Joyce’s Plan,
Issue by Issue
You pay a lot to live in West Orange. You should expect a lot in return.
Your tax bill, sewer bill, streets, parks and neighborhood are affected by decisions at Town Hall. My priorities are to protect your money, improve the services you rely on, plan responsibly and make those decisions easier to understand. Here’s a closer look at the specifics.
1 Your money and your property taxes
Responsible government starts with responsible spending
Our municipal property taxes pay for policing, the fire department, snow removal, sanitation, public works, the township library, municipal salaries, park maintenance and legal costs.
West Orange taxpayers deserve a government that treats taxpayer dollars as carefully as residents treat their own. The Mayor is the chief executive officer, responsible for preparing and presenting the municipal budget to the Council. That responsibility must be taken seriously.
As Mayor, I will deliver detailed budgets on time, free of waste and bloated salaries. I will review recurring costs, conduct a forensic audit to identify waste and inefficiency, and require fair, competitive bidding for township contracts.
In 2023, Susan McCartney proposed a 16% property tax increase for the residents of West Orange. During my first year on Council, I identified $3.4 million in spending reductions without cutting staffing or essential programs. That included questioning $5,000 a month for unused cellphones and $20,000 for a non-municipal employee to make social media posts for Mayor Susan McCartney. Every reduction, big and small, helped produce a $200 per household reduction in taxes in the 2025 budget. Read the budget coverage.
Sewer bills should pay for sewers
Our sewer system is critical infrastructure. Currently, residents are paying sewer fees, however the money is going into the general fund. It represents a backdoor tax on residents.
The current system is unfair. In 2023, Susan McCartney proposed changing our sewer formula from actual water usage to the number of bedrooms in a home, and Councilwoman Tammy Williams rubber stamped it. I believe that is fundamentally unfair. It burdens seniors and empty-nesters. I will work to restore a usage-based formula. Because when your family size shrinks, so should your sewer bill.
A law department that works for West Orange
Susan McCartney SUED her Town Council (on the taxpayer’s bill) to retain the very attorney whose decisions, oversight and recommendations helped lead to the debt debacle the town faces. That attorney has been removed and replaced. But, should a part-time attorney bill $50,000 a month? $600,000 a year?
As Mayor, I will inaugurate West Orange’s first full-time, in-house law department. Our town deserves an attorney that has only one client: West Orange. This will keep our costs fixed and predictable.
Why haven’t Mayor Susan McCartney and previous mayors created an in-house law department? Campaign contributions, pay-to-play and cronyism are part of the reason. For example, former West Orange Town Attorney, Richard Trenk, has contributed $8,000 to various municipal elected officials including $1,300 to Councilwoman Tammy Williams. Susan McCartney has also accepted campaign cash from law offices and contractors. It is time for a non-conflicted legal department.
2 Development and downtown
Plan for the whole town
West Orange needs a coordinated plan for the whole town. I will hire an in-house municipal planner to encourage smart, well-planned development rather than the haphazard construction Susan McCartney has ushered into our town. I will establish form-based zoning—design standards that help new buildings fit the neighborhoods around them.
West Orange does not need to sacrifice its neighborhoods or natural environment in the name of growth. New development should be evaluated for its effects on traffic, stormwater, sewer capacity, flooding, trees, open space, energy use and nearby homes. I understand that removing trees causes flooding.
Revitalize downtown
Mayor McCartney’s downtown is riddled with store closings. Edison Lofts, which was supposed to revitalize downtown, has not done so, and talk of a movie studio has amounted to nothing. She also hurt our tax base by giving a huge tax break to the Edison Lofts developer, ensuring residents pick up the rest of their tab.
I will focus on beautifying Main Street, making it walkable, safe and accessible, including adding a parking structure downtown. I’ll bring back the Farmers Market, bigger and better, and work with an in-house municipal planner to create a vibrant, cohesive downtown that attracts businesses and supports local merchants. Our town should value the historic character of our downtown and create a place where residents want to spend time and money.
Build sustainably—and plan before problems become crises
Sustainable development means thinking beyond the ribbon-cutting. Before approving a project, we need to understand what it will mean for traffic, drainage, sewer capacity, the tree canopy and the surrounding neighborhood years from now. Good planning anticipates problems before they become crises.
I will press for projects that preserve open space and use meaningful energy-saving and green design, including green roofs and materials that support LEED certification. I will also examine how new and redeveloped parking lots can reduce runoff and heat through appropriate surfaces, trees and shade.
