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THE FIRST 100 DAYS
ACROPOLIS REFLECTS ON FIRST THREE MONTHS AS BRICK MAYOR
By Keith Hagarty
As he presented his first 100-day report to the Township Council, Mayor Stephen Acropolis said it came with a great sense of pride in what was accomplished in a very short period of time and has an even greater sense of excitement for Brick's future.
"Prior to taking office and throughout a great part of the (mayoral) campaign, promised to hit the ground running, focusing exclusively on what was best for the Brick Township taxpayers," said Acropolis. "I know that I have kept that promise."
After the scandal-ridden demise of the previous administration under former Mayor Joseph Scarpelli, who is currently serving an 18-month jail term on corruption charges, Acropolis said it's imperative he and the governing body go the extra mile as they attempt to restore the public's trust in its elected officials.
"I understood that openness and transparency in the town's government would be critical if we were to succeed, given the open wounds that existed as a result of the prior administration," he said.
To begin the healing process, Acropolis pointed to his appointment of Mark Ellsworth to chair the transition team, given the task of reviewing municipal operations and making recommendations to create more efficient government.
"The transition team members did extensive and exhaustive reviews of all municipal departments, and I'm deeply grateful for their efforts on behalf of all our residents," said Acropolis. "The report made it clear to me that there was an organizational structure here in government that was either lacking, or in some cases nonexistent and needed to be revamped."
With no clear chain of command, Acropolis said many municipal departments ultimately lacked any individual accountability.
"This does not serve the taxpayer well," he said. "Therefore in order to begin the process of instilling efficiencies and overcoming some of the problems we saw, we started by reorganizing some of our departments."
In addition to streamlining and reallocating its internal assets, two additional departments- community development and land use, and parks and recreation- were created to improve performance at no increased cost to the taxpayers, the mayor said.
"I expect that these two revamped entities will continue to pay dividends in the future as they start to run more efficiently as we move our government forward," said Acropolis.
To further the administration's goal of an open government for the people, Acropolis said he has always wanted to instill "a customer friendly atmosphere" to Brick in a resident-driven business.
"Management and employees should remain committed to satisfying the needs and expectations of our residents," he said.
Some of the other initiatives Acropolis emphasized were a concerted effort to enhance information flow through upgrades to the municipal television station and township Web site.
"I believe that we need to have informed residents helping us to make informed decisions that will benefit all of us in the future," he said. "We will utilize B20 (municipal television station) to a greater extent than ever before, and we will work with the board of education and other agencies and community groups- such as the Rotary Club or Brick Chamber (of Commerce)- to make this the best municipal television station in the state of New Jersey."
Acropolis also spoke of the town's efforts to provide safety measures for Chambers Bridge Road, improvement projects for Route 70, as well as Brick negotiating a redeveloper's agreement with the New Jersey Museum of Boating and a potential marina operator at the Trader's Cove site in lieu of more residential development along the waterway.
"We are also well on our way to getting reimbursed by Green Acres for the parkland on the site," he said.
To further address environmental protection and finding alternative energy sources, Acropolis formed the Mayor's Advisory Council on Renewable Energy, with the mission of investigating ways that municipal government can realize savings through the use of renewable and alternative energy measures.
"The committee will explore solar and wind turbine energy opportunities, as well as doing efficiency studies of municipal facilities," said Acropolis. "I'm happy to report that we're making progress on that front."
After Governor Jon Corzine announced a multi-decade plan to increase tolls on the Garden State Parkway and the Atlantic City Expressway, the township was one of the first towns to oppose such a plan.
"On January 15, I asked council to support a resolution in opposition to that plan, and you did," he told the council. "Now many other communities and freeholder boards across the state have followed suit. Brick Township again was the leader, and I thank you for your support."
Asking local residents to pick up the slack for shoddy fiscal planning by the state is absurd, according to Acropolis.
"It's unacceptable to expect taxpayers of Brick and other communities to pay 800 percent increases to bail out a state that spends money, I believe, recklessly and out of control," he said.
With state cap limitations in place on how much a municipal government's budget can grow, Acropolis said the town had no choice but to make what it has run as efficiently and cost-effective as possible.
"We have undertaken exhaustive efforts to identify areas of savings," he said. "We have reduced the municipal staff through attrition as people retire, and we are reallocating personnel to fill positions whenever possible instead of hiring new employees."
To date, the initiatives have already resulted in over $300,000 in payroll savings and a net reduction in employees, according to the mayor.
"We need to do more with less, and we will continue that process," said Acropolis.
Some of the cost-saving measures include the town's recent decision to sell its surplus items and equipment through an online auction service.
"This service will help us save money in overtime and legal advertising," said Acropolis. "While these savings may not seem substantial at first, when you start finding more and more areas to save, they become substantial at last."
Overall, Acropolis said he's pleased with the progress he and the council have been able to undertake over the last few months.
"Our first 100 days have been extremely busy and productive," he said. "There's a great deal of work that lies ahead of us, and I'm eager to get to it."
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