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New Medford mayor Czekay looks to ensure 'ample revenue,' hopes for no tax hike

A decade of "party boss politics," near "financial ruin," and an embarrassing sex scandal may once have tarnished the office of Medford's mayor.

Frank Czekay
Frank CzekayRead more

A decade of "party boss politics," near "financial ruin," and an embarrassing sex scandal may once have tarnished the office of Medford's mayor.

But those difficult times are fading, says Frank Czekay, who on New Year's Day raised his right hand and pledged to "faithfully, impartially, and justly" execute the duties of the office of mayor for a one-year term.

His affluent, lake-dotted town of 23,000, which he has called home for two decades, is "not out of the woods yet," Czekay, a lawyer and certified public accountant, acknowledged in an interview last week.

Medford is still in debt, he said, and functioning with scaled-down police and recreation departments.

Four police and public-works unions are negotiating new contracts, and residents opposed to a long-stalled and controversial project to build hundreds of homes off Route 70 remain unsure if the developer will go forward with it.

Despite the uncertainties, however, the council "got things stabilized last year," according to Czekay (za-KYE), who said he was hopeful the town would see no increase in municipal taxes in 2013.

Last year, voters authorized a hefty tax increase to pay off $3.8 million of the town's $5.7 million debt, the result of municipal spending that doubled between 2006 and 2010 while local tax revenue stayed flat.

Czekay, 51, who is married and has three children in the public schools, served for 15 years on the zoning board, including a stint as chairman, before taking a seat on council a year ago. This year Czekay succeeds Mayor Randy Pace, who was elected with him in November 2011 on a reform slate along with Councilman Chris Buoni.

"We ran because we did not feel the town had been run correctly for the last five to 10 years," said Czekay.

Republicans all, they defeated a slate of candidates they said was picked by the Republican "party boss" leadership of Burlington County, and whose zero-tax-increase policies had steered the town nearly to "ruin."

Two weeks after their election, council member Dave Brown resigned, followed that December by Mayor Chris Myers, who was plagued by allegations involving a male prostitute.

"So we ended up on Jan. 1 [2012] with five completely new people who had never held office," he recalled. "We were left with quite a mess."

Republicans Jeff Beanstock and Chuck Watson, who were appointed to fill the vacancies left by the resignations, also serve with Czekay.

Despite his newness to council, he said he believes his background as a lawyer and accountant gives him the financial "skill set" needed to help steer the town toward solvency. He works for the Philadelphia-based accounting and business consulting firm of ParenteBeard L.L.C.

His goal, he said, is "stabilizing the finances of the town and making sure there's ample revenue."

Township manager Chris Schultz, who in several weeks will submit a draft 2013 budget to council, said last week that the new budget would not attempt to pay off all of the town's debt.

Last year's municipal budget was $21.9 million.

Although the town's bond rating is Aa2, which is high-quality investment grade, Schultz said Medford's cost of debt service would increase by $400,000 this year, and that reduced staffing and services would likely continue.

"We are evaluating a debt restructure," said Schultz, "but we have to work within state law."

Although not opposed to raising taxes, as were some previous councils and mayors, Czekay said he wanted to boost revenue by "putting more ratables on the books" by attracting businesses and commercial properties.

The Medford Crossing project, which was the subject of lengthy and costly litigation between the township and developer Stephen Samost, includes approvals for about 600,000 square feet of commercial development along Route 70, in addition to about 500 housing units.

"I'd like to see the commercial come first," Czekay said, "but given the state of the real estate market, I don't know if that's going to happen."

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