Essex County Workforce Learning Link, a program offered by the NJ Department of Labor to help unemployed adults hone their basic skills in order to qualify for enrollment in training for jobs that are in demand, she said.

What issues are important to you as a resident?
Verona has a pro-active program of street maintenance and we have our own water supply and sewage treatment plant. We have diligent public workers who keep our streets and town safe and in good condition and programs running smoothly. Verona has an incredibly extensive recreation program and a wonderful music program for the children. We have volunteer organizations such as the fire department and the rescue squad and other residents who serve on the many other boards, commissions and committees that ensure the excellent quality of life here. However, there are abandoned and unused properties in our downtown district; I would like to see a more aggressive approach to attracting businesses to Verona. I would like to see more people walking along Bloomfield Avenue patronizing our local shops. We need to brand and market Verona and find ways to attract new customers including the many people who visit Verona Park.

Another issue is, of course, the rising taxes in this town. New Jersey is a state with some of the highest property taxes in the nation. Somehow we need to find a way of curbing local taxes while providing the same excellent services. It's a great challenge and I look forward to brainstorming with my fellow council members to address this.

What other organizations or bodies have you been on/been a part of?
I have been on the Environmental Commission as a member and chair; while I was there, we completed a Natural Resources Inventory for the township, which gave the commission the authority it has today. I sat as the council member and as mayor on the planning board during the re-writing of Verona’s Master Plan. I was the founding president of the Verona Park Conservancy, and a member of Save the Mountains; attending hearings and county freeholder meetings to protest against development; and I led a petition campaign that lead to the preservation of the almost 300 acres that today comprise the Hilltop Reservation. I was a member of the Friends of the Peckman River and held clean-ups and educational programs there. I testified at hearings when the DEP wanted to change the status of the river to “Trout Maintenance” which would have cost Verona millions of dollars to upgrade the sewage treatment plant in order to comply with those standards. I was the Needs Assessment chair and Board of Education liaison for the Brookdale Avenue School SCA, council liaison to the Shade Tree, Landmarks Preservation and Environmental Commissions. I was the on the Board of Trustees of Congregation Beth Ahm and served as president there.

Why do you want to be on the council?
I’m running for council because I see a new dynamic on the council. We are starting to see more public dialogue and discussion among council members; we get to see the reasoning behind their decisions way before an issue goes to vote. I’m eager to be a part of that discourse. I’m also optimistic that the economy will improve during my term and we will be able to stabilize taxes while maintaining our excellent  town services. I want to continue the work we started while I sat on the committee to study improvements to Verona’s business district, which led to the street scape we now enjoy. There are many more improvements that we can implement for very little or no cost. It was also my wish to establish a community garden in Verona; I set those plans aside during my last term on the council because I could not justify spending even one penny on a non-essential project. If we re-examine this, I am confident that we can do it at little or no cost to the taxpayers. A number of  people have already expressed strong interest.

What issues do you plan to tackle if re-elected/What changes do you plan to make if re-elected?
I plan to support local businesses and work on strategies to stabilize taxes. I want to make government more open, to make information more accessible to residents. There should be little need for OPRA requests in a town as small as ours. If a request is made, residents need to get answers in a timely manner. I suggest that along with regular council meetings there be conference meetings on the alternate Mondays, open to the public, where the town manager and department heads can bring up issues for informal discussion by council members. In that way every council member will have the same information to make decisions on issues that affect the town

What have been some of the biggest challenges on the council and how did you resolve them?
The biggest challenge I faced on the council was the town-wide reassessment of properties that occurred at the same time as the national economy was crashing. Many homeowners were shocked and dismayed at the increase in their property taxes while many were simultaneously experiencing stagnant wages or even lay-offs. As mayor, I met with people who were vocal at meetings, or who thought that they were not being heard by the council and manager. I listened to their concerns and requested the town manager come back to the council with a budget that had no increase.  

I am the first mayor of Verona in recent history or to insist on that. Unfortunately the final budget was higher than the previous year’s so I felt compelled to vote no on it. Since then the council has followed my lead and requested no increase for three years in a row and has, so far, managed to achieve that for the past two.