With back to school a few weeks away, as Council President I‘d like to offer thoughts on what the city and council accomplished this year. While there are always challenges to grapple with, it is important to point out the good work that local governments can do as well. Here is what I consider key highlights from the first half of 2025:
Public Safety: Crime is down in Summit versus last year and the year before. This council has prioritized safety and while you can never declare victory, I’m glad that adding police officers, investing in technology, and passing the Resident Protection Ordinances have produced tangible results. One car stolen or a home burgled is one too many, but I believe our excellent police force is well positioned to continue keeping our community safe.
Overdevelopment: We successfully closed our Round 3 Mount Laurel affordable housing commitments without falling victim to development that would change the character of the city we love. Despite concern from some, the city used a methodical approach that satisfied our obligations. We are now in the early stage of Round 4. We’re confident in the plan submitted in June which promotes affordable housing within our limited land constraints while including proposals that are consistent with our current zoning. The challenge period for our plan ends this month, and we’re prepared to address any issues while balancing affordable housing with our commitment to preventing overdevelopment.
Helping the homeless: The Mayor’s Homelessness Taskforce has successfully housed nearly all individuals previously living in our train station, bus depots, and the post office. I commend the mayor, council, first responders, community non-profits, and the NJ Department of Community Affairs for their innovative approach to securing permanent homes. This spring, we navigated a long process to pass a No Camping Ordinance. Council listened to critical feedback during meetings, sought input from homeless advocates and ultimately unanimously passed another tool to support the remaining few in our community to accept available help. I’m also proud that this task force has been able to keep several individuals who live in Summit from losing their homes and are now able to focus their efforts on keeping the vulnerable in their homes.
Affordability: Living in NJ continues to get more expensive. With that in mind, council unanimously passed a budget prioritizing safety, infrastructure, public spaces (I hope dog owners got to check out the pop-up dog runs!), and maintaining critical services while staying below the 2% cap. I am happy the Board of School Estimate exercised their important role by asking the Board of Education to prioritize students when reducing an almost 9% initial tax increase request. While we all want to maintain excellent schools, we have to be cognizant of unduly increasing the tax burden on our residents. I’m glad the BOE was ultimately able to sharpen their pencils with a budget that more reflected that balance.
These are just some of the highlights. I thank the mayor, each and every member of council, and our amazing city staff for their diverse input, collaboration, and hard work on the behalf of Summit’s residents. I am excited to continue to push solutions to benefit our city for the rest of 2025! If you’d like to follow up, please reach out at mmcternan@cityofsummit.org to get together to chat.
Regards,
Mike McTernan
Council President
The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the common council or the City of Summit as a whole.