Candidate Profiles: Councilwoman Celeste Scavetta, Councilman Peter Rebsch, and Council Candidate Darren Drake

Councilwoman Celeste Scavetta, Councilman Peter Rebsch and Council Candidate Darren Drake contend that with the exception of 2000 and 2004, this is the first time in 21 years that Republicans have had majority control of the council. 

One of the issues dominating the campaign is the response to post-flood trash pick-up. Scavetta and Rebsch emphasized that the borough had a contract with Waste Management to provide trash pick-up, but Waste Management did not show up. Then Tropical Storm Lee swept in and exacerbated the situation.

It was the response of the community who reached out to the 200 families whose homes were devastated by the flood that made these candidates proud to be serving New Milford. "The way that the community banded together to help was incredible,"  Scavetta said. Whether it was opening up their homes to people who had nowhere to go or the Labor Day of Love barbecue, the spirit of community was overwhelming. 

"In fact," Scavetta continued, "the day after the flood all of us were there as the people from Columbia Street got off the boats." Scavetta even opened her home to a family who had no other place to go because, as she said, "That's what neighbors do for each other."

Embedded into every conversation about the flood is United Water. Scavetta maintains that this Mayor and Council have been extremely proactive and have taken a great deal of action in ensuring that the residents' concerns be heard in the higher echelons of government where change to United Water's policy of retaining water can be affected. "We're looking for real solutions," Scavetta said. 

Post-Irene, Bergen County initiated a Flood Advisory Council on which Mayor Subrizi sits, and Representative Scott Garrett's office has come to New Milford to speak with the Mayor and Council and flood-affected business owners and residents.

Also, Mayor Subrizi, along with members of the council, the borough engineer, and residents were invited by United Water to talk about flooding. 

"I asked the hard questions," Scavetta said. "I wanted to know when the last time water was regulated at a level they had to keep it at." United Water representatives informed Scavetta that it was ten years prior. 

"So, with all the development that has taken place in the last ten years there has been no change," Scavetta said.

Scavetta claimed, "Whereas United Water is drought-driven, we look at the rainfall over the last 10 years." She says that while United Water also looks at the data, it is not a factor in their water level retention policy.

That being the case, the Scavetta, Rebsch and Drake team say that a different direction must be taken in order to mandate United Water lower their levels, such as banding with other flood-affected towns and petitioning the governor to intervene. "It was Governor Christie who got United Water to lower their levels two to three days prior to Irene," Scavetta said. 

Regarding the United Water Property, Scavetta, Rebsch and Drake unanimously responded that they "fiercly" oppose high density housing and the strain that it would cause on the entire infrastructure of the town. "What happens to this land will change the face of New Milford," Scavetta said. 

They said they were not the ones who created the master plan that zoned that property for high density housing. Drake claimed he entered the race for council based on his opposition to building high density housing on that tract of land.

As Vice President of the Board of Education, he felt that any high density development would have a severe and negative impact on the infrastructure of the schools, adding that space as it exists now within the schools is tight. He does not want to see trailers on school property because there is not enough classroom space.

Scevetta and Rebsch want residents to know that there was never a vote scheduled to be taken on that property behind the public's back. "No votes were ever taken or even talked about being taken without the public being notified," Scavetta said. 

Regarding taxes, Scavetta and Rebsch want to clear the misperception that they raised taxes to the highest allowable rate. Given the continued loss of state aid, and increased cost of services, they said that they stayed within the parameters of the state mandate.

She said that she understands the concerns of the taxpayers because she is a taxpayer. "I'm a single parent who moved to New Milford 18 years ago. My taxes were $3,800, now they're $11,000. That's the reason I ran for council--because I was bleeding taxes," Scavetta said. 

Regarding shared services, the candidates plan to continue to explore areas where this can be accomplished. 

Scavetta said that the current Mayor and Council are actively looking into every area of government to determine where services can be shared in order to save the taxpayers money. 

Also, a Field Subcommittee has been formed to include Councilman Rebsch, the Recreation Commission, Superintendent Polizzi, NMHS Athletic Director Joe Ricciardelli, and concerned parents to find an appropriate location for a flood-free athletic field that can be jointly used by the Board of Education and the town. This field will be jointly funded by the town and the Board of Education. "This has never been done before," Rebsch commented.

Additionally, Scavetta has helped to implement programs for seniors at no cost to the town. "I've found high school and college students who have an expertise that they can lend to our seniors in exchange for service credit." Some of these programs include computer training, learning how to use your cell phone camera, and line dancing.

Concerning minutes, Scavetta says that all the current mayor and council did was expedite the process of getting the minutes to the public. Previously, administrative staff was required to transcribe minutes verbatim resulting in a lag time of eight to nine months.

"By allowing the administrative staff to provide concise, clear, legal minutes we can now provide the minutes to our residents in a month or less." She added that audio tapes of the meetings are always available at borough hall for residents who wish to listen to the full transcript.

Scavetta, Rebsch and Drake want the residents to know that they are a representative snapshot of New Milford. Scevetta, a marketing executive, has served as president of both the Gibbs Elementary School and DEO Middle School PTO's, headed fundraising for both, and has a daughter in NMHS. Her involvement with the Senior Center both on and off the council has made her an advocate to their needs as well.

Having younger children, Rebsch, a small business owner, is very involved with the youth of the community. He has been a travel soccer coach for 14 years and coordinator for New Milford travel soccer for six seasons. 

Drake, a graduate of DEO Middle School and NMHS class of 2003, and a business systems analyst, is currently Vice President of the Board of Education.

In getting ready for upcoming contract negotiations, all three candidates contend that their experience in both their professional and civic lives make them adept at negotiations. 

In talking about his ability to negotiate, Drake said, "As Vice President of the Board of Education, I've had to negotiate teachers contracts with the very same teachers who taught me." 

These three candidates insist that it's not about being a Democrat or Republican. It's about providing services and bringing their expertise to the town that "we all love and want to remain in."

Drake added, "To quote Corey Booker (Mayor of Newark), 'There's no Democratic or Republican way to fill a pothole.'"