2008 State of the City Address
By Mayor James J. Kennedy
January 7, 2008

Thank you and good evening. I would like to begin my message by congratulating Council President Sam Steinman and welcoming all those present this evening.

2008 is a special year in the City of Rahway. 150 years ago, Rahway was incorporated as a City, becoming part of the newly-created Union County. We are presently planning some events for this year that celebrate our city’s fair history, while looking ahead to the future. In the upcoming months we will begin to post information on the city’s Web site and on Channel 34.

In 2007, the New York Times and WCBS News did feature stories on Rahway’s rebirth, citing our frequent train service to Manhattan as a “boon for commuters” and describing how downtown redevelopment has benefited the entire city.

As we look ahead for the next 12 months, I can say with certainty that the state of the City remains strong. We offer excellent city services for your tax dollar. Our solid waste and recycling services are among the best in the county. Our bulk pickup is so effective locally that we also provide shared services to neighboring communities for this service at a profit to our taxpayer. Our Recreation Center and library are the envy of municipalities across the region.

In spite of the downturn in the national economy due to the sub prime debacle, 2008 will see continued progress on our redevelopment efforts downtown. Our negotiations on the Town Center project are continuing to be defined and are moving forward. In the meantime, Luciano’s, a 250-seat fine Italian restaurant, has opened on Main Street and is certainly well worth the wait. The Skyview hotel and condominium will be completed later this year as well as the new Park Square development across the street from the YMCA. With a major focus in utilizing the cultural arts as a stimulus for economic development, the City Council has authorized the demolition of the Hamilton Laundry site. It will be transformed into a new space for the arts along the Rahway River and will be a vehicle for neighborhood improvement. It will include an outdoor amphitheater as well as a new fit-out for dance and a theater for smaller performances. The rehabilitated and expanded Union County Arts Center – now 80 years young – is reopening with the word “performing” in the middle of its name. It is well-poised to be a regional destination for the cultural arts for years to come. For the first time, the UCPAC will house a professional theater company – the Alliance Repertory Theater Company – which will open its ninth season in its new home right here in Rahway. I’d like to thank the Union County Board of Freeholders – in particular, Rahway’s own Chester Holmes and Rick Proctor – for their vision and support of this worthy endeavor.

While 2008 will surely see its share of successes, it is not without its challenges. We may not think of it often, but sewerage – the system of pipes and equipment that turns our wastewater into clean water – is important business. We rely on it to keep the Rahway River clean, to ensure continued economic growth in our community and to protect public health.

The Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority presently serves more than 300,000 residents and 3,500 industrial and commercial customers in Union and Middlesex Counties, including the City of Rahway. Due to court-ordered mandates that have resulted in an expansion of the RVSA treatment plant costing in excess of $250 million, the cost of treating wastewater for the residents and businesses of the member communities is expected to skyrocket. In fact, total appropriations for the Rahway portion of the sewer utility are expected to jump from $3.6 million for Fiscal Year 2007 to almost $6.1 million by Fiscal Year 2010. That’s an increase of some 70 percent in just 4 years!

Unfortunately, some of the commissioners on the sewerage authority seem to be unfazed by these increases that are hitting every member municipality, preferring to maintain a “business as usual” attitude. Meanwhile, their residents and businesses continue to get socked with double-digit sewer and tax increases. As Mayor, this is unacceptable and unfair to the citizens of Rahway. I have instructed Rahway’s representative to hold the RVSA accountable for its spending and will continue to advocate for Rahway taxpayers in 2008.

To help residents get a better handle on how much they actually pay for their sewer system, property owners will now be billed separately for sewers rather than have their sewer bill included in their property tax bill. This method is presently being done by dozens of municipalities across New Jersey and will result in homeowners paying a fairer share of the total sewerage cost.

Under the old system, residential users bore the burden of 62 percent of the city’s total sewer bill. By switching to the more equitable user fee system, homeowners will be paying only 37 percent of the total sewer costs. This means that the owner of a home in Rahway assessed at $150,000 who once paid an average of $441 in sewer fees as part of their municipal property tax bill will now pay a $245 annual fee. You will be billed quarterly in a similar fashion as your water bill. These charges are expected to remain unchanged for the next five years.

By removing the sewer utility from the property tax bill, by restraining spending, and by receiving $10 million in additional tax ratables derived from redevelopment, I am pleased to announce that the municipal portion of your Rahway tax bill will see a zero increase this year. I’m sure that we will be among only a handful of communities across the state that will be able to state that as a fact. This does not rule out potential increases from the Board of Education and County – and I urge them to keep any property tax increase to a minimum – but it is good news nonetheless for Rahway taxpayers.

Rahway already enjoys one of the lowest tax bills in the area and was recently cited by the Star-Ledger as having the second-most stable tax bill in the entire county since 2000. In spite of increased insurance costs and pension obligations from the state, we will continue to work hard to keep this enviable title and ensure that Rahway remain a great place to live, work and raise a family.

On behalf of all of our City employees, as well as my wife, Lori and son, Sean, I would like to wish everyone a safe, happy and healthy New Year!