The NJCM Mayors Emeritus Advisory Council (MEAC) were very involved in this year’s outstanding Conference, including hosting three current high priority sessions, and also instituted and presented an annual award in memory of Lee Veale, deceased NJCM Operations Manager. MEAC members also prepared a magnitude of information/legislative packets on current “hot topics” which were distributed to all mayors and provided informational support to mayors and Mayors Emeritus at the Conference. The MEAC group conducted their annual Conference Meeting at the conclusion of the sessions.  Mayors Emeritus coffee cups, sweatshirts, and sun visors were sold at the Mayors Emeritus booth.  Mayors and Mayors Emeritus license plate applications, NJCM credit card applications, and NJCM membership applications were available at the booth.  

This year, MEAC established the LEE VEALE NJCM SPIRIT AWARD in memory of the deceased NJCM Operations Manager who epitomized the genuine spirit of NJCM, not only in his job, but in his life.  Lee worked very close with MEAC since they were first organized in 1992 and provided immense support to the rapid growth of its membership and activities.  The award will be presented annually to a MEAC member who has demonstrated exceptional NJCM spirit.  This year’s award was presented posthumously to the family of recently deceased former Mayor of Delanco, Robert Bellan.  Bob was an active member of MEAC, promoting and supporting our activities, obtaining financial support, arranging and hosting meetings and actively sharing camaraderie with and caring for his fellow MEAC members. All of the Mayors Emeritus in attendance at the NJCM Board of Directors Dinner Meeting shared the podium during the award presentations.  Sheila Veale, wife of Lee Veale, assisted in presenting the award to Cathy Bellan, wife of Bob Bellan.  Also sharing in the award presentation were Jim Veale, son of Lee Veale, and John, Rebecca, and Kate Bellan, children of Bob Bellan.  Bob Bellan was employed by Birdsall Engineering and some special anecdotes concerning Bob were shared with the attendees at the dinner by Scott McFadden, President of Birdsall, and Bob Collins, former President of Birdsall.  Sheila Veale was presented with a replica of the award.    

Mayors and the Economy Session: This was a precedent setting session moderated by  Governor Jon Corzine and hosted by MEAC.  The panel consisted of four members of the Governor’s Cabinet:  DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson, DOT Commissioner Kris Kolluri, DCA Commissioner Susan Bass Levin, and Economic Growth Chief Gary Rose.  Major elements of the Governor’s Economic Growth Plan were discussed with a question and answer session following. The exchange of information was very informative and the Governor and his Cabinet Members demonstrated a “hands on” approach to managing the government of New Jersey by making themselves available to the Conference.  Mayors scheduled appointment dates with the various commissioners to further discuss issues raised at the session.  Copies of the Governor’s Economic Strategy Plan were distributed to the session attendees. It was upon leaving this conference session that the Governor was involved in a very serious automobile accident.  We are happy he is back on the job, and we wish him a full recovery and our prayers are with him. 

Mayors, Marriages, and Civil Unions Session: This session addressed recent legislation and Department of Community Affairs Guidelines. The session was co-hosted by MEAC and Women Mayors Advisory Council (WMAC).  The panel consisted of DCA Commissioner Susan Bass Levin, NJCM Vice President Mayor Malcolm Fraser, League of Municipalities President Mayor Dave DelVecchio and N.J. Municipal Clerks President Barbara Hawk. Commissioner Levin presented a “Deal or No Deal” modeled slide presentation challenging the knowledge of the session attendees regarding the new Marriages and Civil Unions legislation/guidelines.  The presentation was informative and entreating and reinforced the notion that while most of the attendees were well informed, many were not receptive to some of the changes.  Because of the “all or nothing” requirement that Mayors perform all types of marriages and civil unions or none, many Mayors are no longer performing marriages.  Some Mayors indicated that they were going to become internet certified ministers in order to continue providing marriages in order to escape what they considered to be handicaps imposed by the new legislation.  Also, many Mayors challenged the need to create ordinances to establish marriage fees and salary ordinances to collect and disburse these same fees.  Panel members Mayor Fraser and Mayor DelVecchio expressed opposite views regarding the topic material and NJ Clerks President Barbara Hawk provided information on the administrative process involved with the new regulations.  Commissioner Levin explained that the DCA Guidelines were provided to assist the municipalities/mayors in complying with the new legislation.  There were a large number of attendees at the session and most were not in agreement with some aspect of the legislation/guidelines.  Commissioner Levin did an outstanding job in answering questions at the session.  MEAC provided to session attendees handouts which included the DCA guidelines, various other State laws applying to the marriage process, sample marriage ceremonies and the last proposed NJCM fee schedule.     

Tax Reform and the State Budget Session: Hosted by MEAC, this session consisted of a panel of four State Legislators: Senator John Adler, Senator Nick Asselta, Assemblyman Fran Bodine, and Assemblyman John Burzichelli. The session was moderated by MEAC Chairman John Morrissey.  The session was well attended and many questions were raised by the attendees.  Most of the questions concerned the new Tax Reform package submitted to and approved by the Governor.  The panelists had varying opposing views regarding the Tax Package and none of them fully supported it.  Many questions were asked by the Mayors in attendance with the questions demonstrating the need for immediate “Real Tax Relief.”  Paramount amongst the tax concerns was the cost of education and the need to address/change that form of taxation.  It was strongly noted by the panelists that a new School Funding Formula had not yet been approved.  It was noted by the panelists that the notion of a “Constitutional Convention” to change the way schools are funded has been put way back on the burner.  However one if not two of the panelists expressed that the “Constitutional Convention” was the right way to go.  The proposed budget is still sitting on the Governor’s desk awaiting approval.  There are a host of questions regarding the budget, particularly future revenue sources and spending reductions.  The panelists were candid in their views and were knowledgeable concerning the Tax Reform Package in that they had been sponsors of various legislative bills supporting same.  Unfortunately there were more questions than time allowed as the session ran over its time period.   Copies of the Tax Reform Legislation and a 2007 Proposed Budget Summary were provided to session attendees by the Mayors Emeritus.  

Various “Helpful Information for Mayors” information booklets were prepared by the Mayors Emeritus and distributed to Mayors at the Conference.  Distributed were:  The Mayors Manual; NJ Marriage, Civil Unions, And Domestic Partnerships; Year 2007 Municipal Budget Preparation Guide; Tax Reform Law; NJ Economic Growth Strategy; NJ Local Unit Pay To Play Law; Local Government Ethics Law; Ethics Law Financial Disclosure; Ethics Law Complaint Procedures; Municipal Revaluation; Master Plan and How to Reexamine; NJ Legislative Roster of Members; NJ Legislative Process; and State of NJ 50 Most Used Websites. 

We wish to express our sincere appreciation to the Mayors Emeritus who provided their many hours of volunteer support in contributing to the great success of this year’s NJCM Conference.  A great job in all areas!