Diane Ciccone took her oath of office and was officially sworn into her first term as an elected member of West Windsor Township Council on November 23.
“I have often said we must have one foot in today and the other foot in tomorrow,” Ciccone said after being sworn in. “We are the stewards and must be mindful to do no harm. I look forward to working with residents to develop goals to a sustainable community. Sustainability in its broadest terms includes the environment, economic, and social fabric of our community.”
In addition to calling on the council to be progressive and to “think outside of the box to move our community forward,” Ciccone pledged to work with the council and administration in a “progressive and respectful manner” to seek ways to reduce costs and increase revenues. “West Windsor residents are not immune to the current national and global recession.”
She also commended her opponent, Andrew Hersh, for coming forward to run, saying, “This election showed that candidates can express issues and positions in a respective and positive manner.” And she urged residents to give her feedback. “I ask that you tell me how I’m doing, whether you agree or disagree,” she said. “Let me know what is important to you, and share your ideas and thoughts.”
Ciccone wasted no time after officially taking her seat at the dais. During the council comments portion of the meeting, she said she wanted to begin discussing two issues — the appointment of a sustainability task force and the redrafting of the township’s “nuisance law,” which she says can give the council more power to push for improvement along Route 571.
The sustainability task force, an idea Ciccone says she has previously proposed, would consist of residents, business owners, council, administration, and township professionals. “I would like to get people together to talk about different initiatives,” she said. The task force could make recommendations to council for action. She asked for it to be put on the agenda for discussion at the next meeting.
The township’s current nuisance law only states that property owners have to have their vacant buildings boarded up to keep out trespassers. However, that law can be strengthened, specifically so that the township can use it to force property owners of vacant buildings on Route 571 to move quickly in improving the buildings’ appearance, she said. She said she wanted council to authorize Township Attorney Michael Herbert to look into ways to strengthen the ordinance.
Other discussions. Ciccone was not the only one pushing her ideas. The 2010 municipal budget, which has been a frequent topic at recent council meetings, again was the subject of concern for council members looking to ease the burden on residents during a rough economic climate.
Earlier last month, a proposal by Councilman Charles Morgan that would have mandated the administration submit a budget with no increase, and also include options outlining various percentage increases, was rejected by his colleagues.
Under his proposed policy, the administration would have been required to show the implications of a zero percent increase – including the areas in the budget that would have to be cut to have a zero percent increase – followed by the implications of a 1 percent increase, and so on.
On November 23, Morgan called on Councilman Kamal Khanna to join him in going over his own proposals and calculations for the budget season — as he has done since Khanna joined the council in July.
Khanna, however, discussed his own ideas. “I support the administration’s plan to submit a budget and not multiple budgets.” While he did not support the proposal, Khanna said during the meeting that under current economic conditions, he felt that “raising taxes in 2010 is not an option, and neither is cutting essential services.”
Instead, Khanna suggested setting up a task force for the administration to help find areas for cost savings.