On Council, I helped strengthen West Orange’s stormwater and tree ordinances. As Mayor, I will make sure the principles behind those protections are considered at the start of planning, when a project can still be improved.
Affordable housing needs smarter planning
Affordable housing does not mean paving over every available piece of land or giving a green light to developers in the hopes that they will devote a tiny percentage of units to moderate income residents. Susan McCartney’s affordable housing plan reads like a developer’s wish list, with little regard for our neighborhoods.
Under the Mount Laurel II doctrine, the New Jersey Supreme Court made clear that municipalities are not required to sacrifice forests, open space or environmentally sensitive land to meet their affordable housing obligations. Proposed sites must be approvable, available, developable and suitable. Our obligation is to plan responsibly.
No one should forget that Susan McCartney rejected the interests of this community when she cast her vote to destroy the West Essex Highlands, a move which could greatly impact existing neighborhoods. Or that McCartney missed the State-mandated affordable-housing deadline, which led to six builder’s remedy lawsuits that could cost taxpayers millions and take away local control over where housing goes.
Here’s my plan: West Orange can address our affordable housing obligation by reusing existing housing stock like the shuttered Canterbury assisted-living facility on Mt. Pleasant Ave. We can change zoning laws to allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in appropriate areas, as Montclair has done effectively. We should also consider 100% affordable projects like The Forum in Madison which provides beautiful housing in a fully sustainable building.
I will work with residents and an in-house municipal planner to identify appropriate locations for multi-family housing and ensure new buildings complement the surrounding streets and neighborhoods. Affordable housing should strengthen West Orange, not sacrifice our green space and neighborhoods. We just need the leadership and the will.
3 Protect our environment and open space
I co-founded Our Green West Orange and helped lead the Coalition to Save South Mountain Reservation before I was elected to Council. I know that protecting our natural spaces is also about protecting homes, neighborhoods and quality of life.
In 2021, West Orange purchased 95 acres of Crestmont Country Club for $4.7 million, using borrowed money that taxpayers must repay. Then-Councilwoman Susan McCartney voted to approve the purchase. As Mayor, she failed to apply for New Jersey’s Green Acres funding which would provide West Orange with millions to forever protect Crestmont from future development.
West Orange also purchased the 138-acre Rock Spring Golf Course for $12 million, financed through municipal borrowing. Then-Councilwoman Susan McCartney voted to approve that purchase as well. As Mayor, McCartney again failed to apply for $6 million in Green Acres funding that would lower our debt by half.
As Mayor, I will pursue every available Green Acres funding opportunity to permanently protect open space and reduce the burden on taxpayers. I will track what the township has applied for and received, and show residents how any proceeds affect the debt.
I will make environmental protection part of municipal projects and outside contracts, with measurable standards for energy use, trees, stormwater and open space. I will require LEED certification for new construction projects and retrofit municipal buildings where needed.
I will protect sensitive land from overdevelopment, expand tree planting, maintain our parks and create community gardens. Trees and natural areas provide shade and absorb stormwater; losing them can make flooding and heat worse. The Ron Jolyn disaster, which left 45 West Orange families permanently displaced, underscores why protecting trees matters.
Protecting our environment is part of protecting our neighborhoods.
4 Safer streets and better connections
Traffic safety is very personal for me. I lost my sister a few years ago when she was walking in Los Angeles and killed by a distracted driver. As Mayor, I will make streets safer with brightly colored, highly visible crosswalks and other practical improvements. These changes will advance West Orange’s Vision Zero commitment to preventing traffic deaths and serious injuries.
I will also improve the Jitney service and schedule so it better connects residents to where they need to go.
5 Ethical leadership
I do not accept campaign contributions from anyone doing business with or seeking a contract with the township. In my run for Council and Mayor, I signed an Ethical Pledge to adhere to a Campaign Code of Ethics.
Clean money means clean elections. Council decisions must be unencumbered by insider influence. Some members of the current Town Council take money from interested parties and claim to be free of influence. You deserve a leader that does not compromise the integrity of their public.
When I’m Mayor, you can trust that policies and decisions will be based on common sense, cost effectiveness and doing what’s best for the residents of West Orange.
6 A Town Hall that follows through
Residents should not have to spend years asking for an answer. I will expect Town Hall to explain who is responsible for a concern, what the next step is and when residents can expect an update.
I will do the homework. Ask the hard questions. Protect your money. Listen to residents. And follow through.