An Insider's View

Not Quite Fireworks

Deborah Shapiro shares her experience on township council.

Deborah Shapiro has been writing about her experiences as a first-year member of township council in a blog called “From the Desk of Deborah Shapiro.” Livingston Patch is running excerpts of her writings. A Republican, Shapiro makes it clear these are her opinions as she joins a long-dominated Democratic council.  ... One of the issues on which I ran was to work to make local government more transparent. As yet, we do not have the meetings televised – which is an issue that has been raised and I am told they are "working on it."  Until that time, I blog.  For those who cannot come to the meetings, I hope that an insider’s perspective, along with reportage by the Patch and the West Essex Tribune, will round out the picture of what is …

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What Does Livingston's Spending Plan Mean to You?

Council preserves all municipal services, including leaf collection and social services, under $41.5 million budget.

If the $41.5 million Livingston municipal budget introduced Monday night is approved in its current form, it will mean the township will be spending less but will preserve all municipal services from 2011. Under the new budget, homeowners will see an annual increase of $44.03 in property taxes which factors out to roughly $4 more per month. According to Zillow.com, a real estate information website, the average value of a Livingston house is $464,700. The budget comes after months of discussion, in which members of the council met with various department heads on a weekly basis to determine the most efficient way to allocate funds for the year.  What Does It All Mean For You? According to Township Manager Michele Meade, the goal of the …

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Monday Night Fireworks?

Shapiro says she’s ‘mad as hell’ over proposed budget.

Taxes will go up $45 for the average homeowner in Livingston, a number the mayor says every member of the town council has approved in advance of Monday night’s formal budget presentation. Not so fast, says Deborah Shapiro. “No, I haven’t drunk the Kool-Aid.” Shapiro says she is “mad as hell” about increasing the tax burden on Livingston residents. And she’s livid that the mayor’s report says council members unanimously agreed on a budget that will be presented on Monday night. In a blunt conversation with Patch in advance of the public meeting, Shapiro said, “This is not a budget I am willing to accept.” Shapiro has lobbied for a zero percent tax increase this year. She’s been asked if she really had hoped to make a difference as a …

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Mayor's Report

2011 Budget Preserves All Services

The formal budget presentation will be March 28.

Last Monday the Council unanimously agreed on a budget that will be introduced at our March 28, 2011 meeting; a budget that preserves the services that residents have come to expect, at an affordable cost and one that maintains the fiscal integrity of the township. For the second straight year, operating expenses are lower than what they were in the previous year. After five weeks of meeting with each municipal department head to review their budget, the Council received the Town Manager’s budget recommendation on February 25, 2011. We spent the following weeks discussing that recommendation and seeking further expense reductions. Additional reductions of $106,000 were made to the budget while maintaining all of our services. By the end of…

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