Welcome to the Montgomery Township Republican Organization

BREAKING NEWS — Ed Trzaska elected Mayor for 2012, Patricia Graham elected Deputy Mayor, and Christine Madrid appointed to complete Mark Caliguire’s term!
————————————————————————————————————————–

We are committed to ensuring that elected government in Montgomery stays true to fiscal conservative principles.  Our vision of “Better, Smarter, Government” has been very successful as we constantly find new and creative ways to do more with less!

Freeholder Mark Caliguire, Mayor Ed Trzaska, Deputy Mayor Patricia Graham, and Township Committee Members Mark Conforti, Rich Smith, and Christine Madrid would like to invite you to be a part of the team that is keeping the Township moving in the right direction.

Over the past few years, Montgomery has been a leader in responsible governance.  Only 4% of all New Jersey towns have kept municipal taxes essentially flat – Montgomery is one of these towns.  Also, we have reduced spending to below 2004 levels and headcount by 20% without impacting services.  Now that is a record of success!

We are also committed to protecting Montgomery’s rural character.  Almost 35% of the town is preserved, including the deal we finalized in 2011 with Somerset County to create Skillman Park – a 247-acres passive-use oasis in the heart of town.

Please look around.  The website is constantly changing!

—————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Remarks from Mayor Ed Trzaska (Reorganization Meeting – January 5, 2012)

I feel honored and privileged to become the Mayor of Montgomery.  I would like to thank my colleagues for entrusting me with this responsibility and promise to do my very best.  Former Mayor Mark Caliguire has set a very high bar for this office.  I have learned so much from him and will continue to take advantage of his advice and wisdom as he begins his new role as Somerset County Freeholder.

Over the past few years, Montgomery has suffered economic hardship, just like the entire nation.  Many of our residents are having trouble making ends meet and so is the Township.  Last year we had to deal with a $750,000 budget shortfall due to declining revenues and mandated spending increases.  Unfortunately, this trend continues and our challenges for this year are significant.

However, with great challenges come great opportunities.  It’s up to the members of our Township Committee to decide how to respond.  Do we take the easy way out by slashing services or enacting large tax increases?  Or, do we try to improve government, do more with less, and protect the quality of life and public health and safety of Montgomery?

During recent elections, we have promised to focus on our vision of “Better, Smarter, Government” and our successes have been noteworthy:

• Reduced spending to below 2004 levels without impacting services
• Realized almost $200,000 in annual savings by sharing and consolidating services
• Stabilized municipal taxes after several years of double-digit increases
• Generated $14 million for debt reduction by creating Skillman Park, a 250-acre passive use park in the heart of town
• Expanded the Cherry Brook Preserve and moved forward on preserving other tracts of land throughout town

This is what people can do when they are committed to a vision.  Does this mean that the challenges we face this year will be easy to solve?  No it doesn’t.  We will have another significant budget gap.  We will continue to confront external pressures, like COAH housing, which impacts our ability to protect our quality of life.  And, we are faced with a sewer treatment system that is aging and in desperate need of plant consolidation.  But what this does mean is that with the help our dedicated professionals in town hall, we will roll up our sleeves, identify the best possible solutions, and meet these challenges head-on.

We will continue to find creative ways to do more with less regarding the budget, work tirelessly to preserve more open space, and complete the sewer consolidation study so we can move forward with an aggressive plan to make our sewer system more efficient.

I also look forward to making local government more accessible.  Last year, we began linking audio recordings of Township Committee meetings to the town’s website and this year we hope to finalize a plan to televise meetings, something that has never been done before.

Finally, I would like to see the start of construction of the long-delayed Montgomery Promenade.  We are working to finalize plans for a slightly revised complex.  When completed, the Promenade will bring to town some truly exciting services.

So, this year is full of challenges and opportunities.  We will work hard, we will work wisely, and hopefully at the end of the day, we will make the residents of Montgomery proud of their local government.