I’d like to respond to some allegations in my opponent’s campaign literature.
We have nearly doubled the personnel on the Village payroll. That is a correct statement. Having the MGM Casino in the Village has brought major change.
- The increase in personnel is mainly in the police, rescue and fire departments.
- The MGM Casino can draw anywhere from 1,000 to 4,000 or more visitors daily. We must be prepared to meet any disturbance, illness or emergency at that facility.
- We now have enough full and part-time personnel to run at the minimum 2 complete rescue squads 24/7.
- We’ve moved building and alarm inspection in-house by hiring a part-time fire inspector.
- We monitor the MGM Casino and Theater for overcrowding and make sure exits are clear of obstructions and easily identified.
- We staff EMTs and paramedics at the casino and racetrack. We are reimbursed by MGM for this service.
- We hire mainly part-time firefighters which saves the Village the expense of providing benefits.
The question is – does my opponent think we should cut back on our fire, rescue and police personnel? Does he want the Village less protected than it is now?
We do pay attention to our parks. To say that nothing has been done in 8 years is a false statement.
- Just this spring, in my opponent’s ward, Huntington Park received a $62,000 facelift. Dead or diseased trees were removed. A parking lot was added BEFORE the baseball season started. A crosswalk was added. The basketball court was sealed and relined. Landscaping will come when the soil settles.
- We do continuous maintenance on all our parks. We address problems such as vandalism and animal issues as they come up.
- The police department is currently researching surveillance cameras to help combat vandalism at our parks.
- At the last council meeting a letter from the head of our local baseball program thanking us for the great job we do on the baseball facilities was presented.
- As part of Houghton Road construction, we put in new sidewalks from Route 8 to Smith Park.
Every year we develop a new budget. Council and department managers send in their written proposals for new projects and purchases to our finance department. My opponent has NEVER submitted a single written proposal for the budget. The question is – if he is so concerned with our parks why didn’t he act on it in his two years on council?
The rebuilding of the roads behind the plaza was delayed, but the delay was for a very good reason.
- We secured major grants for Houghton and Ledge Roads.
- The grants had time and project constraints forcing us to “use it or lose it”.
- The grants saved the Village taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- The pavement on Coventry has been marked and plans are in place for the 2020 complete rebuild.
The question is – Is my opponent saying he would have said no to the grant monies and kept the roads behind the plaza on schedule?
I will continue to address my opponent’s baseless or misleading allegations in the weeks leading up to the election. I want the voters of Northfield Village to have all the facts so they can make an informed decision on election day.
I have proudly served on council and as Mayor of Northfield Village for the past 14 years. Thank you for your continued confidence in me and my team.
Re-elect Jesse J Nehez as Mayor of Northfield Village
Paid for by the Nehez for Mayor Committee, Regina Taussig, Treasurer
