Belleville Mayor Presents 2022 ‘State Of Township’ Address

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville Mayor Michael Melham presented his second "state of the township address" on Wednesday at Nanina’s In the Park.

Read Melham’s speech as prepared below.

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MICHAEL MELHAM

Good evening. Distinguished guests, my beloved family… represented this evening by my mother, my sister, my two beautiful nieces, as well as a host of cousins, they are by far my biggest supporters… to… BetterBelleville, friends, neighboring colleagues and, of course, my fellow Belleville residents.

I am honored to come before you this evening to deliver my second ever State of the Township address. My first was delivered in May of 2019, exactly one year after our historic election. At that time, I presented a platform that was a continuation of the promises my two running mates and I put forth while on the campaign trail. Since then, Deputy Mayor Naomy DePena, Councilman Tommy Graziano and I have worked tirelessly, often along with Councilman Vinny Cozzarelli and engaged civic organizations to bring fourth a vision for a #BetterBelleville.

However, at that time, three years ago, as the luster wore off our inauguration, none of us could have predicted just how vastly and immediately the world would change due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Understand, there was no playbook. May we never forget the 149 Belleville souls lost during those trying times and to the loved ones they left behind.

You see, 2020 and 2021 tested our fortitude, but I'm here to say that Belleville not only stood strong, but we rose! Even as PPE shortages plagued us, our first responders didn't miss a beat.

Tonight, I want to personally thank the fine men and women of our Fire and Police Departments, including their respective chiefs, Chief Minichini and Chief Oliveri (who are in the room this evening), I thank you and your respective departments for keeping us safe during Covid.

During that time, there were many, uneasy, or shall I say ‘heated’ Office of Emergency Management (OEM) conversations. At times, there were daily OEM calls which included the highest levels of Belleville’s government. Early on, we scenarioed options such as what happens when, because of sickness or quarantines, we run out of police and fire personnel.

In the end, our highly trained personnel did what they do. They got it done for Belleville! And for that, I want to personally thank and acknowledge our OEM Coordinator, Deputy Chief Corbo and his deputy coordinators, for their collective efforts in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the end, despite fears and the unknown, our municipal employees, kept those doors open at Town Hall. We never closed, not even for a day! And for that, I thank every single Department Director, many who are in the room tonight, and their employees for continuing to serve our residents, even during the most trying times.

Meanwhile, our school district fed our seniors, and our residents constantly encouraged and supported one another. That is the true meaning of community.

Speaking of community, I’m here tonight to boldly say, the State of our Township is looking Belleville Strong!

Looking back, Covid-19 wasn’t the only surprise my then, young administration faced. Within months of taking office, we were informed that we had a $1.5 million outstanding water bill that was due to the City of Newark. Worse, we were five years out of contract, and for that reason, the new contract would include a substantial and immediate increase. Worse than that, we uncovered that our water utility was running an annual deficit of about $2 million per year. That deficit was being made up by your property taxes, year after year. All this because the prior administration kept kicking the can down the road. Well, that can came to a stop on my watch. And if you think it couldn’t get much worse than all that, at the same time, we also faced a lead water crisis.

Today, the water treatment is working. There's no more lead water crisis. We are chipping away at the balance owed to Newark. And our water utility is now fiscally solvent.

And there may be even better news coming. The next quarter or so, may very well contain a surplus in our water utility. And if that’s true, you have my promise, that I will fight for that surplus to be returned in the form of a water bill rebate! Next, you have my word to immediately propose legislation to reduce the water rate, yet again. After all, it’s not our goal to turn a profit on water, we just need to keep the water utility solvent.

So… we faced major Covid-19 and water issues in 2020 into 2021. Then came September 2021. And Belleville’s response to Superstorm Ida, was unparalleled. For days and even weeks, it seemed as though Belleville was ground zero.

That night, I was out early, with police and DPW, I then decided it was best, to have all personnel dedicated to the response, so, I spent the rest of the night sitting on my office basement floor, manning a sump pump, while listening to my police radio.

All night long, I heard police struggling over the radio, shouting at people to stay in their cars, or at times, provide instructions to people standing on the roof of their cars. Then, the frantic call for boats, to rescue residents who were clinging to trees on Mill Street, these sounds, like the calls I heard during 911, will forever be seared into my memory.

