Parisi: First Few Months in Office Will Test West Orange Government

He's engaged, willing, ready and, well, Italian. After 12 years as a township councilman, Robert Parisi will make the transition to man in charge as mayor of West Orange. He is the current president of RD Parisi Associates, an employee benefits consulting agency in West Orange, as well as a lifelong resident. Before Thursday evening's inaugural ceremonies, Parisi sat down with Patch to talk about his new role.

Q. What are some of your favorite activities to do in West Orange?

A. A lot of great places to eat ... Gaffer's ... Due Amici ... Panera ... The Edison Museum is a lost gem. I spent a lot of time there as a kid. It's been renovated and a lot more things are on exhibit there. The Turtle Back Zoo is so much different than when I was a kid. There was a time where the county was contemplating closing the zoo and Joe DiVincenzo (Essex County executive) made sure that didn't happen. It's grown bigger over the years and its really a neat place. Again, not often thought about, so locally, we don't think about these two gems in  town, but we should take a lot of pride that they're here.

Q. You grew up in West Orange, have a political background ... how did you get into politics?

A. I fell backwards into politics. I was not interested at all in politics growing up. My family was a typical family ... but politics wasn't a part of my background. When my wife and I got married, we moved into a house right across from a park and, at the time, the park had fallen into disrepair ... criminal activity ... a bad environment ... just not a pleasant atmosphere. The people then created the Eagle Rock Civic Association centered around public parks and I became the first president. From there, it was a matter of taking responsibility and was a rally cry to get people active in the neighborhood. It wasn't something I intended to get involved in, but once you have a family and buy a home, you suddenly become a stakeholder.

Q. How did you decide to say, "I'll go for mayor?"

A. I guess having served on council for 12 years and the current mayor not running again, I decided I was ready and I have the deep background and experience to take on the challenge. I worked hard to establish a good reputation to a point where I built up a good enough will to embrace that.

Q. What are your plans for the first three months in office?

A. There are so many things to focus on right now given the economic climate we're in and the uncertainty that lingers. We're really going to scrutinize how it is we govern. One thing we learned ... is that the world is changing and we need to govern differently. As a result, we're going to scrutinize every department. Not necessarily for personnel matters, but to determine the right people are doing the right job based on their strengths. And to see if some of these departments even serve a vital function anymore and maybe can serve a different function. This mainly is driven by economics, but also a change in the demands of the population. We want to be very careful that anything we roll out in a three- to four-month period was developed very strategically in terms of setting ourselves up for the rest of the term and the future of how government is structured in town. Our goal is to get back to the basics of talking to the town and making sure the government, and how it's structured, is meeting those needs and it's as streamlined as possible.

Parisi said he plans to push out a massive marketing campaign for the township to bring people into a "great place to live." He plans to develop focus groups that will be rolled out in the fall and will be based on different issues affecting the community.

Q. What are some of the pertinent issues facing the town and the council as you take office?

A. Property taxes. That's why we need to evaluate how we govern. And we're going to evaluate ... if we can still afford to do them (certain services). It's always hand-in-hand with the tax issue because there's always a direct correlation in the services we provide and the costs. So we're going to have to evaluate either ways to deliver services less expensively or see if we can still deliver some of the services we do.

Q. In Sunday's New York Times, there was a story that focused on high property taxes and foreclosures. How do you hope to bring people back to West Orange?

A. We're going to figure out what it is that makes us (West Orange) special and promote that to the world. But, if we don't address those issues such as property taxes ... that make it a stumbling block, then we're kidding ourselves. So, it has to go hand-in-hand that we're dealing with some of the cost issues at the school level and the municipal level, while also trying to brand ourselves. I like to think that West Orange is a great place to live ... and that all the people that moved here during the last decade think it's a special place, too. So, we need to tap into some of that energy. And, if there are things that are making West Orange less desirable, we need to figure out what they are and find outside objective views to see what people from other towns are viewing or thinking of West Orange. I feel bad if people have financial problems, but I don't feel that the foreclosure rate is a product of local government. It's more a product of the economy and maybe people stuck in situations they didn't forecast or predict. We want to find ways to help those people and make sure they have a quality home and town to live in.

Q. A lot of New Jersey towns are consolidating, do you have plans to consolidate in West Orange?

A. We're always looking at ways to consolidate. We have some shared services with Roseland, Orange ... and we're going to continue to pursue those types of arrangements. Some other larger consolidations are hard because of the geography, the economics of it ... we looked for years to regionalize our fire department with Orange and we're still looking at that. But we found that maybe looked good on paper, but economically, it was a loss to West Orange. So, it's nice to say regionalize, regionalize, regionalize, but if it doesn't make economic sense, there's no benefit to it. So, we'll continue to look at that and there's a different model we're looking at, too. It's important to look at these options, but it's not  always cost savings. You have to make sure it's having the cost-saving effect it's intended to and not the adverse effect. For example, if we regionalize, you'll need more men.

Q. Are any layoffs in the future?

A. The reality is ... it's always the likelihood. Right now, given the straits we're under and the caps being proposed in Trenton, it's a very real likelihood. Parisi said this includes all town employees.

Parisi's inauguration ceremony is Thursday at 6 p.m. at 66 Main St., West Orange.