New, Familiar Faces Take on Town Government Roles

Veteran Councilwoman Michelle Harris-King was elected Sunday to be president of the Morristown Town Council as the governing body held its 273rd reorganization meeting.

Harris-King, whose term ends this year, replaced Anthony Cattano as council president. Cattano was unable to attend the ceremony because he is recovering from recent surgery, Mayor Tim Dougherty said.

New Councilman Stefan Armington, , was sworn in, as were re-elected incumbents Rebecca Feldman, an Independent, and Republican Alison Deeb. Feldman was elected council vice-president, a role previously held by Harris-King.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment was shaken up with James Bednarz and Linda Carrington, a former second alternate, being appointed by the council as full voting members.

Meredith Marcus was selected as the first alternate, replacing Emile Najm, and Denis Ciklic––replaced Carrington as second alternate.

Harris-King said the changes were necessary because of the departure from Morristown of one member and a desire to appoint new members.

Deeb, the council’s only Republican saw her two nominations defeated by the majority Democrats. She said she was disappointed her nominees were not selected but noted, “it’s politics.”

Dougherty said the redevelopment of the downtown district and other positive activity in the county seat shows that Morristown is considered “a special center.”

He said 2011 was marked by , the high-end housing project that replaced the Epstein’s department store, and the arrival of and . The mayor said these were signs of the diversification of the town’s shopping district.

The big news of 2011, he said, was the series of that and the continued issues with the electric service offered by Jersey Central Power & Light. Dougherty said he was gratified that the state Bureau of Public Utilities assigned a special master to examine the town’s electric circuits operated by JCP&L.

Dougherty also said an inspection of street lights in Morristown found 140 were not working. The list was forwarded to JCP&L, he said, and the town will continue to insist the broken lights are put back in service. He said that number of broken street lights was “unacceptable.”

The mayor said the response to the storms by municipal workers and residents showed the town is “a cohesive community” as it rose to the challenge of the weather events.

Last year the town government reduced the tax rate by 2 cents even though it faced a drop of $35 million in property values, and a $875,000 increase in health and pension costs, Dougherty said at the reorganization meeting. The town’s 2011 budget, he said, was $1 million below the state-mandated 2 percent tax levy cap. The town’s workforce also has been trimmed by 16 percent through attrition, layoffs and leaving open positions unfilled, Dougherty said.

In 2012, the mayor said the town will see the budget impact of , and . Those moves, which cut $278,000 from the 2011 budget, will trim $670,000 more over the next two years, he said.