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Village officials last night announced that the Public Information & Marketing Committee has been re-established and is looking for community volunteers. The Commitee was originally established in 2008 by resolution, re-established in 2011 by resolution and most recently re-established by the Village President under an executive declaration in the September 10th Board of Trustees meeting. The committee's goals will be: 1. Advising the Village on timely and effective communication to the community  2. Assisting in the implementation and execution of marketing, communication and outreach strategies on behalf of the Village 3. Assisting the Village President in recommending to the Board of Trustees policies needed to further these goals The committee will have five resident seats, in addition to roles for representatives from the South Orange Performing Arts Center, Seton Hall University, the School District, the newly formed Special Improvement District Board, and a trustee liaison and the Village President, as well as an ex-officio representative from the village administration.  Village President Torpey remarked, "I'm really happy to be bringing some more residents into the process of how we do our communications... they are the best to know what the community needs and we are going to have some really fun...

Instead of providing the usual update about various projects in town, I wanted to take this opportunity to share some information about South Orange's municipal budget, the recent reassessment and property taxes. Considering the 3rd quarter tax bills were recently delivered, I thought this would be a good chance to share some information on the process. We have compiled a much more thorough description of these issues and it is posted on southorange.org under 'Understanding your 2012 Tax Bill" on the homepage, and we encourage anyone interested in learning more, or if you have more questions to visit the website and take a look at this document. Here is a summary of the some of the information that we compiled.  Tax bill due dates: 3rd quarter taxes are due August 20, 2012 (with no grace period).  4th quarter taxes are due November 1, 2012 with a 10 day grace period. Because we adopted our budget earlier this year than in the past, recently mailed bills are actual bills, not estimated as historically sent, and no further bills will be sent. Tax Levy Increase: South Orange’s total municipal tax levy increased only 1.46% from 2011 to 2012. The municipal tax levy is only 27.7% of your total...

Make sure to head downtown and to Flood's Hill for free live music in South Orange this summer! View the schedule of Downtown After Sundown performers. 

Every year after I attend the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City, I am left with an energized and inspired feeling about how government can be a positive force in people’s lives, and how technology can help play a role in making that happen. PDF (Not to be confused with Adobe .pdf files), is one of the largest gatherings of people discussing the intersection of technology and government/politics, and this year I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to present a keynote talk to this amazing audience of technologists, journalists, activists, programmers and, well, government nerds (which you can watch at personaldemocracy.com)

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Single Stream recycling is beginning in South Orange and we couldn't be more excited! But there is important information that every resident needs to know. Share and email to your friends and neighbors to ensure everyone has all the info!

South Orange has long been known as a diverse and inclusive community. We were happy to continue that tradition by proclaiming June 2012 as LGBT Pride Month in South Orange, which I presented to the South Orange and Maplewood communities alongside Maplewood Deputy Mayor Kathy Leventhal's proclamation from Maplewood at the SOMA Pride Festival. 

Check out my keynote address at the 2012 Personal Democracy Forum entitled 'The Local Revolution' and why you should consider getting involved and running for office at the local level.