Council President Fenwick offered an overview of his three prior years in office. He thanked local volunteers for serving the borough. He said councilman Cozzi and he had “accomplished everything” promised to residents during their campaign in 2020.
He said that included: listening to residents concerns; a proactive stance protecting the borough water supply by purchasing PFAS filtration systems; paved more roads than any prior council in decades and saved on costs; and bolstered public safety by hiring several new police officers, including the department’s first female officer.
Moreover, Fenwick said they purchased two new fire trucks for volunteer firefighters; purchased two large tracts of land to prevent overdevelopment; fought back and won against developers who wanted to end local water and electric utilities; and restored the borough to “fiscal sanity.”
“Contrary to what those who said when we started this endeavor that it couldn’t be done, we provided tax relief to our residents without hurting our bond rating and without cutting services,” said Fenwick. He said on the Republicans’ watch, they delivered a zero percent tax increase budget for the first time in “well over a decade.”
He said the recent Mill Pond dredging referendum’s defeat “clearly shows that tax relief is a major concern for our residents.” He said residents want two things: tax relief and to continue to oppose overdevelopment.
He said the council’s accomplishments resulted from his “five fellow councilmen” on the dais who he thanked “for all our efforts in achieving everything we have accomplished together.”
Cozzi said he would encourage “anybody out there” to consider serving as a council member or volunteer. “I wish we had a course in high school to teach kids how to do this. I think I would have benefited from it and I think future kids in high school would,” Cozzi said.
He noted despite having differences on the council, “we’ve always found a way to get to where we need to be.”
He noted that also serving on local advisory committees “has its own rewards” and that volunteers work without pay. “And they give up their time and they really, really care about the town. And it really is inspiring because it shows you what the United States is all about. It’s all about local rule and where it comes from,” he said.
Councilman Matthew Cappilli said the council’s “collegiality has been top notch” this year, noting “it’s been a pleasure serving with you guys. Hope to see you around.”
Councilor Greg Hoffman said, “I think we (council) did a great job this year,” keeping municipal taxes level “for the first time in a long time,” and thanked everyone on council for working “very well together”
Councilman John Ferguson thanked Cozzi and Fenwick for their service. “2023 was a good year. I feel like we’ve done a lot up here, all of us collectively, I want to thank Will and John for their service. It’s been nice working with you for the last three years.”