Angela White
LYNDHURST –
Angela White has been appointed municipal clerk by the Lyndhurst Board of Commissioners, replacing Helen Polito, who retired May 31.
White, a township employee since July 1, 2002, who served as deputy municipal clerk since Aug. 12, 2014, has earned certification for registered municipal clerk.
Acting on the recommendation of Mayor/Public Affairs Commissioner Robert Giangeruso, the commissioners voted to install White as clerk June 9 for a three-year term at an annual salary of $70,000 plus an election stipend of $2,474.
White and her husband Gary have a son, Joseph, 26, and daughter, Caitlin, 24.
In other business conducted at the June 9 meeting, the commissioners:
• Authorized filing a fiscal 2015 COPS (Community Oriented Policing) Hiring Program application for $375,000 to hire three police officers to fill three vacancies and replace retiring officers over the next three years.
• Fixed $31,720,723 as the amount to be raised by taxation for municipal purposes and $874,346 as the minimum library levy, both for 2015.
• Agreed to issue bonds for up to $1,540,000 for road resurfacing and acquisition of a new vehicle for the public works department.
• Adopted new regulations for the licensing of limousines operating within the township.
The police hiring grant would pay a portion of the salaries and benefits for the officers for 2016, 2017 and 2018, according to township grants consultant Dave Giunno. The current annual salary for a first-year officer is $42,000. Lyndhurst has applied twice previously for the grant, he added.
Police Chief James O’Connor told The Observer that the department is currently only two short of its ordinance strength of 51 but anticipates several retirements of a combination of rank-and-file cops and superiors during the next three to four years.
Asked about the municipal budget, Township CFO Robert Benecke told The Observer that higher municipal costs between 2014 and 2015 would account for a 3-point increase in the municipal tax rate, which would mean a “$75 to $85” hike in taxes for the owner of a home with an average assessment of $310,000. Still to be calculated, he said, are the impact of the school budget and the local share of the county budget. Factors driving up municipal expenses, Benecke said, were costs of police pensions, up by $400,000; snow control measures, up by $240,000; and a “continued decline in non-tax revenues such as construction code inspection fees,” down by $200,000.
For the bond ordinance, the township anticipates bonding $1,315,000 to pave Jay Ave. (Tontine to Lake Aves.), Lake Ave. (Stuyvesant to Riverside Aves.), New York Ave. (Ridge Road to Summit Ave.), Chase Ave. (Page to Valley Brook Aves.) and Thomas Ave. (Riverside to Stuyvesant Aves.) and up to $130,000 for a dump truck. It figures to spend $95,000 for bond financing costs.
The new limousine rules “were the direct result of numerous complaints I’ve received,” said Public Safety Commissioner John Montillo, about limos taking up parking spaces along residential streets and “operating all hours of the night.” Now, the ordinance provides that, “Limousines shall not be parked on the street except for the pickup or discharge of passengers.” Limo companies cannot operate in residential zones and they must prove they have at least “one lawful offstreet parking space available for each limousine” where the business office is located.
The commissioners also appointed Salvatore DeCarlo as deputy emergency squad commissioner for one year, Paul F. Haggerty as deputy fire commissioner for two years and Andrew Marmorato as assistant deputy fire commissioner for one year, all at salaries to be set by ordinance.
– Ron Leir
