This article is the first of a new monthly series from Mayor Nick Sacco highlighting important issues going on in North Bergen.
 
The task of maintaining excellent municipal services seems to get harder every year. Costs are always increasing, as items like employee benefits, insurance, fuel and others steadily rise. Meanwhile the new property tax cap prevents towns from raising taxes to compensate for these increased costs, putting a crunch on services. Many municipalities are forced to lay off employees, sometimes including police officers and firefighters, and drastically reduce services. In North Bergen, however, we’re getting creative and finding new ways to bring in additional revenues and maintain our high level of service.
 
One extremely successful program we recently completed was a Refunding Bond sale. With interest rates at historic lows our finance team identified an opportunity to refinance some of the township’s long term debt at a dramatically lower rate. The resulting bond sale brought in six bidders and a final rate of just 0.43%. This minute new interest rate will save North Bergen $200,000 over the next ten years and help us continue to grapple with rising costs while keeping taxes stable and services in place.

We could never have achieved such a low interest rate and huge savings if the township didn’t have such a strong financial outlook. North Bergen has an excellent “AA” bond rating, a category given out by investment ratings agencies to only the most stable, safe investments. This bond rating is the direct result of the hard work our finance team, led by Township
 
Administrator Chris Pianese and Chief Financial Officer Robert Pittfield, in making the tough choices over the years to pay down our debt and implement careful spending controls that watch every dollar.
 
North Bergen is using this and other creative strategies to lower costs and increase revenues. Our proposed municipal budget calls for a small tax increase within the cap and no major reductions in services. It’s a budget we can be proud of, and it’s possible because of hard work and a little creative thinking.
 
 
Thank you for reading,
MAYOR NICK SACCO

NORTH BERGEN – Due to recent reports in various media outlets concerning traffic conditions at the intersection of 88th street and Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen – the site of the Vornado Shopping Center featuring Walmart, BJ’s Wholesale Club and other stores and restaurants – the township launched a comprehensive traffic study of the area to determine the validity of safety concerns that have been expressed. The study shows that incidents of car accidents are no higher than in other comparable urban intersections and that concerns about safety are unwarranted.

“When residents come to us with a concern we always perform our due diligence and look into it,” said North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco. “The results of this traffic study show that the area around Vornado is not any more dangerous than any other stretch of Tonnelle Avenue or any busy urban street. It was a good project when it was approved and it’s still a good project for North Bergen now.”

The study, conducted by the North Bergen Police Department’s Traffic Division, looked at the total number of car accidents on Tonnelle Avenue between 88th street and 89th street from January 2010 to September 2011. During that time there were 158 recorded traffic accidents – however, 94 of them occurred within the parking lot of the shopping center. These low-speed accidents are, in most cases, nothing more than minor fender benders. Twenty six of them involved fixed objects, meaning that drivers struck parked cars, light poles or other non-moving objects.

When the parking lot accidents are removed, the total amount of accidents on the roadway over that 21-month period is 64, or about three per month. This is very consistent with comparable busy urban streets and should not be seen as any unusual safety hazard, according to the North Bergen Police Department.

Opened in late 2010, the Vornado shopping center features several nationally-known stores as well as restaurants. It was a significant addition to North Bergen’s commercial ratable base, helping keep residential property taxes stable. Construction on the project created hundreds of jobs during the height of the economic recession, and currently hundreds more are working in the stores in the center. It also contributed to the long running economic revitalization of Tonnelle Avenue, helping turn it from a blighted area full of abandoned industrial buildings into a regional shopping destination and economic engine.

Construction is proceeding on a Left-Turn Only lane that will direct North-bound traffic on Tonnelle Avenue into the shopping center, which is expected to significantly ease traffic coming in and out of the area. The lane is expected to be completed this Spring.

Will allow residents to ask questions directly and get quick, real answers

Mayor Nicholas J. Sacco and the Board of Commissioners are announcing the launch of the brand new, totally reimagined northbergen.org municipal website. The site will play host to a pioneering new feature called NB Help Desk that will allow residents to ask questions or report problems to a dedicated email inbox that will be staffed during all business hours and receive an answer in 48 hours or less. The site is entering a soft launch period starting on Monday, October 3rd, and should be fully operational two weeks later.

“Municipal government has many layers, offices, departments and agencies,” said Mayor Sacco. “Oftentimes a resident can be confused about where to go with a problem they have and become frustrated when an answer doesn’t come quickly. But now with NB Help Desk, residents in need of assistance can receive it quickly and efficiently. I’m excited to utilize this innovative tool to better serve North Bergen residents.”

NB Help Desk is a cutting-edge utilization of Citizen Request Management, or CRM. Residents with problems or concerns will either have their question answered or be directed to township personnel that can help them without the need to contact multiple departments. All they have to do is visit northbergen.org and click the NB Help Desk logo, type their request into a form, enter their name and email address and click send.

“North Bergen is on the front line of municipal technology implementation, and NB Help Desk is one more big step towards a truly digital local government,” said Michael Melham of Alpha Dog Solutions, the web design firm contracted by the township to create and maintain its website.

North Bergen – Municipalities throughout the area, the State of New Jersey and even the federal government have seen their credit ratings downgraded in the past year. But under the leadership of Mayor Nicholas J. Sacco, North Bergen is in excellent financial shape – a fact confirmed by Moody’s Investors Services’ recent reaffirmation of the township’s outstanding AA3 bond rating. In a report sent to the township on September 8th, Moody’s praised North Bergen’s strong financial management among several other positive factors.

“In order for North Bergen to provide all the services our residents expect, it is absolutely vital that our fiscal house is kept in order,” said Mayor Sacco. “Moody’s has confirmed what we already knew to be true – that our financial management team is doing an excellent job and every tax dollar paid into the township coffers is being spent wisely and responsibly.”

An excellent bond rating allows the township to issue short and long term debt at extremely low interest rates – saving taxpayers in lower interest costs while the loans are paid back. A recent debt issue of about $6 million was sold at an interest rate under one percent, which will save North Bergen taxpayers about $50,000 over the life of the loan compared to what would be paid at an average interest rate that most other municipalities are receiving.

Moody’s specifically praised North Bergen’s sizeable tax base with proximity to New York City, strong management team, transition year expected to increase liquidity and strong market access (meaning a large number of financial institutions place bids on the township’s bonds and notes during municipal offerings) in its report.

The Moody’s report went on to say: “The township’s financial position is expected to remain at adequate levels given strong management and additional property taxes expected over the next few years related to new ratables...” A full copy of the report is attached to this release.

“With the loss of UEZ revenues, declining state aid and rising costs, our management team has been challenged like never before,” said Sacco. “I want to commend Revenue and Finance Commissioner Allen Pascual, Township Administrator Chris Pianese and their team for not only maintaining our excellent bond rating, but also delivering a municipal budget with only a 3% tax increase. They have done a truly excellent job.”