Of all the days to highlight the county’s snow removal efforts so far this winter, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo choose to do it outside today in the middle of a snow storm. So no matter how much snow accumulated, there was no way DiVincenzo could reschedule the press conference without provoking an inescapable irony.
Thus, at 1 p.m. at the Essex County Dept. of Public Works in Verona, amidst falling snow and the noise of tractors loading dump trucks with tons of salt, DiVincenzo expressed confidence in both the past and continuing efforts of all public workers who were scrambling to ensure the roads were safe.
“We have about 130 plows that we’ll have on the roadways and our roadways will be clear, open and ready to go by 6 o’clock tomorrow morning. Our public works department does a tremendous job. We are known for keeping our roads clear and open and making sure they’re safe.”
Nearly 4 inches of snow has already fallen in Essex County and there is another 4 to 8 inches possible this evening. As another legitimate snow storm hits the area, in what is becoming an inconvenient theme this winter, DiVincenzo estimated that 50 percent of the budget for snow removal and plowing has already been exhausted. Essex County’s 2011 budget was presented by DiVincenzo on Jan. 14.
“We already presented out budget, and we are fine on our side right now,” assured DiVincenzo. “Hopefully this will be the last big one we get this winter…and we will see an end to these large snow storms.”
Including this current snow storm, the Director of Roads and Transportation for Essex County, Sal Macaluso, said the county has used an estimated 6,000 tons of rock salt so far this winter.
“We’ve got more salt on order; we’ve still got salt in our domes and we’re in good shape for this one,” said Macaluso. “By the time the next one rolls around, we’ll be in good shape also.”
Meanwhile, here’s the latest from the Township of Montclair about snow, garbage and the senior citizen bus:
Despite the amount of snow forecast for Thursday, January 27, Refuse and Recycling collection will not be suspended, but will follow the regular collection schedule for Thursday:
Refuse Collection – Section I
Recycling Collection – Area AThe Senior Citizen Bus service will be suspended Thursday, January 27.
To assist with Snow Removal Activities residents are reminded –
• Please park vehicles off the streets wherever possible to facilitate snow removal activities.
• Do not deposit snow from cars, driveways, walkways, etc. into the street as it hinders snow cleanup and is illegal per Township ordinance (297-32).
Living on a county road as I do, I can attest to the fact that the county has been doing a pretty good job the roads under their jurisdiction.
What I don’t understand is why it’s news now that snow plowers are doing their jobs.
Tune in as the drama unfolds–Will Newark’s brash and bold Mayor take to shoveling out residents? Will Governor Christie take off to Univeral Studios because he made a promise to his kids to see the Harry Potter roller coaster?
News at 11 will have the latest.
Why do we have a county exec? Why do we have to pay his salary? Really–we have a town mayor and a state governor. Why this layer? Someone please (really) help me understand.
Why this layer?
In a word?
Patronage
Blame Lord Essex.
OK, obviously it’s the patronage–that accounts for all the county jobs. But why is it allowed?
It’s allowed because a majority of people in the state don’t care enough to change it. There’s no necessity to it.
Oliver,
Simple math. The county machines are one of the biggest sources of money for both parties & the legislature is controlled by the same two parties.
If that’s not enough, every Governor in recent history (including the current one) was the candidate of his party’s machine.
Rt. 280 smooth sailing at 6 am this morning. Not a drop of snow, well done.
So how do people who care–who should be every taxpayer in the state–dismantle the system? By referendum? Let’s get it on the ballot, to abolish the county system!
There is tremendous support with the public for reducing or eliminating County Government. When I was mayor of GR, we met with local elected officials and representatives from many of the towns in Essex County to try and address this issue. We even formed a committee – “Change County Government NJ” – but the reality is that the County & State machines have almost all the leverage, and without any leverage, it is very hard to get anything done, or even keep the public interested. It became clear to me that we need to return some of the power back to the citizens of NJ – I believe the best way to do that is with Initiative & Referendum.
NJ does not have Initiative & Referendum. Governor Christie’s platform included I&R, but I’ve heard nary a word about it since his election…
Good morning!
Thanks for informing everyone about the Essex County Public Works efforts during these everlasting snowstorms! We get many calls about our process, and it’s great to get the word out. I know that most people do not know what the county does, so for people interested in learning more about the county, what we do, pograms and services available, I have two resources. I hope that perhaps, after learning about us, people might be more supportive of regionalized services, and less dissmissive of our responsibilities!
One is our website: http://www.essexcountynj.org – where you can read our history, and about each service we provide, like programs for kids and adults to enjoy at our various recreational facilities.
The other is to join us on FEBRUARY 15th, at 7PM at the Essex County Hospital Center, 204 Grove Avenue, Cedar Grove for THE STATE OF THE COUNTY ADDRESS. (23N off Bloomfield ave, left at the Dunkin Donuts, Right at the end of the block…ECHC is on your left.) It’s a mental health facility for county residents in need, if you are unaware, which also brings us $10Million revenue as we accept and treat patients from several other counties and the state.) It will be quite informative, and we do our best to make it entertaining, too. you can RSVP to me at jgoldman@admin.essexcountynj.org or 973-621-4400.
Stay safe! And I must commend the Montclair PW…Seymour and Roosevelt were down to the blacktop this morning. Amazing! Thanks…you helped me get to work!
Joyce Goldman, Director of Constituent Services, Essex County
NJ has among the highest taxes in the nation. Delaware has among the lowest. Delaware has strong counties, which is how education is funded. At the risk of getting into an intractable heated discussion about local vs. central rule, I think the solution to our tax problem is to let the state and county pick up the costs for education, police, etc.
Even Christie says local rule is expensive.
“even” Christie?
Yes – he says lots of things. But he is still just a machine politician.
Machine politicians prefer consolidating the money in bigger piles for the same reason that burglers prefer that you keep all your valuables in one place…
The negativism of some of these posts disgusts me.
Joe DiVincenzo is taking care of Essex County, making sure roads are plowed, streets are maintained, and that public parks are nice places to go.
*GR under CB didn’t get things these done – he was too busy being the “W” of Glen Ridge, trying to reclaim planetary status for Pluto, and recall Corzine — we would all be better served if he devoted his energies to recalling Christie.
*Montclair doesn’t get the job done – they’re too busy squabbling over everything and issuing parking tickets.
*The state will not get the job done – they’re too busy trying to gut the NJSIAA and public education.
Without a committed and honest County Exec, we would be at the mercy of smooth-running towns like Bloomfield, Belleville, Newark, Oranges [all compass points] and Trenton.
County government can be a money pit — they’re an easy punchline, but it’s hard to make things work for the benefit of our residents. That said, Essex County is a much better place to live since Joe D took over as county exec.
Plus, Joe D is spending our hard-earned dollars on a new restaurant in South Mountain Reservation. This will make a nice compliment to his new miniature golf course. I hope someone keeps track of how long it takes to break even on these projects. I’m sure the mini-golf course will provide the area with lots of new jobs too. Like one.
The gross generalization I’ll make is that most of the local political jobs and their appointees seem to an example of negative selection. Somehow it appears the best people do not get the jobs.