Mike Vance, incumbent for Stanhope council

My wife Patti and I have been residents of Stanhope for 33 years. Our children, Kailtin and David, both attended Valley Road School and Lenape Valley High School prior to going on to Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickenson University, respectfully.

I hold an M.A. from Montclair State University and am employed as an operations manager by a global gas and equipment supplier, where I work in the areas of both retail and manufacturing. I have served on the town council previously for several years as well as on the Land Use Board as chair, and the board of health as president. Additionally, I had the opportunity to coach Kaitlin in softball and David in Little League within the Lake Little League programs .

The three most pressing issues in Stanhope and how they would be addressed:

1. Taxes: Maintaining a property tax rate that is reasonable is always a challenge. The best way to accomplish this is twofold: increase our revenue via commercial and/or residential growth, and reduce or maintain our costs. While we certainly need children in our school system for it to survive, I am a proponent of establishing a senior living community within the borough, preferably in the downtown area. 2. Services: Many residents have expressed their considerable satisfaction with our services: police, fire, ambulance, department of public works, the multiple services provided by our town hall staff. The challenge here is to continue to provide these services without a significant increase in property taxes. We as a governing body must continue to pinch pennies, as they say, while searching for shared services and other revenue-producing opportunities.

3. Infrastructure/grant opportunities: Our infrastructure is a critical piece to any community, and ours is no different. We currently have several infrastructure improvements occurring in the borough as I write this. The planning and execution of these projects, supported by grant monies, improve our community while not overburdening our tax base.