While police and fire rightfully deserve our thanks, the unsung heroes that night were the men of our Department of Public Works. These men, who are not trained rescue personnel, drove backhoes into flood waters to rescue both police and stranded residents. And, their jobs certainly didn’t end that night. In the immediate aftermath, Belleville supplied dumpster after dumpster to effected families, and DPW was there morning, noon and night, filling, removing and replacing dumpsters. No other municipality had this response, and for that, I sincerely thank DPW for their valent efforts!

So, let’s put the past 3.5 years into perspective. My administration has faced a global pandemic; a fiscally insolvent water utility, a lead water crisis and a Superstorm. But together, we persevered... Belleville Strong. And as mayor, I couldn’t be prouder!

Whether it’s Covid, the water rate, or explaining the complex details of a developer PILOT agreements, I’ve never shied away from explaining what’s going on to the residents of Belleville. And that’s precisely why, I believe the silent majority in Belleville is awaking, and becoming more vocal. In the past, residents only spoke out, when they had a complaint. Now, our residents see the change, they feel the change, they are talking about the change. For Belleville is no longer the butt of jokes, rather we are the topic of conversation.

For the first time in decades, we now have people from Nutley , Montclair, Caldwell and yes, even Cedar Grove, moving back to Belleville. They are being joined by New Yorkers from all five boroughs. They seem to like our value, our sense community and our diversity.

And no, they aren’t pushing out our existing residents, rather they are filling and occupying, in record time, modern mixed-use buildings with luxury amenities; like rooftop gardens, dog washing stations, pools, lounges and co-working space. We aren’t becoming something else, for this is Belleville! This is Our Belleville!

Our newest residents are mostly young professionals with disposable income to spend locally. These well-planned buildings have replaced vacant and often environmentally contaminated land which yielded little tax revenue to the township. Today, those environmentally contaminated properties have now been cleaned and remediated to NJ DEP residential standards and will produce a windfall of new revenue to the township!

These are the new revenues that have been needed for decades to stabilize our taxes. Think about it, before 2018 the last major development Belleville had was the Essex Park Townhouse project on Franklin Avenue, and that was built nearly 20 years ago! That’s the last time, those who sat in those seats before us, found any new revenue. And, thanks to our development community, that’s all changing!

Speaking of the development community... While they are sometimes vilified by just a small, ignorant few, allow me to explain the true value they’ve brought to Belleville.

First. Finding new revenue to offset annual budgetary increases is critical to stabilizing taxes. After all, every single year the government’s fixed operational costs go up. Without new revenue to offset these operating costs, the municipal taxpayers will continue to foot the bill, year after year. This is precisely the disservice councils and administrations before us burdened the taxpayers with.

I’ve spoken at length and exhaustively about PILOTs, breaking down the funding in a variety of videos that are available to the public.

PILOTs are NOT a tax break. PILOTS are NOT a tax abatement for-wealthy, greedy developers to make even more money, these assertions couldn’t be further from the truth.

Look at this this way, for decades, Belleville’s landscape was littered with contaminated and environmentally polluted land all over the place. And, seemingly no one cared. I don’t recall any advocate showing up at a council meeting complaining about contaminated land.

As that land laid vacant, it produced next to nothing in the realm of municipal revenue, it blighted our neighborhoods and the contamination often leached into neighboring properties. Why couldn’t it be cleaned and developed without a PILOT? Well, when you factor in the huge cost to remediate the land to NJ DEP residential standards, the project often becomes unviable. Therefore, the land and contamination remain.

To solve this problem, state law permits the township, enter into a revenue share agreement with the owner. We remove the traditional tax payment; in return the township receives between 12-16% of revenue from the development. This “Payment in lieu of taxes” is the revenue share and precisely what the PILOT acronym stands for. And furthermore, of that 12-16% revenue share, the municipality receives 95% of it, for up to 30 years! Which is why it defies logic, for someone representing the municipality to be ‘against PILOTs.’

Take the property on the corner of Washington and Williams. You see the building standing up. Well, for decades, that empty property, which blighted the entranceway from Newark into Belleville, yielded only $30,000 year in taxes, of which, the township received about a third, $10,000.

Well, after the first year, that project, with a PILOT attached, will yield new revenue of $880,000, of which the municipality keeps 95% of the revenue. That’s a huge win for Belleville taxpayers!

Kids? Well, if a recent, brand new 58-unit building, leased out in record time, is any indicator, of those 58 apartments, not a single child will impact our school district. These stats are Belleville facts! After all, most PILOTs are all commercial or mixed use properties specifically planned to have mostly 1brs, studios and even micro-apartments.

