January 9, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 13 Midland Park residents can look forward to continued shared services that have lowered the borough’s cost of services furing 2013, Mayor Patrick “Bud” O’Hagan said in his state of the borough message last week. These include, he said, purchasing fuel through Ho-Ho-Kus, sharing court clerk with Waldwick and receiving emergency services dispatching from Wyckoff. O’Hagan cautioned, however, that not all sharing is cost effective. “We remain diligent in monitoring our costs. Many times, being a smaller community, we are more efficient than some of the surrounding communities,” he said. Looking back on his first year as mayor, O’Hagan recalled the following highlights: • Swearing in new Police Chief Michael Mara, a new sergeant, Noah Van Vliet and two new policemen, Mark Berninger Jr. and Brendan Burke. • Creation of a Superintendent of Public Works position and appointing Rudy Gnehm. • Marrying four couples. Sharing efforts will remain focus in 2013, mayor says • After 44 plus years, finally replacing the Glen Avenue sewer pump station to the more efficient down hill natural flow connection with Ridgewood. The cost was high, he said, but the current and future costs benefits made the transition a very smart move for the borough and the affected residents. • Implementation of the county-mandated townwide revaluation. Property values were increased and the tax rate was reduced. Properties that had improvements after 2002 were impacted the most, while some properties saw a tax reduction. Taxing via revaluation is never perfect but the system is consistent, he said. • A most successful recreation program with the highest number of attendees and the inclusion of neighboring Waldwick as a partnership in sharing. Waldwick opened its town pool to Midland Park residents. “A great example of two communities working together and sharing resources. It works!” the mayor stressed. • Continued repair and improvement of Midland Park Councilwoman Nancy Cronk Peet, a 10-year veteran, will head the borough council in 2013 for the third year in a row. She was re-elected to the position during the council’s reorganization meeting last week. Peet chairs the council’s personnel committee and serves as the liaison to the board of education. She was also selected to serve as the council representative to the Midland Park Planning Board, a position she has held for several years. She is also Nancy Peet heads council again Midland Park resident Jim DeLuca, an attorney, center, swears in Councilman Jack Considine to his first elected term, as his wife, Claudia, holds the Bible. Also sworn in at the reorganization meeting were returning councilmen Bernard Holst and Scott Pruiksma. a member of the Midland Park Board of Health. A former 18-year member and president of the board of education, Peet served for seven years as chairman of the borough’s zoning board of adjustment before her appointment to the borough council in January, 2003. A lifelong borough resident and a Registered Nurse, she is currently vice president-director of claims and risk management for William H Connolly & Co, LLC of Montclair. drainage on various streets. It is an ongoing program with Parker Place and Greenwood Avenue to receive the next upgrade. “Our infrastructure is being monitored and maintained by our DPW superintendent who has helped us to keep improvement costs within programmed budgets,” O’Hagan concluded.