Platform - Cathy and Bud for Committee

General election: Tuesday, November 3, 2020

PLATFORM

Mayor Cathy Wilson and Bud Ravitz will build on the progress of the last three years of governance under Democratic leadership:

TAXES: We pledge to:

Continue our tradition of providing excellent services while maintaining property taxes that are among the lowest in our area. In the last three years we’ve had two years of flat municipal taxes and one year of a tax decrease.
Work with neighboring communities to expand our shared services programs to decrease spending and increase efficiency.

COMMUNICATION: We pledge to:

Continue adding communication tools so that residents can fully participate in their government. In the last three years, among other innovations, we’ve added: videos of Township Committee meetings to the Township’s website and Facebook page, a monthly meeting recap with video links in Municipal Messenger; a second public comment opportunity at the beginning of each Township Committee meeting, and office hours for residents to meet with Township Committee members. We also developed an online communication survey to learn about residents’ communication preferences; the nearly 700 responses were incorporated into our planning.
Continue ongoing improvements to the Township’s website to make it more user-friendly.
Continue remote access/virtual participation in meetings, which was initiated during the COVID-19 emergency.
Issue special reports on land use issues, such as Mayor Wilson’s 2020 special report on the Abbey on Madison Avenue.

TRANSPORTATION: We pledge to:

Continue making Morris Township as user-friendly as possible for walkers, bicyclists, and drivers. In the last three years we formed the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) comprised of Township residents and professionals, to create and implement solutions to our transportation problems.
Collaborate with other towns, organizations and levels of government to solve transportation problems on a regional basis.
Develop a Morris Township-specific Complete Streets policy.
Develop and implement both short-range and long-range improvement plans for walking, biking, driving, and parking.
More information on TAC’s plans for improving transportation is on the Township’s website:
https://www.morristwp.com/DocumentCenter/View/6518/TRANSPORTATION-ADVISORY-COMMITTEE-POLICYrev-3

THE ENVIRONMENT: We pledge to:

Continue to find smart, innovative ways to go green, save money, and preserve our environment for ourselves and our children. In just the last year, we established a new Standing Committee: Energy/Environment/Sustainability, which ensures for the first time direct and ongoing Township Committee involvement in these issues. In 2019 we also banned the distribution of single-use plastic bags at Township retail locations, scheduled to take effect this year.
Continue the energy audit underway and look for ways to reduce energy usage in Township buildings and fleets.
Increase education on reusing and reducing waste as well as on new recycling guidelines.
Continue working to add an Environment/Sustainability element to our Master Plan.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: We pledge to:

Continue the progress of the Economic Development Advisory Committee, whose mission is to attract and keep businesses here. In the last three years we revitalized this committee, which then wrote a detailed, strategic plan that’s on the Township’s website: https://www.morristwp.com/DocumentCenter/View/6319/EDAC-Stratic-Plan-0712
Take steps to implement the plan’s exciting possibilities, which include creating an integrated historic experience highlighting Morris Township’s colonial past.

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