PARSIPPANY — Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Council held their reorganization meeting on Tuesday, January 5. The council voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Louis Valori as their new president, replacing Paul Carifi, Jr. Robert Peluso was voted in as Vice President, to serve his second two-year term.
Dr. Valori stated his new council position as President by addressing the audience: “I want to start by thanking the council for instilling its faith and confidence in me to lead this government body in good faith while tackling the tough issues that face this town.”
“When I was elected to this council two years ago. I promised Parsippany residents I would work to deliver on accountability in municipal government reign in on municipal spending and property tax hikes, promote business and partnerships and improve township services,” he continued.
Dr. Valori said “In the time which I served on the council we have made great progress in these measures:
- We cut the budget by 2.2 million dollars over the past two years without any layoffs to township employees nor any negative impact on services.
- We increased the number of police officers patrolling our streets from 87 to 101 officers. This will help provide our residents with increased safety and security and enhanced traffic enforcement throughout the township. Additionally, we lowered overtime costs in the police department by $200,000.
- We provided our valuable blue-collar workers fair and equitable contract which is long overdue and fair to the taxpayers
- We focused on economic growth with the town being the corporate headquarters for GAF. United Parcel Service will also locate its new corporate headquarters for the Technical Division in our township in the near future, and CVS along with other major companies will be calling Parsippany their home in the not too distant future.
- We successfully fought to retain open space and worked to keeping our parks prestigious and will soon have a multipurpose field at Smith Field.”
“As much as we can celebrate our overall achievements, we will not rest on our laurels as more work remains. My dedication to lead the council to advance upon the accomplishments made thus far and work collaboratively with our valuable employees to improve the way the township does business-will continue. For example during my council meetings I will make sure that the Chief Financial Officer, Ann Cucci, and Business Administrator, Ellen Sandman, to provide a status report on all township utilities and departments this will keep the council updated and provide transparency to the public,” said Valori.
He also stressed “Some of the other areas I want to focus on are legal bills. Our township budget and taxpayers have been burdened by these skyrocketing costs. I will work closely with our Chief Financial Officer and Business Administrator regarding all legal fees. Continued reform is alive and well as I will now lead this council to embrace the ongoing changes about more transparency, fiscal restraint and accountability. These are critical responsibilities this council needs to aggressively take on to facilitate a better quality-of-life for our residents whom we serve.”
Valori ended “Parsippany taxpayers can trust that this council will continue to embark on its unwavering commitment not to give in to any special interest that seeks what is easy or popular or blindly pursue past paths of least resistance which makes absolutely no sense and have cost taxpayers too much money. Moving forward starting today, I look forward working with my fellow council members, Mayor James Barberio and the administration to provide an efficient effective accountable government. Thank you and God Bless Parsippany.”
In addition to making committee appointments, four resolutions were passed:
- Resolution of the Township Council of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills Confirming the Appointment to the Township Public Defender and Awarding Contract for Professional Services to Matthew W. Young, Esq. of the Firm Nuzzi & Mason, LLC for the year 2016. The vote was 5-0.
- Resolution of the Township Council of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills Confirming
Doug Cabana, Esq. the Appointment to the Township Public Defender and Awarding Contract for Professional Services to Joseph E. Bock, Esq. for the year 2016. The vote was 5-0.
- Resolution of the Township Council of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills Confirming the Appointment to the Township Chief Municipal Prosecutor and Awarding Contract for Professional Services to Doug R. Cabana, Esq. The vote was 4-0, with Mr. Paul Carifi, Jr., abstaining.
- Resolution of the Township Council of the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills Confirming the Appointment to the Township Municipal Prosecutor and Awarding Contract for Professional Services to John Cesaro, Esq. The vote was 4-0, with Mr. Paul Carifi, Jr., abstaining.
The next council meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 19 with more than a dozen resolutions to award contracts to the Township Attorney John Inglesino, Todd M. Galante, Esq., Stephen Trimboli, Esq., and Michael B. Lavery, Esq., among other professional services.
