New Warren Mayor, Deputy Mayor Appointed For 2021

WARREN, NJ — To kick off 2021, George Lazo was unanimously appointed as the new Mayor of Warren and Victor Sordillo was appointed as Deputy Mayor during the township's annual reorganization meeting on Thursday night.

"I am humbled by this position. I will work hard as I did with Mr. Marion," said Lazo.

Looking into the new year, Sordillo laid out what he feels are the township committee's objectives for 2021:

• Restraining Spending - There are many businesses that are struggling and if they receive credits, as a vacant property is entitled to request, the burden would be shifted to the home owner. Our long-term goal was to continue to reduce taxes each year but the lockdown from the Covid crisis has made that goal very difficult to achieve.
• Promoting Volunteerism – We have never had a problem with getting volunteers and they have done an amazing job in making Warren a great place to live but many young people cannot afford to live and we need to attract the next generation of volunteers.
• Manage the Impact of Development – The affordable housing, that was forced on us by the courts, will have an impact on the quality of life of our residents if not managed proactively. This includes traffic controls, water runoff, impact to schools, and emergency services. We will do all that we can to protect our neighborhoods as well as welcome our new residents.
• Purchase Open Space – If you purchase a home near an open lot, there is eventually going to be something constructed on the land. Although we have protective zoning, we recognize that the only way to guarantee open space is to purchase it with the funding that our dedicated taxes have supplied. We continue to look for large undeveloped parcels of land to purchase but will not pay more than the appraisal values.
• Celebrate Warren – We are optimistic that the restrictions brought about by the pandemic will be lifted in 2021. Working with recreation and organizations such as the Lions Club, we will present opportunities for friends and neighbors to get together for events. We hope to re-institute our Memorial Day Parade, EXPO, the FD Wet Down et al.

Outgoing mayor Michael "Mick" Marion agreed with Sordillo's goal.

"While moving out of the mayoral position this coming year, personally, I will spend more time on tax reduction planning, cost savings, budgeting and looking for more ways to support our residents and businesses given the current struggles of our local economy due to COVID-19," said Marion. "Looking further into our term, maintaining our rural farm-like community will be all the more important given that a new round of affordable housing is scheduled for 2025. Our actions now will dictate our future for maintaining the quality of life we have come to expect and plan on. Proper planning as well as acquiring open space as noted will be important to continue these goals."

Committeeman Gary Dinardo says the township's first priority would be to keep residents safe, and focus on the COVID-19 vaccine for Warren.

"Once that is in place, we can get to some normal life again. We can then move forward, getting businesses back on their feet and getting our tax base back to a normal balance," said Dinardo.

See below to view the full reorganization meeting:

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