Mayor's Message
January 1st, 2025
Good afternoon and a very happy and healthy New Year to all,
Congratulations to Councilman Lorusso, Councilman Alvaraz and Councilman Segalini on their re-elections this past November.
We once again assemble here for our annual reorganization meeting. I am now in the second year of my second term as your mayor and I am extremely proud and honored. My mayor’s message, and the messages of the past 22 mayors over the last 136 years have reflected on previous year’s events, activities and accomplishments.
I graduated high school in the mid-seventies and the closest we came to owning a computer was owning a “Texas Instrument” calculator which cost $100.00, if you could locate one at that time. That calculator could perform mathematical calculations as well as the square root function, without using a slide ruler! The only computer courses offered at Becton Regional High School at that time were for writing either DOS or Cobol programming languages. Radio Shack computers at that time were six hundred dollars and utilized audio cassettes for memory storage! Our introduction to home computer ownership was Atari’s game called “Pong”. The point behind this brief history lesson is the comparison of the technology from then till now.
The value of the technological skills that these younger councilmen bring to this governing body is invaluable. Whether it be solving IT issues, keeping our web page operational or making the constant updates required, they are truly up for the task! I have said it before, I feel that this governing body, that I serve with on this dais today are the finest that I have ever served with. Independent thinkers and true problem solvers!
- Councilman Alvaraz, I thank you for being our web site administrator and serving as our Police Commissioner. I know you had some family health issues this past year which thankfully have been resolved. Your contributions to this governing body are essential!
- Past Council President Michael Lorusso you should be commended for a job well done! Serving as our finance chairman, dealing with our Recreation Programs as well as contract negotiations can be a daunting task while raising a young family. Thank you, Michael!
- Councilman Cronk is our Fire Commissioner and our senior council member who can “out work” all of us, and that includes me. George’s son Kevin was sworn in as a police officer here in town this year. Mary and you should be very proud. Thank you, George, for all your hard work!
- Council President Bulger also works hard with Recreation, Civic events and is a member of our Planning Board. Jason also sits on our committee preparing the borough for hosting the eight FIFA World Cup Games in 2026. I know you will serve us well, as our new council president. Jason must also balance governing with running a family business, which I know all too well!
- Councilman DeRosa who just gave up the freshman council member position now has a year of experience. He is also on our World Cup Planning Committee and chairs our Veterans Banner program. This program is one of the finest here in Bergen County!
- Councilman Segalini is now our freshman council member, but I know from his experience serving on the Board of Education and our Planning Board, that he will do a great job. Councilman Segalini was sworn in to fill Councilman Ravettine’s unexpired term for 2024. Congratulations to Alley and Antonio on the recent announcement that they are expecting another child.
- Thank you to Edward Ravettine for his years of service with the borough council and we wish him nothing but the best during retirement.
This year we have been dealing with the ongoing litigation with American Dream and we were scheduled to be in court on the 20th of last month however that was canceled. We are awaiting a rescheduling date. East Rutherford will be hosting the 8 final games of the World Cup in 2026. We also hosted a COPA South America match between Chili and Argentina last summer at MetLife Stadium. We will also be hosting another COPA final on July 13th. Preparing for these events will be a challenge! We retained the professional services of Suranian, Edwards, Buzak & Nolan to deal with our Affordable Housing compliance. The new Round 4 allotment calls for 85 thousand new affordable units to be built and 65 thousand refurbished over the next 10 years here in NJ. We must support the proposed amendment to the “Fair Share Housing Act” which will reduce these numbers significantly. After five years we have finally received our “Judgment of Repose” from the courts and Fair Share Housing which returns our Zoning privileges back to our boards, after almost 20 years.
Thank you to Civic Pride for Easter, Halloween, Summer Concerts, Fall Festival, Town Picnic and St. Paddy celebrations. Sam Stallone was hired as our “Transportation Coordinator” this year and that program has taken off beyond anyone’s expectations. Our borough engineer has been working on an extensive flood relief plan for the Central Ave and Grove Street locations. We have reached out to County Engineering for updates on the proposed traffic light at the corner of Hackensack Street and Union Ave. We are being told that plans are in their final stage of review. We also retained grant writing services from the firm of Millennium Strategies who are doing an excellent job.
Our negotiations with our DPW, Police Department and Deputy Chief have been finalized and Councilman Alvaraz is currently working on our Chief’s contract. Holy Name Hospital’s “emergency ambulance response team” is now being dispatched out of our old American Legion building right here in East Rutherford. Thank you, Councilman Cronk. The consultant that we recently hired is completing a Historic Structure Survey on the Richard Outwater house. We will be applying for more development grants soon. Civic Pride did an outstanding job utilizing that home for our Halloween Celebration. Thank you, Ed Rys, for his service to our Public Works & Utilities Commission. Maggie Stuiso, our Court Administrator, has announced her retirement. Best of luck Maggie, you will truly be missed.
Senator Sarlo was once again responsible for securing another 2 million dollars from the NJ Department of Community Affairs for acquisition and development of 10 Lois Lane athletic facility. Thank you again Senator Sarlo, we have so far received a total of 5 million dollars in grant money for that project! We have received one of the new fire apparatuses and are awaiting the delivery of two more. Our Fire Department held a “Wet Down” celebration on September 7th.
As a final note, our borough finances could not be in any better shape. We generate a healthy amount of surplus each year even without the $11 million dollars owned to us from American Dream. The tax rate for the borough has decreased each year for the last 5 years while providing a level of service and programs, second to no other municipality here in Bergen County! Due to rising real estate values over the last 3 years, the value of the town, or net valuation, has also increased 8% the year prior, and another 7% this past year. Controlled spending, and watching our hiring are key. Having an experienced CFO like Anthony Bianchi and a Finance Chaiman like Michael Lorusso are key to the reduction of our tax rate.
Thank you to our borough engineer Glenn Beckmeyer and our borough attorney Gerald Salerno for your professional guidance and wisdom. You both make my job much easier! Thank you to Dannielle at borough hall, Paul DeRosa at our DPW, our Fire Department, our crossing guards, all those who volunteer their time on our boards as well as Police Chief Ravelli for all that you do. Our Police Department just recently received their “Accreditation” from the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, great job East Rutherford Police Department and especially Captain Michael Giancaspro!
Rest in peace Congressman Pascrell, past tax assessor, Maurice Nafash and past Police Chief John La Greca.
Have a happy healthy and prosperous New Year,
Respectfully,
Mayor Jeffrey J. Lahullier