MONTCLAIR COUNCIL MEMBER PETER YACOBELLIS HOSTS WIDE-RANGING TOWN HALL FOR HUNDREDS OF MONTCLAIR RESIDENTS

PROVIDES UPDATES ON INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, SCHOOL BOND AND FINANCIAL METRICS

TAKES A STAND TO MAKE HIS POSITION KNOWN ON OTHER KEY ISSUES; REINFORCES THE TENETS OF GOOD GOVERNMENT AND DOESN’T SHY FROM TOUGH QUESTIONS

(MONTCLAIR, NJ) – Last night Montclair Council Member Peter Yacobellis hosted a Community Town Hall to a packed audience at the Montclair Art Museum. Yacobellis took nearly two hours of questions from residents on a wide range of topics, continuing after the event concluded to speak with residents who stayed behind to hear their concerns. This was Yacobellis’ third Town Hall since taking office and first in-person. Before getting to questions, Yacobellis took residents through updates on infrastructure projects around town including the recent water crisis, Bloomfield Ave. traffic signals, Township pools, parks, cannabis licenses and the Midtown Deck.

Yacobellis also presented a series of slides talking about the crucial school bond vote on the November ballot, showcasing a series of before-and-after images of classrooms and facilities, should the bond go through. He touched on the breakdown of investment by both building and project type, emphasizing the need for the massive investment in new heating and air conditioning systems for buildings with an average age of 96 years. He also talked about the impact to property taxes, the vote of confidence the State of New Jersey is showing by covering nearly a third of the costs and pleaded with residents to do right both by kids in our schools and those who rely on equity in their homes as nest eggs; highlighting what he considers “the risk to the allure of Montclair if we don’t fix the schools”.

Not backing down from his consistent, fierce opposition to the fire contract with Glen Ridge; Yacobellis presented content showing what Montclair could have gained in revenue over the next 15-year period had the Council considered financial modeling that the Township CFO had prepared – information withheld from the majority of the Council before the Township pursued a bid. Yacobellis further illustrated the lopsided agreement by breaking down the costs and services for residents in each of the two towns.

“What this agreement locks us into is a scenario, that when you consider all the true costs of operating a full time Fire Department, based on the proportion of services received and what we’re charging Glen Ridge – each time we respond to a call in Glen Ridge – they’re paying about $247 per call, while Montclair taxpayers pay $9,400 per call. The point of a shared services agreement is to pool services and costs so that everyone saves money. That clearly isn’t happening here.”, said Yacobellis

From his thoughts on the Fire Contract, Yacobellis then launched into affirming his values when it comes to good government: Taking a stance on issues; communicating clearly; using data to inform decisions without forgetting that people are policy; sunlight is the best disinfectant; it’s vital to support an independent press and encourage active, public engagement.

Early in the program, Yacobellis took the time to remind residents of the form of government in Montclair – one where the Township Manager is the Executive, and the Mayor is simply first among equals on the legislative body – the Council. Yacobellis made it a point to remind residents that serving on the Council only earns one $10,000 per year. After the Town Hall, Yacobellis had this to say in a statement sent to the media: “I think it’s important for folks to know the reality here. I want to work my butt off to help people, to fix these problems and so do many of my colleagues. But the current system forces us to spend our time making money outside of these roles and crowds out people who are qualified to serve but not be able to afford it. I think Montclair needs a fairly compensated Mayor and Council.”

During the night when residents pressed Yacobellis on the performance of the Township Manager, he was careful to not cross a line “he is my employee and I can’t discuss my employee’s performance in a public town hall”, he said. But later, Yacobellis acknowledged that there is an overall leadership crisis in the town saying specifically that he “thinks the jury is still out on if it’s the people in some of these roles, elected include, or the structure that needs to change.” After the fact Yacobellis further clarified “I’m not talking about the rank and file, here. We have amazing talent on our teams.”, he added.

In his presentation Yacobellis proclaimed he was taking a stance and “letting the chips fall where they may” on a host of issues including:

• Support to make Church Street a pedestrian plaza, factoring in legitimate business concerns into the design
• Revisiting overnight parking in Montclair to permit it in more residentially dense areas of town
• Changing the playbook when it comes to safer streets with tougher enforcement of existing laws on reckless driving and being intentional with our dollars and designs to put more traffic calming measure in place
• Shifting more budget dollars towards human services, improving communication with and funding a needs assessment for seniors
• Pursing composting programs, a 10-year phase-in for electric municipal vehicles such as trash trucks, fire trucks and police vehicles; with a mandate that the town can only purchase hybrid or electric vehicles from 2025
• Instituting a town-wide system of subtly stripped bike lanes for bikes and scooters
• With a 12-18 month phase in; instituting a complete ban (including the town’s own use) on the use of gas powered leaf blowers

In an admitted moment of dreaming, Yacobellis also envisioned a Montclair where within the next several years, child hunger could be eradicated. With the presence of the Superintendent of schools and multiple school board members, Yacobellis thanked the school board for making lunch free for all students and eliminating the stigma for kids whose families couldn’t afford it. Yacobellis also lauded the efforts of Anne Mernin with the programs Toni’s Kitchen is running, Jose German for his leadership with Free Little Food Pantries, the team at the Human Needs Food Pantry and Aminah Toler and Montclair Mutual Aid. “With all of these efforts and with some coordination and investment from all levels of government, we can do this.”, said Yacobellis. “Montclair is one of the starkest examples of wealth inequality in America. But, we’re also a progressive community with big hearts. And I believe we can do this by working together.”, he added.

To round out his presentation, Yacobellis displayed year-to-date revenues for the Township general fund, showing the Township getting back to pre-pandemic levels.  “Parking revenue is still down, but general revenues are up and we’re getting the additional $2.2M from the American Rescue Plan this year. I hope to minimize, and perhaps even avoid a municipal tax increase next year, especially to give folks some breathing room with the school bond tax increase if that goes through.”, said Yacobellis.

Thinking about how to balance his dreams with financial realities, Yacobellis said: “I believe in doing no harm to our AAA credit rating as a town. I think it’s about shifting priorities a bit. There is a lot we could do if we got smarter about grants and matching funds and putting more pressure on our state and federal reps to deliver for Montclair. We pay so much in taxes. Our kids deserve a great education, and we all deserve a great quality of life. If those things can’t be achieved in Montclair, then where can they be”., said Yacobellis

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