Mayor Greg Puliti

The following is the acceptance speech of Mr. Puliti from the January 1, 2007 reorganization meeting.

Happy New Year! Thank you for being here this afternoon to celebrate two thousand and seven in our Lawrence Community. I am deeply touched to see so many of you here to show your support of the Lawrence Council and our form of government. And while I have your attention I invite you to attend our 24 other Council meetings during the rest of this year. Government functions from the bottom up. Your voice at the local level is the voice that is heard throughout the County, State, and Federal levels.

Local government affects all of our lives in many different ways. Our goal, in cooperation with the administration, is to listen to your concerns, questions, and advice. Sometime it’s easy, and sometimes it’s difficult. I can only promise that each of you has a voice in governing this great municipality. As chair during two thousand and seven I look forward with anticipation and enthusiasm in serving you. There is a lot of work to do.

The first item on Council’s agenda is the Lawrence Township budget. This process is becoming more difficult each year. I can assure you that working in concert with our Township Manager and Department heads we will continue to manage our debt while still proving capitol improvements to make Lawrence Township run efficiently and effectively. As we begin to review this year’s budget we are morally obligated to make wise and fiscally sound decisions. Keeping this in mind we are cautious to compromise the quality and delivery of services to our residents.

Your safety is our major concern. Our police force and emergency services continue to protect us and insure that we are safe and secure. We are indebted to all of them, and we thank you.

Lawrence is also proud of its quality of road repair, snow plowing, trash removal, and leaf collection. We cannot continue to provide these excellent services without reaching out and collaborating with other municipalities in Mercer County. Currently we share services with the Princetons, Hamilton, Lawrence Board of Education, Ewing-Lawrence Sewerage Authority, and Mercer County. Our County Executive Brian M. Hughes has called for a summit in early spring specifically to address shared services. We look forward to this summit and hope all will attend.

I am also aware that the Board of Chosen Freeholders will host a meeting Lawrence during the early part of this year, making County Government more accessible; once again, all are invited. As we begin two thousand and seven, our prosperity and quality of life can only be secured if we embrace the philosophy of working together a theme that is echoed throughout Local, County, and State Government. We live in the best of times, yet we face tremendous challenges that can only be resolved by working together--together we can…

Have a wonderful and safe New Year!