These complex agreements are the new revenue we desperately need. It’s simple. Without them, nobody is incentivized to clean up polluted property, and we would yield little revenue on the vacant land. As a result, the empty lots would continue to blight our neighborhoods. The development community shouldn’t be vilified, they should be thanked!

But there’s more. PILOTs aren’t only used to provide new revenue to the municipality, but these ‘areas in need of rehabilitation’ and ‘areas in need of redevelopment’ designations, also come with amazing community benefits.

Did you know that these developers pay 2% of their construction costs, into a fund to assist low-income Belleville homeowners in fixing up their homes? Recently a certain councilman took credit for this program, saying it was around prior to me taking office in 2018. This is true. It was around. And at the end of 2017, the account had just $10,000 dollars in it! Today, as all these new projects stand up, I’m proud to say, the account has $1.6 million dollars (of developer money) in it. Those funds aren’t taxpayer funds, and they go directly to homeowners in the realm of $22,000 forgivable grants. Thank you, developers!

As if that’s not enough. These agreements also allow us to gain community givebacks. One developer will be paying for the complete resurfacing of an often-unused parking lot in Silver Lake. In the end, residents in that area will finally have a commuter parking lot near the light rail. Or, how about the brand new municipal recreational facility that’s proposed next to number 9 school? Yes! Developers will fund the entire $1.6 million project which in the end, will yield another new field turfed, new basketball courts, a new playground, Pickle ball courts and yes, yet another dog park.

I want to tell you a story. I was recently at a Meet and Greet in the second floor lounge at the new Belmont project. I welcomed some of Belleville’s newest residents. You would be shocked to learn where they come from. Many are from the mid-west, Arkansas, and Kansas. While we are certainly attracting young professionals with disposable income to spend locally, not everyone moving into Belleville is a young professional. I met an older couple, early 70’s, from the Florida panhandle. I asked them what drew them to Belleville? They retorted, ‘the value and proximity to NYC’s museums’ They specifically chose to live there because they can walk and utilize the Silver Lake light rail. And they do it nearly every single day.

None of the successes, accomplishments and hurdles we have overcome would have been possible without the steadfast support of my two greatest allies, Deputy Mayor Naomy DePena and Councilman Tommy Graziano. Over the past three and half years, they have been rock solid. To be successful in this job, you need thick skin and a unique ability to ignore the noise and negativity. While we all stand side by side, Naomy’s ninja abilities somehow have us all watching each other’s back.

They have no doubt protected me when I was most vulnerable and taken their fair share of lumps. But, today, after seeing all the progress, after facing all the storms, trials and tribulations, I’m here to say the team is even more energized and motivated than in 2018!

Before I continue, I want to take the opportunity to thank the #BetterBelleville Civic Association for hosting tonight’s State of the Township Address.

It’s certainly unique to not to have this be a government-sponsored speech. But then again, nobody ever accused me of following the norm. That’s just not me; that’s just not us.

The #BBCA has been instrumental in fueling so much of the positivity and regained sense of community. They are a contagious resource and a vehicle for like-minded individuals to connect with one another, to volunteer and donate their time, all while supporting this township. And today, Belleville is a better place because of local organizations like BB, who take the time to work on behalf of the community. And for that, I sincerely thank them!

For the second time, our high school achievers and Mock Trial Team have joined us as my distinguished guests. Let me tell you something, if this is what Belleville’s turning out, our future is definitely bright. I recently spent time with these scholars for National Library week and I could NOT have been more impressed.!

After all, with Board President Muniz, Vice President Bennett-Meany and Trustee Tunis, at the helm, there are great things happening in the Belleville School District. The three of them, continue to raise the bar!

Allow me to use an excerpt from my 2019 State of the Township Address. Back then, I stated, "The Township is working extremely hard, in conjunction with Senator Teresa Ruiz and our School District to deliver a game changer for Belleville."

In 2019, I went on: “We are closing in on the ability to offer free PreK to Belleville students! If it goes our way, we will receive a grant from the State to pay for 6 PreK classrooms with the ability to service 90 children, and their families. Because working class families benefit not only from beginning the education process of their children earlier, but also from not having to make the difficult decision to either stay at home with the child or pay for PreK. At that time, I concluded by saying, 'Thank you Senator Ruiz.'"

