Outgoing Livingston Mayor Reflects on 2020 Successes in Face of Pandemic – TAPinto.net

LIVINGSTON, NJ — As he virtually accepted the typical gifts presented to the outgoing mayor of Livingston during the first township council meeting of the New Year, Rudy Fernandez reflected on a year that looked significantly different from his first two terms as mayor.

Although he began his third mayoral term in January 2020 with goals that shifted rapidly when the first case of COVID-19 hit Livingston in March, Fernandez asserted that the township still had many successes in 2020 and has high hopes for 2021 as he hands the reins over to fellow council member Shawn Klein.

“When we were together at last year’s reorganizational meeting, who would have guessed the challenges 2020 would bring?” he said. “Sure, every year has some, but nothing like those we have faced this year. In March, when the governor announced the statewide shutdown and curfew to contain the spread of COVID-19, it was a very scary time for everyone. People were being furloughed or laid off, businesses were closing, the stock market was tanking, and people were getting sick and dying.

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“I recall those early days being on a conference call with other New Jersey elected officials that included our two senators, who were jumping on and off the conference call as they were running around between caucuses in Washington negotiating what would ultimately become the CARES Act. At the time, we had a lot of questions and few answers, but realized very quickly that we all had to come together to get through this; and this was what made this year such an extraordinary year.”

During that uncertain time, Fernandez said he was fortunate to serve on a township council made up of members who “all understand that this is a team sport” and that the council as well as township officials “need to all have [their] oars in the water rowing in the same direction.”

“Town Hall still had to operate, municipal service still had to continue, local governments still had to function, and every single person stepped up to the plate to make this happen—from our state senators to Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, to our governor, our state representatives, Gov. [Richard] Codey, Assemblyman John McKeon, Assemblywoman Mila Jasey and especially our Essex County Executive Joe [DiVincenzo] and the freeholders, including Livingston’s own Pat Sebold,” he said. “I would like to thank them all very much for their assistance and the much-needed resources they provided throughout the year.”

Fernandez also recognized several township departments and individual employees for their assistance in maintaining municipal services throughout the Township of Livingston during the pandemic.

“We were in uncharted water operating, under emergency state legislation, and you all immediately got us up and running,” he said of Livingston’s township employees. “Meeting is one thing, but governing and making sure municipal services continue uninterrupted was another—and all the credit for that goes to the town employees.”

Among those recognized during his outgoing mayoral speech were:

  • The Livingston Township Clerk’s office for “figuring out how to conduct virtual public meetings that would allow for public participation”;
     
  • Members of the Livingston Police Department and auxiliary police, the Livingston Fire Department and the Livingston First Aid Squad for ensuring the safety of all residents while most were “sheltering at home”;
     
  • The engineering, public works, water and utilities departments for continuing their respective township operations throughout the year;
     
  • The Livingston Public Library, which increased online offerings, established contactless pick up, offered the ability to borrow books using personal electronic devices and increased virtual programming via Zoom;
     
  • The Senior, Youth and Leisure Services (SYLS) department, which set up a check-in call system with senior citizens, provided them with transportation for essential appointments and offered several socially distanced events such as drive-in movie nights, ice cream socials and concerts as well as virtual fitness and enrichment classes;
     
  • The SYLS department again for opening the town pool when many other municipalities did not and also providing a summer camp and daytime program on virtual school days for working parents “on two weeks’ notice from the governor and following state guidelines”;
     
  • The building, zoning and planning departments for working with Livingston restaurants, health care facilities and businesses to help them “reopen after the shutdown and operate their businesses under the COVID-relaxed zoning rules” authorized through the township;
     
  • The township communications team for establishing a COVID-19 information hub on the township website and keeping residents informed through weekly updates on case numbers, regular social media posts, COVID-19 messaging signage placed throughout the township and more;
     
  • Township Social Worker Ana Millan, who has “worked tirelessly arranging for shopping for seniors and others who needed assistance” as well as “finding resources and benefit programs for those particular hit particularly hard by the pandemic”;
     
  • Health professionals from Saint Barnabas Medical Center for being a reliable resource and providing “insight and wisdom during this past year”; and
     
  • The Livingston Health Department [LHD], which has been “working tirelessly” with the state, county and Livingston Public Schools district since before Livingston’s first COVID-19 case in March and continues to enhance its contact-tracing efforts in addition to assisting the Essex County with its Livingston Mall vaccination site and more.

Additionally, Fernandez mentioned that the “creativity and hard work” of Township Manager Barry Lewis, Deputy Township Manager Russ Jones and Chief Financial Officer Ann Cucci enabled the council to provide as much financial relief as possible to residents and businesses.

“[This included] a 0-percent tax increase; $125,000 COVID-19 business assistant grants program for local businesses; a short video produced by Livingston resident Eric Lanel to promote local businesses and to encourage our residents to dine and shop locally; extending the grace period to pay real estate taxes to the maximum allowed by state law even though we were still obligated to pay the county and schools their full share irrespective of how much we received; and adjusting interest rates on late payments, again, to the state minimum,” said Fernandez.

The outgoing mayor also thanked his wife, Patty, and children, Samantha and Rudy, for their support over the last several years—“and particularly this past year”—as he continues to serve the township.  

Also sworn into new positions on Friday were Councilman Ed Meinhardt, who will become the deputy mayor of Livingston for 2021, and council members Al Anthony and Michael Vieira, who were reelected to their respective positions in November.

Prior to being sworn in to their new roles, Fernandez’s council colleagues all commended him for an exceptional performance as mayor during a year that Vieira described as “one of the darkest times” in U.S. history.

“I know at last year’s reorganization meeting when you became mayor, you had many plans and ideas for our community and your mayoral term,” said Vieira. “In the blink of an eye, your agenda needed to change. I just want to say thank you for your leadership in that year we all will never forget.”

Also virtually attending the meeting were Sen. Cory Booker, who administered the oath of office to incoming mayor Klein; Gov. Phil Murphy, who expressed confidence that Livingston will continue its “long tradition of good governance” in 2021; and Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, who looked forward to continuing to work with all five council members as they continue to serve the township.

“We’ve had a really tough year, and we owe a huge debt here in Livingston to Mayor Rudy Fernandez for your leadership and for taking care of so many families throughout Livingston,” said Sherrill. “I’m so glad that everyone in Livingston has your leadership to rely on. We face so many challenges right now, but a bright spot has been all of the people coming together to support our residents through this pandemic. It’s that Jersey spirit that really keeps us going and will get us to the other side of this crisis.”

As he took the mayoral seat for the second time as a member of the Livingston Township Council, Klein also reflected on the last 12 months and discussed his 2021 goals for Livingston with great optimism.

Click on the headlines below to read more about Klein’s outlook on 2021 and the swearing-in ceremonies of Meinhardt, Anthony and Vieira.