Mayor Ziegler's State of the Borough Speech

To see so many good friends, neighbors, and family here is truly gratifying and humbling.  (Sue, my Mom, my son Brad and his girlfriend Jamie – my other son, Justin, is in Lagos, Nigeria with my daughter in law Lucy where it’s 2:30 am so he has a good excuse.).

Thank you for such a wonderful turnout. To have Judge Ben Choi is also an honor, and I am very pleased he swore me in. Thank you, Judge Choi. I know you had to make some last minute adjustments to your schedule to be here.

I would be remiss not to mention someone very special to me who can’t be here.  Former Congressman Harold “Cap” Hollenbeck planned to swear me in. He was my first real boss from my seven years in Washington and a huge mentor. He married Sue and me in our Leonia backyard.  I have always felt a personal and professional connection to Judge Hollenbeck.  I know he is here in spirit, and I wish Cap a speedy recovery.

I am humbled by Leonians’ confidence in me to serve as your Mayor. It is an honor and opportunity I take very seriously. Regardless of whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent – I will work for all of you and listen to all.  Working cooperatively with the rest of the governing body, I will always do what I believe is best for Leonia.  You can count on it.

As Chief Executive Officer of the Borough, I am also the Chief Communications Officer.  Leonians must stay well-informed about events and key issues. Let’s minimize surprises by enhancing communication channels.  We plan to update and revamp the website, utilize Nixle messages, share YouTube videos on key topics, leverage the listserv, make use of the new digital sign in front of the library and host more Town Halls.  My commitment is to disseminate information in a way that suits the public, recognizing that some methods may be more effective than others. By providing more information about what’s going on we can invite more informed participation.

Hopefully this heightened awareness will inspire more individuals to step forward as volunteers, ready to contribute and be a part of the solutions we need. Leonia thrives because of the dedication of our volunteers–they are the backbone of this community.  Many of these volunteers are being appointed this evening.  Including our fire officers who run an essential 24/7 operation for us.

The good news is through the hard work and commitment of all our volunteers and staff– the Governing Body and everyone else– we have ensured the stability of our borough.   But we are currently faced with challenges that demand collective effort.

The next few years will either plot a course for Leonia’s continued uniqueness and success, or we could succumb to external development pressures which threaten to subsume our community like has happened elsewhere across New Jersey. As Mayor John Stenken told me many years ago, there are three things which make Leonia special: “First is zoning, second is zoning and third is zoning.” You don’t have to look far to see what happens when you don’t have good zoning to keep in check developer interests.

If you look at a satellite view of Leonia and the surrounding communities, you can readily distinguish the boundaries of our town. We are like a green island in the middle of a more developed expanse. People move to and stay in Leonia because we offer quiet, tree-lined streets, great municipal services, and a strong school system. Children can play in their backyard, have friends on their block, and grow up in an idyllic community a mere stone’s throw away from the NYC skyline. It is truly the best of both worlds.

Unfortunately, there are some unscrupulous developers out there who look at our community as a rich target of opportunity.

We should proactively work with responsible developers who share our vision– A Leonia with a more balanced representation of commercial and retail establishments to ease the burden we currently put on today’s homeowners while protecting the very residential character of our borough that makes us so special.  We have 93% of our taxpayer burden borne by homeowners today. This is not sustainable.  Compare this to any of our surrounding communities, and we are much higher than typical.

So a big test of the next few years is to ensure our Quality of Life is maintained through strict zoning regulations while proceeding with sensible redevelopment plans to emphasize more commercial and retail below Grand Avenue on Fort Lee Road and along Willow Tree Road.

Tonight, I will be appointing a Mayor’s Advisory Board to work directly with me on redevelopment and to develop recommendations for our governing body. I expect this advisory board to get to work quickly.

I’m asking them to take the redevelopment plan recently reported out by the Planning Board and adjust it to better reflect the input of our citizens, and to massage it so it can get the majority of Leonians behind it. Part of this task is communication and education. Part of this task is making necessary changes that reflect the political realities, priorities, and interests of a clear majority. I’ve also asked Leonia’s #1 taxpayer and largest employer, Kulite Industries, to serve on it particularly since they are within the redevelopment area.  As a clean industry and socially responsible corporate neighbor their voice at the table is an important step in the right direction.  As Leonians we should recognize that Kulite’s success is our success too.

This reorganization meeting tonight will put some of the essential players in the right roles to help us move forward. As we progress through these appointments, please listen to the diversity of boards, committees, commissions and ask yourself if there is anything that appeals to you. What can you do for Leonia to help us meet some of the challenges we are facing today? There is something out there for everyone, especially for the recently retired who have a little extra time on their hands.

As we tackle the challenges associated with redevelopment, we must also in the near term focus on the 2024 budget.   2024 will be one of the more difficult budget years in a while. In truth, they are all hard and we’re not likely to get out of this reality for years. At least not until we get more revenue that requires less burden on municipal services.

In 2024, we are losing Pandemic funding which, by itself is $500,000 hit.  We used this money to fund the vaccine clinics and, to a much larger extent, Police Salaries and Wages. We are expecting another substantial state-mandated increase in pension and benefit costs. We also have the costs associated with the beginning of the revaluation/reassessment process. Yes, another county mandated revaluation is just around the corner.

With inflationary pressures, we know this poses a particularly challenging budget effort these next few months. I’ve asked Councilman Christoph Hesterbrink to lead our budget formulation efforts for the governing body as Chair of the Finance Committee. It’s fair to say the Finance Committee and our very capable CFO, Issa Abbasi, have their work cut out for them this year.  I have full confidence in them and so should you.

I’m going to close on a high note. This is a dream job for me. Yes, this volunteer job comes with a fair share of trials and tribulations. But I get something incredibly valuable out of the experience. I get to represent all of you and make decisions which I believe are in the best interest of a town I love and the only hometown I have ever known. I got to travel the world several times over during my corporate career, but there is truly no place like home.  I have every intention of staying here in Leonia until the very end. And with your help, I hope to leave behind, through my service, a better Leonia than otherwise might have been.

Thanks again for the honor to serve as your next Mayor. Now let’s get to work.