To put it in perspective, when I got elected, Belleville was at 12% free pre k. In 2019, as you just heard, we were hoping for grant money to cover 90 children.

Well, I’m here tonight to tell you that in just 3.5 years, we have gone from 12% free Pre K to nearly, 90% free preK. This is a game changer!

Do you know what that means to a child? A working family?

We are setting our children up for success and I am proud to have pushed for and to have supported these initiatives.

The working relationship between the Board of Education and the township has never been better.

Sadly, because of redistricting, we are losing Senator Teresa and her team, she will surely be missed, as she’s always been an advocate for Belleville and our children. Also because of redistricting, Belleville will get a new Congressperson. Congresswomen Mikie Sherril has already reached out and we will soon be taking a tour of Belleville, ending with diner at the Legendary Belmont Tavern. I look forward to working closely with all our new legislators.

We are also focused on quality-of-life issues. For while I believe success is contagious, unfortunately, blight and disrepair spread just as quickly.

For decades, Belleville had vacant storefronts, few retail operators. Ugly graffiti covered newsstands littered Washington Avenue, we had no-name, supermarkets and low-end fast-food operators in our business districts.

Fast forward to today. Belleville is certainly rising. For we have created an economic environment in Belleville that now attracts international brands like German based Lidl, and someone said there’s a national ‘Coffee’ company coming to Belleville. I’m here tonight to say that, not only is Belleville getting a Starbucks but ours will have a drive-thru!

The list of our accomplishments is quite astounding. There’s a multi-facetted renaissance happening in Belleville. It is clear for everyone to see that every aspect of our lives in Belleville is changing for the better. There’s no doubt that the overwhelming majority of Belleville residents are happier today than they were just four years ago.

And there’s plenty to be happy about.

In the past few years, Belleville’s real estate values have skyrocketed! And features in Business View Magazine and the New York Times perpetuate this notion. We are continuing to break record after record for our housing values. That means, for most of us, including me, the largest asset you will ever own, is worth substantially more today than just 12 or 24 months ago!

And our newest residents aren’t pushing out our older residents, as a matter of fact, there hasn’t been one neighborhood that has gentrified. These professionals will create a local boom in our business economy. And, especially after Covid, I’m looking forward to supporting Belleville small businesses.

In the past few years, we have not only found new sources of revenue, but we have worked hard to curb costs.

Most talk about cutting costs, but few actually make the tough decisions.

Municipal salaries, compensation and insurance costs comprise most of our municipal budget. Just one way we’ve been able to stabilize our budget is the fact that there are fewer township employees today than when I took office four years ago. I don’t believe there’s another mayor in the history of Belleville who can make this claim.

We accomplished this, in part, by not replacing retiring employees who tend to be at the highest level of the pay scale. One department alone is down five employees and, in my opinion, operating just fine. Speaking of high salary employees at the top of the pay scale, we found that several of those positions… just weren’t necessary. Therefore, the council took the steps to delete the position totally, ensuring it could never get filled in the future.

With regard to new employees, the starting salaries for both clerk and DPW positions have been reduced by 25%.

The end result of finding new revenue and curbing costs is stabilized taxes. Homeowners know, that their property tax bill is comprised of all three taxes, municipal, county and school. Well. Last year’s ‘municipal tax’ increase was only $38 for the average assessed house.

We are clearly doing more with less.

In years past, residents received huge tax increases, with little or nothing new to show for it. With last year’s $38 increase behind us, look at all that’s been accomplished.

When my team, Tommy Graziano, Naomy DePena and I, originally ran for office we never promised to drastically reduce your taxes, we’re realists, what we did do, was promise to deliver quality services, facilities and events that proportionally match the taxes you pay.

And we've delivered on that promise!

Speaking of the budget, I’m here tonight to say this year’s 2022 budget is looking as good as last year’s. Residents can once again expect the most minimal increase. Meanwhile, we keep pouring gasoline on all the increased services, new events and upgraded facilities.

Speaking of new events and services, Belleville now has events that match, if not, outdo other municipalities. We created the first ever Food Truck Festival that’s heading into its fourth year.

Being that 48% of our township is Hispanic, for years it was a huge disservice, that prior administrations seemingly did nothing to support this substantial portion of the community. There were no bilingual speakers in town hall, and our ESL programs were no existent. Today, nearly every single front facing office in Town Hall has a Spanish speaking employee and our great Belleville Public Library has fantastic ESL programs.

