Mayor says state of township is strong Mayor calls for better relationship with council, more budget surplus BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer Despite great challenges ahead of them, Mayor Jun Choi said Edison Township is strong and getting stronger. Choi gave his second State of the Township address on Jan. 29 at the N.J. Convention and Exposition Center in Edison. The annual Edison tradition was an opportunity for Choi to tout some of the accomplishments from his first year in office and lay out his plans for Edison's future. "My first year as mayor has been the most exhilarating time of my life," Choi said. "It has been invigorating, humbling and uplifting. And by working together, we have accomplished a great deal over the past year." Choi mentioned several of the 62 ordinances he and the council have gotten through in what he called "the most productive single year in Edison history." Among the accomplishments Choi listed were the passing of a referendum to put restrictions on eminent domain, the plans to develop and transform the routes 1 and 27 corridors, and the reorganization and downsizing of township government, which Choi said "saved millions of dollars in operating expenses ... ." The mayor spotlighted the need for property tax reform in the township as the primary initiative of the coming years by saying that the changes, and subsequent relief, should come from the township, giving township government the responsibility and not relying on the state or the county to provide a remedy for their financial woes. "It is time to stop relying on a magic formula from the state or the county and begin putting our own fiscal house in order," Choi said, "because if we do not, the voters of this great township will do it for us." Choi urged the council to work with him to implement long-term budgeting and fiscal discipline to provide relief while replenishing the recently drained reserves that Edison enjoyed in the past. "While some politicians worry about how difficult fiscal decisions could affect their next election," Choi said, "Edison families worry about making ends meet with ever-higher property taxes." Choi is coming off an extended budget cycle that resulted in the council amending his budget by nearly $4 million. Choi urged that he and the council work better and attempt to eliminate the butting of political heads. "Some among us may disagree on the best way to get there, but I am certain that we can all agree that get there we must," Choi said, "and sooner, rather than later." Choi also highlighted the need for the township to be vigilant in preserving open space and fighting overdevelopment, a problem, he said, that stemmed from cozy political insiders not keeping the taxpayers in mind. "The days of irresponsible developers and the parochial needs of well-connected political insiders having their way in Edison are over," Choi said. "Edison families should no longer be held hostage to the needs of the special interests who want to gobble up our open space, put more cars on our roads and put a greater burden on our school system." Choi called for the need to bring in responsible tax ratables; in doing so, he once again expressed his displeasure over Wal-Mart coming to town. "I pledge to keep fighting to prevent Wal-Mart from coming to Edison and urge all of you to join with me," Choi said. Of the many in attendance for the mayor's address, only three of the seven council members were there. Council President Charles Tomaro, who was in attendance, said that he was glad the mayor chose the passing of a referendum to limit eminent domain in the speech, because he felt having a referendum question holds more weight than simply an ordinance. An ordinance can be changed by a future council, but a referendum takes another referendum to repeal. "I think it puts a lot of people's minds at ease," Tomaro said, "that basically we're not going to condemn their property for someone else's gain." Tomaro reacted to the mayor's call to work better with the council in the coming year by saying that he hopes they can be more agreeable but that it would not come easily. "That's not going to be easy to resolve," Tomaro said. "Hopefully, we can work together more closely and keep each other better informed - with the mayor and council, council and mayor - with better communications between the both of us. I don't think it's going to be too easy, but we can always try." Tomaro said that the mayor's message of building the budget surplus back up was something that he would agree with because it offsets the budget increases that happen each year through payroll and benefit increases and makes for a more manageable tax increase. "I was always a proponent of surpluses," Tomaro said. He said that in his time on the council, he had seen an average tax increase of about 3 cents per $100 of assessed value. Increases that low were made possible by offsetting costs with surplus. "You're always going to have 3 to 4 percent increases in salary and wages," Tomaro said, "and you don't know what the increase is, and you can try to predict what the increase is, but if you have any major illnesses, that can take a huge chunk out of your health insurance." The mayor addressed the public at an annual dinner hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. The cost for the dinner was $50, but the public was invited for free to hear the mayor's address.