Essex Is A Butterfly: Joe DiVincenzo Gives 16th State-Of-County – Belleville, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Essex County is a butterfly, according to Joseph DiVincenzo Jr.

That’s the metaphor the county executive used as a centerpiece for his 16th annual State of the County Address on Feb. 25 at the Essex County Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology.

Before DiVincenzo delivered his address, a video used the symbol of a butterfly to explain the transformation that has occurred throughout Essex County during the last 16 years.

The video highlighted the development of the Payne School which has “transformed” Newark’s West Ward, the creation of the South Mountain Recreation Complex in West Orange and Riverfront Park in Newark as two sites that have “metamorphized” into recreation destinations, and the Café in the Park program for senior citizens and the educational programs at the Juvenile Detention Center as “new services that have helped change lives.”

“Reform. Change. Transform. These are words that are not usually associated with government, but in Essex County, that’s what we are about,” DiVincenzo told attendees at the address.

“I take great pride in what we have accomplished in Essex County,” DiVincenzo said. “Because of the work of our dedicated 3,500 employees, we can say Essex tells a different story. We have connected families to critical resources, listened to our neighbors to reshape our priorities and mission and kept people working during the worst recession in modern times.”

During his address, DiVincenzo said the county’s finances “have never been stronger.” He pointed out that the county earned a Aaa bond rating in 2018, and the 2019 budget was introduced with “a miniscule 0.5 percent tax increase.”

In addition, with “conservative financial planning,” DiVincenzo said that by 2022, the county’s debt at the Utilities Authority will be zero and it will have reduced its debt at the Improvement Authority by 70 percent.

“In seven years, our annual debt service will drop from $116 million to just $41 million a year,” DiVincenzo said. “That’s unprecedented.”

Other county accomplishments that DiVincenzo touted during his speech include:

• Social service accomplishments such as “a prisoner re-entry program in which less than one percent of the graduates are re-arrested,” a new rapid re-housing program created by the county’s Comprehensive Emergency Assistance System to address homelessness, and a 97 percent timeliness rating to process SNAP applications
• New exhibits at the Turtle Back Zoo (The Shores of Africa Exhibit featuring penguins and the Drill Family Flamingo Exhibit)

DiVincenzo also touted several upcoming projects in Essex County:

• The West Caldwell School of Technology will undergo a comprehensive expansion and renovation starting in July
• There are plans to purchase an office building at 320-321 University Avenue in Newark to become the new headquarters for the Division of Family Assistance and Benefits
• The construction of a new parking deck and county building for courts and Constitutional Offices at the Hall of Records Complex
• The county’s first “All Access Playground” in Watsessing Park that will have equipment for children of all physical abilities
• The construction of a dog park in Branch Brook Park, the county’s fifth

During his speech, DiVincenzo pointed out that Essex County is involved in combating the opioid crisis within its borders. According to the county executive, local efforts include:

• “The county diverts eligible inmates into treatment programs, helps train law enforcement officers to properly use Narcan, a lifesaving drug that can stop the fatal effects of an overdose, and partners with ADAPT and local police departments to collect old and unwanted prescription drugs”
• “Essex’s Municipal Alliance touch more than half a million residents from preschoolers to senior citizens, the Office of Alcohol and Addiction Services helped over 2,200 clients get into detox or outpatient programs and the Intoxicated Driver Resource Center has helped residents arrested for DUI offenses receive appropriate treatment and learn and understand the dangers of their actions”

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