Arnone Report: Happy New Year!

By Freeholder Director Tom Arnone

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season spent with friends and family.

It’s hard to believe it is already January, but here we are. Thankfully we’ve lucked out so far with no major snowstorms impacting our area. However, as I have noted before, the Monmouth County Department of Public Works and Engineering has been preparing for inclement weather for months and is ready to serve at a moment’s notice.

I would like to discuss the county’s annual reorganization meeting that was held last Thursday afternoon. I can’t mention this meeting without first thanking the students in the singing group Stardust from Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School in Freehold Township. After hearing them sing at an event last fall, I asked if they would like to perform the National Anthem at our reorganization meeting. I can speak for the entire Freeholder Board when I say what a terrific job they did!

At the meeting, I was appointed to serve in my fourth term as the Director of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders. While this position usually rotates between board members each year, I am grateful my fellow Freeholders voted to appoint me to continue serving in this role for the second year in a row.

While I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving as Director, Monmouth County would not see the success it does without the hard work of the entire Board working together as a team. My fellow Freeholders are a hardworking group of individuals who want the best for our residents.

In fact, this is the first time in recent memory that the Board is comprised solely of former municipal mayors. That being said, each Freeholder brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from their time at the municipal level that will help them work better and more efficiently with all 53 mayors and councils.

In addition to serving as Director, I will continue to serve as liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering, Public Information and Tourism, Economic Development, the Office of Shared Services, the Improvement Authority and the Shade Tree Commission, among other divisions.

I would like to congratulate Freeholders Gerry Scharfenberger and Sue Kiley on their election to the Board. I look forward to working alongside them, as well as Freeholder Lillian Burry and Freeholder Deputy Director Pat Impreveduto, to ensure Monmouth County remains a great a place to live and work. As such, I will soon be presenting our goals for 2019.

Lastly, I had the opportunity to attend numerous municipal reorganization meetings around the County. I would like to congratulate everyone who was elected to serve their communities and thank them for making that tremendous commitment.

As always, it’s a privilege to serve as your Freeholder Director.