1.  Stabilizing the Municipal Portion of Your Property Taxes

• We expect to shortly retain an experienced municipal grant writer, Patriot Associates, which has agreed to be compensated substantially on a contingency basis.    The firm will not only identify municipal grants for which Marlboro is eligible to apply, but will also prepare the grant application and oversee the entire application submission process.  The receipt of grant monies in the future to fund many municipal programs will defray municipal expenses, thereby reducing the need to increase your taxes.

• The New Jersey State Department of Community Affairs granted our application and has agreed to pay for and conduct a comprehensive audit of our police department, thereby saving our Town over $100,000.  The results of the audit will yield further savings to the Town in terms of improving efficiency in government.
  
  

2.  Stimulating Economic Development

• The first of our periodic business lunches will occur on April 8, 2008, from 12 pm to 2 pm at the Rec Center.  Representatives from all local businesses will be invited to meet with me and many of our elected leaders and appointed officials.

• We have had several exploratory meetings with members of the private    sector who are (i) interested in bringing both a state of the art wellness center and an indoor sports complex to Marlboro, thereby increasing commercial ratables, and (ii) willing to partner with us so that our residents can use these facilities at discounted rates or at no cost.

3.  Long-Term Preservation of Marlboro's Remaining Open Space

4.  Improving Quality-of-Life Issues for Our Seniors

• To enhance the Senior Advisory Committee, I have appointed senior advocate Jay Solomon (who is also an Executive at Centra-State Hospital) to chair the Senior Advisory Committee and also appointed Peggy Gamza as the Mayor’s delegate to this critical committee.  In addition, Councilwoman Randi Marder has been appointed as the Township Council delegate, and we added additional seniors to the Committee as well.  At the committee’s initial meetings, the mission statement and by-laws were  amended so that all the seniors residing throughout Marlboro Township would benefit from the work of this Committee.  Additionally, the  committee has begun to identify its priorities for 2008.  In concert with the Recreation Department, the Committee is working on the re-opening of the Morganville Senior Center.
  
  
• Centra State Hospital has committed to 10 wellness screening events, 4 lectures on healthy eating, and 2 additional lectures on issues unique to senior citizens.
  
  
• The Teen Advisory Committee will be working in conjunction with the Senior Advisory Committee and the Senior community, providing computer training, cell phone instruction and social Wii games activities.  This is a great opportunity for mentoring by both seniors and teens.

• A “teen classified jobs” section is being added to our Township web site.  This will allow our Town’s teens to easily locate opportunities for part-time and summer jobs, and will also help our Town’s businesses acquire quality and reliable local labor.  Letters are being sent to all businesses in Marlboro inviting them to participate in this program.

6. Improving Customer Service Delivered by Our Township Employees
   and Professionals

• We have developed a Vision Statement for our Town that will be posted on our web site.  It emphasizes government integrity, transparency, accountability, and a commitment to making Marlboro a great place to live, learn, play, raise a family, grow a business and visit.
  
  
• Our aggressive e-mail address acquisition initiative has resulted in more than a doubling of the number of people who have registered to receive e-mail updates whenever new and important information is added to our Township web site.  This is critical for us to improve government communication and transparency.  Because of our initiative, we are now among the highest ranking municipalities in the State in terms of number of residents registered to receive municipal e-mail updates.  To continue this initiative, I have asked that on your next tax bill, you include your e-mail address.
  
  
• As a first step towards our comprehensive safety investigation, we accumulated three years of traffic and accident data from various departments and entities in Marlboro, which reflect the severity of the accidents, as well as the occurrence locations.  This data will be studied in detail and a plan implemented to improve the safety of our pedestrian walkways and crossways.
  
  
• To make our government more accessible to you, and to accommodate our many commuter residents, we are launching a pilot program of extended municipal hours for certain departments, as follows:

ZONING:  The Zoning Officer will be available to meet with residents prior to regular business hours.  Appointments can begin as early as 7:15 am Monday through Friday.  After hours appointments are available the first and third Tuesday evenings of each month, by appointment.  Phone conferences are also available by appointment.  Call 732-536-0200 and ask for Sarah Paris.

CONSTRUCTION:  A Construction Official is available to meet with residents starting at 6 AM Monday through Friday, by appointment only.  Phone conferences are also available by appointment.

ENGINEERING:  The Town Engineer is available by appointment to meet with residents on Thursday evenings, twice a month (on the same Thursday evenings on which Town Council meets—check our web site at www.Marlboro-nj.gov.  Phone conferences are available by appointment.

TAX COLLECTOR:  Open to accept tax payments between 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm on the following Wednesday nights during the tax quarter:

May 7, 2008
August 6, 2008
November 5, 2008

• We have integrated our several computer systems and databases that are used by our zoning, planning, building and  engineering departments, and by doing so have automated the flow of critical project information that is supplied by each of these departments.  This investment in technology will result in a more efficient government, which in turn should eliminate the necessity of our residents having to go from one department to the next asking questions.

8.  Increasing the Visibility of Our Government at Work

• Our first roving town-hall meeting has been scheduled for 8:00 pm on April 9, 2008 at Greenbriar.  We look forward to meeting with you and discussing all of the issues that confront our Town, and reporting to you on the status of our Plan for Progress in Marlboro.