A Final Report by Mayor Steven R. Rothman
January 1988

City Finances

• • Lowered Englewood’s Tax Rate from 1st to 5th Highest in Bergen County
  • Increased Englewood’s Bond Rating from A minus to AA: The best in Bergen County
  • Saved and Accumulated a five Million Dollar Surplus: The most in Englewood’s History
  • Reduced Englewood’s Long-Term Debt by more than 40%
  • Brought Equity to Englewood Taxpayers by Setting Property Tax on 1987 Values and not 1978 values
  • Put into place a fiscally conservative and professional management team at city half
  • Fought for and received more federal aid than at any time in Englewood history

City Services

• • Reorganized the Police force; increased the number of police; burglaries cut 55%; overall crime cut 25%
  • Increased the number of firefighters; bought new equipment ($2,000,000); intensified fire inspections; number and destructiveness of fires down significantly
  • Reorganized the entire public school system; hired a new superintendent of schools, high school and two grade school principals and replaced 1/3of the staff; designed and funded the greatest public school building and renovation program in Englewood’s history ($7,000,000); dramatically improved high school proficiency test scores; (In 1983, the high school proficiency tests scores for Englewood were 35.1% passed in math, 57.6% in reading and 66% in writing. In 1988 those scores were 81%, 93% and 91.7%, respectively); Implemented full day kindergarten and full-day pre-kindergarten
  • Made the downtown cleaner, safer and more attractive to Englewood and non-Englewood shoppers
  • Introduced and implemented ten-year road, sewer and equipment repair and replacement program (continually updated)
  • Reorganized D.P.W. and brought continuing progress to this department
  • Funded citywide recreation and health programs serving large Englewood population
  • Reorganized building and engineering departments, now operating at highest levels of professionalism
  • Reduced and reorganized Englewood municipal work force and established new management systems for greater productive and professionalism

Development

• • Rezoned Grand-Engle streets and brought more attractive and substantial corridor of development
  • Rezoned Englewood’s industrial area and brought a new hotel ratable into that area (Now under construction on S. Van Brunt Street)
  • Sold vacant Engle street school; proceeds to Englewood library and city property back on tax rolls
  • Sold vacant Roosevelt school; proceeds to Englewood public schools; property back on tax rolls
  • Killed the proposal to build a 9 story, 400 unit high rise project in Englewood’s downtown; instead proposed a new 4 story, $40 million dollar, 250 unit residential project with specific development team (In the place of an existing blighted area centered on armory street in Englewood’s downtown, west of the railroad tracks), that will also relocate existing residents back into the project (Astra)
  • Brought in local developer and team, approved by city council, to create new $22 million dollar supermarket and retail shopping (in the place of an existing blighted area centered on west street in Englewood’s downtown, west of the railroad tracks) (Westra)
  • Killed the proposal to knock down city hall; existing city hall now under renovation in 3 phase plan

More Englewood Matters

• • Revised and updated Englewood’s Master Plan
  • Implemented mandatory recycling in Englewood
  • Returned full-fledged Memorial Day parade, veterans day ceremony and inter-faith thanks-giving service back to Englewood
  • Created the mayor’s task for against substance abuse
  • Created the teen pregnancy task force
  • Created and implemented the 11-town plan that saved the community mental health center on W. Palisade avenue from bankruptcy
  • Introduced mayor’s scholarship program funded by mayoral wedding ceremonies and ribbon cuttings
  • Planted more than 300 city trees
  • Kept Libyan diplomatic mission out of Englewood residential area