Verona Council Candidates: Five Questions for Robbins and Ryan

The following are responses to our five, bottom line questions, from two of the eight candidates running for Township Council. We will continue to post responses, two at a time, in the coming days. Our intention is to keep it concise, focusing on the factual points a voter might want answered before walking into the voting booth, without dealing with hypothetical situations or speculations. In an effort to be fair and equal to all candidates, we have asked the same questions to all and limited the maximum number of words per response. We also will be listing the candidates alphabetically.

JIM ROBBINS, running for the one, two-year term available

Why are you throwing your hat into the ring?

I am running for office because we as a community are facing difficult times and I know that I can help us through it.  I want to improve Verona and keep all families and our older citizens in town, by working tirelessly to improve the level of service without increasing our taxes. As a community, we must learn to spend within our current means.  This means that retaining property values, limiting taxes, and keeping our sense of community is of fundamental concern. I can and will address those concerns.  My educational and profession experience have given me the tools.  I have a Masters in Public Administration and a Masters in Real Estate Development.   I have over 15 years of professional experience in municipal finance, economic development and senior housing.

How have you been involved in this or other communities in the past?

My wife Maureen and I moved to Verona over 17 years ago.  We have a son, James who we are raising here.  I have always sought to make positive contributions to our community.  I am a member of Our Lady of the Lake Men’s Cornerstone Group and Welcome Ministry; I coached the Verona Eagles and the youth lacrosse teams.  I help start the Verona High School Boys Lacrosse Program; served on the Board of Adjustment; and I served on the Township Council from 2003 to 2007

Is there anything from your occupation or skills that you can use in your role on council?

I work each day with municipalities to promote economic development and to find solutions for affordable senior housing. I think this skill set will serve me well on Council like it did when I was on council from 2003 to 2007.   The results of my efforts include Centennial Turf Field, Summer Concert Series at the Town Hall, the Water Slide at the Verona Pool, and the start of the commercial revitalization of Bloomfield Avenue.  All were done without increasing our property taxes.  

What is your campaign platform and how does it differ from the others?

We need to be fiscally responsible and look at all of the items in the budget to consider cuts.  In addition, we need more sources of revenue for our community.  I have the demonstrated experience, as a councilman from 2003 to 2007, to make improvements without increasing our taxes.  Unlike others running, I am the only one who has done it before in Verona.  If elected, I will work diligently to do it again.

What will be your first priorities if you get elected?

(1) Reevaluate the current budget. (2) Form a strategy to develop the recreational fields of Phase II of the Hilltop Development. (3) Develop a marketing agenda for promoting and attracting retail businesses to Bloomfield Avenue, including developing a partnership with Caldwell College. (4) Create a revolving loan fund, using existing COAH dollars collected by the township, to help low income seniors to do property maintenance improvements.

KEVIN RYAN, running for the one, two-year term available

Why are you throwing your hat into the ring?

I am running because my family and I have lived here for over 25 years and I care deeply about keeping Verona an affordable town with a good quality of life. I have attended many town council meetings over the last year and I do not feel the current council is doing enough to control local costs. I am also concerned about the need for more transparency. Budget data and municipal information should be more accessible on line and citizens should not experience delays in requesting information. Transparency is the cornerstone of good government.

Have you been involved in this or other communities in the past?

I coached for many years in the Verona Baseball League. I was also a coach for the recreational soccer program. I served on the Board of Directors for the Verona Music Parents Association and was the Co-president of the Association for two years. I served on the “Pit Crew” that moved the High School Marching band to various competitions and football games. I was a member of the Spotlight Players Parent Association that supported theater arts in the High School. I also served on a budget review committee for the town council in the mid nineties.

Is there anything from your occupation or skills that you can use in your role on the council?

I bring 13 years experience as Chief of Financial Management for the Social Security Administration, NY Regional Office. I supervised a staff that developed budgets and tracked spending for a network of over 150 offices. My career with Social Security spanned 32 years. In addition to the above, I also served as a Management training specialist and Senior Advisor to executives. I developed analytical and communication skills, as well as knowledge of the budget process. These qualities would be valuable assets for Council service.

What is your campaign platform and how does it differ from the others?

All candidates have called for exploring for more shared service opportunities and exploring technological improvements to cut costs. My platform has been to raise public awareness regarding the need to control municipal personnel costs if we want to limit property tax increases.  I have been the only candidate to point out the wage increases of 3.25% and 3.00% scheduled for 2012 and 2013 with no contributions to health benefits as being a major area of concern. The current council and manager extended these contracts in 2009 during a major economic downtown. I believe that if someone with my knowledge and experience had been on the council, they would have questioned this decision. This was a bad choice: it was not wise to extend these contracts without any concessions on the need to contribute to health care.

What will be your first priorities if you get elected?

It is my understanding the candidate that wins the two year term will immediately be seated on the council. The 2011 budget has been introduced and is under review. So the first priority would be to review all areas to see if we can reduce discretionary spending and lower the municipal tax increase. The next thing would be to see what could be done to improve the town web site by presenting more information on the budget in a viewer friendly format.