Meet Rudy Fernandez: Livingston Township Council Candidate

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Meet Rudy Fernandez, one of three current Livingston Township Council members running for re-election on Nov. 6.

Fernandez is a 25-year resident and a former mayor of Livingston. His wife, Pat, grew up in Livingston, and his two children, Rudy and Samantha, attended Harrison Elementary School, Mt. Pleasant Middle School, Heritage Middle School and Livingston High School. An attorney by trade, Fernandez graduated of Rutgers University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and earned a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers Law School in 1985.

Q: Why are you running for township council? (Again, if incumbent?)

A: My motivation to run for reelection is pretty simple and straightforward and is the same as when I first started volunteering in town almost 25 years ago. It’s why I first ran for Township Council and why I’m running for re-election now with Shawn and Ed—to contribute to the vitality and strength of our community. To keep Livingston municipal taxes low, ensure that residents receive the best value for their tax dollar and keep Livingston a great place to live and raise a family. As a volunteer and council member, I’ve persistently pursued those goals. I believe that throughout my time on the council and as a volunteer, I’ve demonstrated that I have the professional experience, personal abilities and ongoing commitment to our community to continue to effectively serve the residents of Livingston.

Q: What do you believe is the most important issue in this local election? How would you change it?

A: My priority continues to be the same priority I have had during my ten years on the council, protecting taxpayers’ dollars. For me, protecting taxpayers’ dollars is more than just a campaign slogan – it’s been my guiding principle for all my years on the council. It is important to point out that Livingston’s tax rate is the second lowest in Essex County. Only North Caldwell is lower, but they don’t fund a public library for their residents.

First, we must continue to manage our expenses. We continue to participate in cooperative purchasing agreements where the combined buying power of municipalities, counties and the state lower costs. We continue to look for public/private partnerships to reduce expenses, such as the contract we entered into for the private collection of municipal court debt. This will reduce future township administrative expenses.

To further control expenses, we continue to look for shared services opportunities, such as:

Additional interlocal services agreements;

Additional shared service agreements with the Livingston Board of Education;

Sharing animal control services with neighboring municipalities;

A joint Municipal court;

Exploring the potential for a shared DPW facility;

Continuing to explore joint police dispatching;

Expanding our current interlocal services with Essex County;

Cooperative road paving programs with the county or other bordering communities;

Cooperative road maintenance and street sweeping; and

Expanding our current joint fleet maintenance program.

Second, we are always seeking new and ongoing sources of non-tax revenue, and continue to increase the use of using grants and donations to offset the costs of providing municipal services. For example, we recently received a donation from the Ralph Errington Charitable Foundation of $55,000 for the purchase of a new animal control van; received a Department of Transportation grant for road repaving; were approved for a grant to fund the purchase of a new ADA accessible transportation bus; entered into a public/private partnership to build a lighted turf field and received grants to offset the cost of our recreational programs for individuals with disabilities and to offset the cost of our adaptive playground for children with disabilities.

We continue to increase other non-tax revenue, such as through additional cell tower leasing and lease agreements with state or county entities that use our facilities, such as the agreement we have with the Essex Regional Health Commission which not only generates lease revenue, but because they are now in Livingston also pay to us a portion of the County fines they collect.

Third, we continue to look for ways of providing services more efficiently or differently. This approach has saved significant money in the past where we have reorganized departments, used volunteers to provide services, outsourced services or have brought services in house when determined to be cheaper.

Fourth, we continue to urge the state legislature to renew the interest arbitration legislation which sunset last year. This law has helped municipalities control annual increases in union salaries.

Q: What other issues are important?

A: We continue to work with the Livingston Business Improvement District and local businesses to promote continued business investment and a climate that supports a strong business community. I first started on the Council during the worst economic time in our country since the depression. At that time, many stores and shopping centers were vacant and office space unoccupied. We passed ordinances to cut red tape, passed redevelopment plans, expanded uses in different business districts and changed parking requirements, all to promote investment and create a climate to support local businesses. As a result, we now have a strong and vibrant business community. But we can always do more.

Next year we expect to expand the Spatial Data Logic platform on our website. Right now, you can go online to track the status of your permits in real time, but we want to expand this platform to also allow online permitting so that you can apply for and track your application without coming to town hall. Additionally, a few years ago we established the PATH Program which streamlined the steps businesses need to take after they receive Planning Board approval, and giving them one employee to contact for all matters involving their application. We would like to expand this program to the residential permitting process as well. We have started discussions with a non-profit group that brings together property owners, private investors and municipalities where commercial property owners can upgrade their energy systems and finance 100% of the improvements through private investments in transactions that are cash flow positive from the start. Programs like this help retain businesses and attract new tax ratables by helping property owners cut expenses and improve profitability.

We have already rebuilt the baseball fields at the oval, added a cricket field, built the new lighted turf field, rebuilt the tennis courts, added new pickleball courts and added kayaking at the river next to the Okner Fields, but there is certainly more we need to do. We will also continue to work with Essex County and the Freeholders for improvements to Riker Hill Art Park.

Although not very glamourous or exciting, we continue to invest in the town’s infrastructure, which will result in long term recurring savings for taxpayers. Also, in the 2018 budget we allocated funds to study flooding in various parts of town, so in addition to continuing with our sewer and infrastructure projects, we will be tackling the issues raised in that report.

We are also managing the State imposed affordable housing obligations in a thoughtful and sensible manner. As required by law, earlier this year we filed our Housing Element and Fair Share Plan where we identified how Livingston intends to fulfill these state-imposed housing mandates. In the past, we used non-taxpayer dollars from the affordable housing trust fund and partnered with the Essex County ARC, Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey and Habitat for Humanity to help fund community residences, which count toward our State obligations.

Q: Tell us about your other career.

A: I am an attorney with an office in Livingston, and specialize in estate planning, estate administration and tax law. As part of my practice I also work as an expert witness providing expert testimony in areas such as forensic accounting, fraud detection and financial analysis and have been appointed by the courts and have qualified as an expert witness in these areas in courts throughout New Jersey and in New York. My legal, forensic and financial experience gives me the knowledge to effectively examine, understand and manage budgetary issues in a prudent and responsible manner.

Q: What should people know about you that they might not know already?

A: I am a PADI Certified Rescue Scuba Diver and enjoy riding my Harley Davidson motorcycle, especially when I’m able to ride with my fellow Livingston Horseneck Motorcycle Riding Club members.

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a series of articles to be published on each of the council candidates over the next week.