Millville City Issues

Economic development is a common issue for many cities. When new businesses comes to an area, they are taxed, which helps raise tax revenue without having to directly tax residents. Other sources of tax revenue can come from places such as the recent legalization of cannabis, and when that is sold it can be taxed, creating another indirect source of tax revenue. However, Millville is in a rural area, where many residents don't want a lot of new business because it will change the rural feel. Also, about 50 percent of the land in Millville is protected from development due to environmental regulations and preserving gaming land. With all this in mind, the question to the candidates becomes: How will you thread the needle of increasing economic development to create tax revenue without directly raising taxes on residents, while also preserving the rural feel of the city?

The Nabb Ave Extension is an issue that has been talked about for many years. The idea is to extend Nabb Avenue, a road connected to the Sherman Ave exit on route 55, which would create a more direct path to the airport and industrial parks of Millville. This will help attract more business to those areas and make truck drivers happier, as they will have a more direct route to their destinations, avoiding convoluted paths and not get slowed down driving through center city Millville. You can see a more extensive report here: While the project is underway, Vice-Mayor Joe Sooy mentioned during our recent avenue that the project is 'dragging its feet'. The question to the candidates becomes: What is your current stance on this long-standing issue and how will you ensure that the project will continue in an efficient and effective manner?

Workers in any city deserve decent salaries for the jobs they do. Furthermore, those salaries ought to be competitive for the market they are in. Oftentimes, cities will offer higher salaries to workers in nearby districts, effectively 'stealing' quality employees. How will the candidates ensure that their employees will have competitive salaries, thereby reducing turnover which requires time and money towards re-hiring efforts?

During our recent interview with Vice-Mayor Sooy, it became apparent that he also believes it is important for the citizens to be aware and involved in the political process. That may sound obvious, but the point came up organically when we asked him how to address some of the issues going on and he basically responded (paraphrased): 'Get the voters to talk to each other about (insert issue here).' Once voters are more aware of the problems in the city, then they can show up to council meetings and make it clear that their issues are top priorities of the town. So the question to the candidates becomes: How will you raise political awareness and civic engagement to help ensure the government is directly addressing the concerns of the residents?

Road safety has been a concern for residents for many years. The presence of off-road vehicles and dangerous driving practices has gone on too long. Usually when this is brought up at meetings, people will usually say it is a state governor and state legislature issue. The question to the candidates becomes: How will you address concerns that might not be directly your responsibility, but are a top priority of residents? As a representative, are you able to contact the right people to finally solve the problem?

Laurel Lake has been in need of infrastructure investment for many years. Water and sewage in the area is not up to modern standards, which increases costs for home-owners and business investors, as they need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to get up to code when it comes time to buy and sell. How will the candidates handle this ongoing issue?

The state of New Jersey has state level mandates which get passed down to the city of Millville. While sometimes these mandates make sense, oftentimes they aren't appropriate for the specific needs of Millville. This can cause conflicts when the city and its residents try to do things like build new homes. How will the candidates handle balancing the efforts of state regulations with the particular needs of Millville?

From our discussion with current Commissioner Ranello, public parks and public property oftentimes is subject to disorderly behavior. How would each of the candidates ensure that our public spaces will become more orderly moving forward?

Homelessness has been an ongoing issue throughout the country and Millville has seen some increase with it over the past few years. How would the candidates handle Millville's current homeless problem?

Sometimes projects within the county aren't the top priority of a specific city. For example, while many people support the Middle Mile Broadband project (a project aimed at increasing broadband access and quality throughout the county), Vice-Mayor Sooy doesn't see it as a top priority for Millville. Meanwhile, there are other projects going on in Millville where the city and county money might be better spent. As a potential representative of Millville, how will you ensure that the voice of Millville is properly voiced and fought for in county politics?

Oftentimes different media outlets will present different perspectives on popular issues. For example, oftentimes right-wing media will say crime is through the roof while left-wing media will suggest that the numbers don't match the hype. How will you ensure residents will get a clear picture of what is going on in the city so we can cut through the noise and address problems head-on?