Let's save our town

The first issue that affects our community are the high cost associated with the building department and code enforcement division. Residents are currently being hit with code violations, many of which occurred prior to their ownership of their property. Residents  are now forced to a) prove that a permit was pulled prior to their purchase or b)pay for engineering plans, pull expensive permits and pay fines. In addition, the process of pulling permits can be extremely slow with a permit taking upward of 45 days, with a timeline of completing repairs within 60 days and a fine of $50 per day after the 60-day deadline. This would mean that a resident only has 15 days to complete the repair. The first would be to implement a moratorium to stop the fines, while requiring a full audit of the department, including the fees accessed to make sure they are reduced to be in-line with neighboring communities… followed by a revision to the current code for fees and permits, as well as, an overhaul of the amnesty program which I introduced that somehow veered off course after my exit from Pembroke Park.

  Public safety is a major issue affecting our community. As a decision maker we are responsible for our residents safety and determining if we are being fiscally responsible to our tax payers. With the recent increase in crime that the town has experienced, we need to review the current mayor’s plan that was introduced at the October 2022, meeting to make sure that we have adequate staffing levels and see where we can improve in reducing the crime rate. Currently, we have spent over three quarters of the annual overtime budget allocated for the police department, while we are currently entering the second quarter of this year’s budget. We need to access the current level of services we are receiving to make sure that they are meeting the needs of the community. We also need to access the employees physical and mental condition since the department is working mandatory overtime daily,  which not only puts our community at risk but also our officers safety. Lastly, we need to ensure that the new department is fully trained in state laws, town codes and diversity, equity and inclusion when addressing the needs of this community.

Lowering cost for our community. The town has the second highest millage rate in the county while having the lowest per capita income. During my previous time on the dais, we were constantly looking for ways to reduce cost not only in the budget, but also daily cost to our residents. I reduced salaries to town employees so that they would be similar to our surrounding communities which resulted in almost 1 million dollars being added back to our annual budget. I reviewed contract cost and got a reduction in garbage fees for the Town resulting in a 30% reduction in fees to businesses in the community. I also discovered overcharges in our contract with BSO and took the steps necessary to recoup those cost. In addition, I worked with FEMA to reduce the need for flood insurance in our community by installing town wide drainage and then updating maps so that the town was no longer in flood plains thereby reducing home owners insurance policies. If we can continue to reduce town wide cost, we can not only lower the millage rate but also household expenses.