We have one of the best ‘Three Kings Day’ events in the area, surpassing even Newark’s event. We continually celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and raise the flags of many different Central, South American and Caribbean Countries Spanish speaking countries.

Our community police bike ride, one of my favorite new events, demonstrates our police department’s commitment to community policing. And it’s paying off! We have also drastically upgraded our Easter Egg Hunt and Halloween Pumpkin Patch events, which now draw thousands of residents. There’s nothing more satisfying then seeing the face of a young child enjoying these quality events.

For adults in the holiday spirit, we now have various home decorating contests that are widely promoted and participated in. Events such as these, absolutely work to regain that sense of Belleville Pride and Community that was nearly gone just a few years ago.

Speaking of community pride, have you seen the planter boxes on the corners? DPW walking Washington Avenue? Police Bike Patrol? How about the mural? Well, that, plus various other art installations have been made possible through the dedication and volunteerism of Belleville’s official artist, the great Athena Zhe.

Speaking of events, let me tell you something, I was sick and tired of my mother and her friends heading over to Lyndhurst every Wednesday night in the summer for their annual summer concert series. Why couldn’t Belleville do this? Well, that’s exactly what we did! Thanks to Manager Iacono, our summer lineup was an impressive list of eclectic groups and bands. We ran the gamut; from oldies, to Latin, rock and even soul. I’m proud to say, our summer concert series will be back this summer. We have certainly started a new annual tradition in Belleville!

Not only do we support our veterans, but we are constantly acknowledging them and thanking them for their service. We used to have just a Veteran’s Day Parade. But now, it’s a Veterans Day Weekend, consisting of a 5K race, whereby proceeds directly benefit our four great veterans organizations and fund a scholarship.

My commitment to our valued vets is steadfast. Some of our vets are here tonight as my honored guests. Let’s once again thank them for their service.

Unfortunately, there are those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. And for those, Belleville NJ became the first Purple Heart Community in Essex County. And a new monument at the Veterans Memorial commemorates this designation.

Modern Belleville is also a healthy Belleville. Belleville is engaging in many sustainable initiatives. In 2020, we received recognition and became a certified a Bronze sustainable community. Since then, under the direction of Green Team leader, Mrs. Gabby Bennett-Meany, Belleville has been awarded two more sustainable Jersey grants.

Our Municipal Green Team, which Councilman Cozzarelli, a trusted and valued colleague, is part of, recently announced that the township has received the coveted, ‘Healthy Towns to Watch’ designation,” one of only seven towns in NJ to receive.

We accomplished this by constantly engaging the community and encouraging healthy activities. We host ‘Walk at Work,’ events and if you have ever joined us for either ‘Yoga in the Park,’ on the fourth of July, or our extremely popular, ‘Street Yoga Under the Cherry Blossoms,’ pop up event on Lovely Mertz Avenue, you would see just how much the community is enjoying these healthy new activities.

Speaking of healthy activities, we are also focused on active adults. To that end, I’m pleased to announce that pickleball, the fastest growing sport in America, will be part of our recreational facility renaissance. We are planning not one, but two sets of courts, at two different locations.

And while I’m at it, why is it that only humans can enjoy all these new recreational facilities? Did you know that your dog, whether large or small, can now get in on the action? It’s true, we just finished Belleville’s first ever dog park and residents and dogs alike, are thrilled with it. And we aren’t finished yet, there’s a second, even larger, dog park coming soon to the municipal park at #9 school. It’ll be included in a $1.6 million improvement and best of all, it’s not costing the taxpayers one cent! It’s all being funded by a developer’s community contributions.

Speaking of new, outdoor recreational facilities that promote a healthy lifestyle. A once-in-a-generation opportunity exists to create nearly nine miles of linear park running directly through Belleville. This new Greenway, spanning Essex and Hudson Counties, will improve access to nature and create new recreational and transportation opportunities for our residents.

The Essex-Hudson Greenway will offer residents easy access to nature for a range of activities including walking, biking and running.

There's no doubt about it. This is a gamechanger for our community.

Part of this new, modern Belleville renaissance are greatly improved, new recreational spaces. When my team and I got elected in 2018, Belleville had just one turf field and it was years past its life expectancy. For a town of our population, with our geographical size, we deserved better. And I think we’ve delivered on that!

When you add in the amazing public works projects the School District has embarked upon, collectively, we have quintupled the amount of field turf in Belleville is just 3.5 years.

