Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli, 3 Councilmen Take Oath Of Office, Plus New Firefighters Sworn In

SECAUCUS, NJ — Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli and three members of the town Council, Rob Costantino, Mark Dehnert and William "Bill" McKeever, were sworn in Tuesday night for another term running the town of Secaucus.

Each man took the oath of office surrounded by their families and loved ones, pledging on a Bible their fidelity and duty to the town.

"I'm probably going to keep running (for mayor) until I die," Gonnelli joked to the crowd, prompting Councilman Costantino to say "I think you should," which was met with resounding claps of endorsement from the audience.

This will be Gonnelli's fifth term as mayor of Secaucus; he was first elected as Secaucus mayor in 2009. He's been the town's mayor for 17 years. Before he ran for mayor, Gonnelli was a councilman for two years.

Gonnelli told Patch the morning after his swearing-in that he has some big things planned for Secaucus; stay tuned for a new article on that Thursday.

"We have the highest rateable this year that we've ever had," said Gonnelli. "Also, we have a surplus in this year's budget, and I try my best to keep taxes stable."

A rateable is property that has to pay property taxes. Gonnelli said this year Secaucus' rateable base is very high — the highest it's ever been — and it comes from "new construction, warehouses, industry and hotels" in town, he said.

On Tuesday night, Gonnelli thanked the Secaucus Police Dept., under the leadership of Police Chief Dennis Miller, the town DPW and the Secaucus Fire Dept., which the mayor emphasized should remain volunteer.

"Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer, let's keep it that way," said Gonnellli.

"Let's keep this town going, let's make it the best town in the state of New Jersey, the best town in the United States of America, thank you so much," said Gonnelli to more claps from the crowd.

See photos from when Gonnelli, Costantino, Dehnert and McKeever were sworn in three years ago, in January 2022.