Our new municipal stadium complex, along with the addition of an eight-lane competitive track, will be one of the only tracks in north jersey to host state track meets! Once complete, Our Stadium will be one of the best recreation facilities in the state. I told you Belleville was on the rise!

As I mentioned, the school district is certainly doing its part. In the past year or so, they completed the amazing work at Number 7 School and Number 8 school. These two new sport complexes, join the brand-new playgrounds located at nearly every single elementary school.

But that’s not all we’ve accomplished. We created Belleville’s first community garden located at Fairway Park, and we also installed brand new basketball courts at that location.

While I previously mentioned the $1.6 million improvement that’s coming to the municipal park down at #9 school, it’s worthy to note that the facility has already received an upgrade. We are quickly becoming a soccer community. Therefore, we currently have Belleville’s first, Futsal Court which again, came at zero taxpayer expense. We have also secured professional instruction and clinics by the NY/NJ Redbulls.

And since I believe progress is contagious, we are absolutely pleased to announce that Essex County is also making a substantial improvements into Belleville. Not only did they recently spent nearly $6 million upgrading Hendrick’s Golf course, one of only three in the county, but they have brought the nationally recognized First Tee program to Belleville. This means that 500 local kids will be exposed to golf at a young age. And if you know anything about golf, it’s all about learning the correct fundamentals at a young age. Not only will our children receive pro instruction, but they will have access to the best equipment and the ability to practice on an actual golf course.

But please don’t think our accomplishments are only for our children and active adults, for we have invested heavily into our most ‘seasoned citizens.’ For years, they had been underserviced and that ended nearly immediately upon our taking office.

I made a campaign promise to ride their senior bus during my first week in office. I did, and I dragged along Naomy… and while we had a great time with them, we saw firsthand their issues, concerns and struggles. The bus had a bad exhaust which filled the bus with dangerous carbon monoxide, and there wasn’t adequate room for their groceries. Well, let’s just say our seniors have a brand-new and well-deserved new senior shuttle.

Again, when I came into office and toured the senior center, it was in a state of disrepair. So not only did I promise a new bingo board, which has since been delivered, but while we closed down the center during covid, we worked to have a local developer provide a $40,000 upgrade to the facility; from new floors, to LED lighting and a new coat of paint, today’s senior center is much better than it was just last year.

Also, I promised them better programs. To that end, not only do I host an annual Senior BBQ, but we now have weekly Tai Chi Yoga and Zumba classes to keep our seniors moving.

And since everything can’t be fun and games, let’s talk about Belleville’s infrastructure.

Let’s start with the biggest improvements…. Next year, the state of NJ will transform Washington Avenue with a $13 million investment. The road will be unrecognizable when complete, this is a project that’s been a long time coming…

You may have noticed that PSEG ripped up a lot of streets. Well, in the past, they would just walk away and never addressed the damage. No more! We passed an ordinance that forces them to repave what they ripped up. Therefore, all the streets that just received new high pressure gas lines. Well…. Get ready… for your new street!

In the past few years, the township’s annual road improvement program has paved or is scheduled to pave 36 streets. I’m assuming that’s a record. And we aren’t just covering over old pipes. For the most part, we are replacing broken water mains and for the first time in history replacing residential lead service lines. To date, nearly 400 lines have been replaced, and all of the 17 streets we just bid out, will have their lead services lines replaced as well.

Our library is also in on the action under the direction of President Peralta, board trustees and our interim director. Over the past two years, they renovated all the children's rooms and updated technology services by purchasing all new laptops. More recently, their brand new ESL programs now include citizenship courses.

Wow! All of that in under 4 years!

Property values are up. Crime is down. Our streets are cleaner, our local economy is booming, we are attracting International brands… we have new parks… new fields… a dog park, a community garden, murals, a new municipal stadium complex. We finally have a THAT track. We are closing in on nearly 90% free Pre-K. We have positive and global press… increased local pride, and Starbucks is coming!

If someone told you this was all possible, in just four short years, you would have called them a liar. But, I’m here to say, oh no! This is Belleville!

Belleville’s future is a bright …and we are only getting started!

Belleville is back! We are here to stay. Join with me and staying the course, as we continue to work toward an even better Belleville.

Thank you, Belleville!

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Belleville Mayor Presents 2022 ‘State Of Township’ Address originally appeared on the Belleville-Nutley Patch