Full Notification

Mayor Bill Ziegler’s Leonia Status Report, March 3, 2025:

Fire Tragedy: 

On the morning of Friday, February 14th, we were all reminded how quickly life can change.  A devastating three alarm fire destroyed two residential buildings at the corner of Grand and Schor Avenues displacing 36 of our friends and neighbors from their homes.  I’ve attached some photos that attest to the ferocity of the blaze our firefighters confronted when first arriving at the scene HERE.  A special thanks to LFD fire photographer Chris Torello for taking these photos.  

The affected Leonians didn’t have the chance to flee with much more than the clothes on their back and you can see why from the photos.  For hours our Leonia Volunteer Fire Department and 10 other mutual aid towns valiantly battled an out of control and very dangerous blaze.  Because of the quick response of our volunteer fire department and the Leonia Police Department all residents were able to get out of the buildings safely.  

The cause of the fire appears accidental and, as of this writing, is still under investigation.  

While I still hope for the best, there have been no confirmed sightings of the pets (a cat and a dog) missing since the fire, despite our Leonia Police Department keeping a sharp eye out and numerous neighbors searching.  It seems increasingly likely these two beloved pets may have been victims and, if so, this adds to the tragedy.

Leonia and Leonians in a big way stepped up to help our friends and neighbors in distress.  Many residents quickly responded to this tragedy by donating clothes, shoes, and food to our displaced families.  Other residents volunteered at the library to organize all that was given.  The library was overwhelmed with donations that you can see HERE.  Gift cards were also given and thousands of dollars of cards were distributed to the families.  

Our Leonia Community Chest has initiated a fundraising campaign to equally benefit all of the families.  In the first day of the campaign alone, The Leonia Community Chest collected an extraordinary amount of funds.  HERE is a link to the Leonia Community Chest website where you will immediately find the details for how to donate.   

Through all of this heartache, I was reminded again of how Leonians come together to support their friends and neighbors during a time of strife.  We are a special, tight knit community and I am extremely grateful and proud of how Leonians have stepped up to help each other.  I also received much needed calls of support and offers of assistance from other surrounding communities including from the Mayor of Bogota whose town had also recently had a major apartment fire displacing dozens of residents.  

For additional detail concerning the fire response and efforts to help our Leonia affected families, please watch the portion of the last Mayor and Council meeting HERE where we discuss what happened and what we are doing to support the families.  Your continued support of all our friends and neighbors who lost so much will no doubt be of great benefit to them as they recover and continue their life’s journey.

Budget 2025:

On February 25th, we held a well attended Town Hall to discuss our ongoing budget challenges.  These town halls are incredibly important because they provide you with another opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas about how best to, in this case, manage through our current budget challenges.  Please take a moment to view the meeting HERE.

Of every dollar you pay in local taxes approximately 30% (or 30 cents on the dollar) funds your municipal services.  The majority of your local tax dollar, the remaining 69%, over which the governing body does not have any fiduciary control primarily goes to the Board of Education and County Government.  Our focus at the Town Hall was on the 30% of each dollar you pay to fund your municipal services.

Last year, through some substantial cuts to our DPW, Library and Recreation Commission we held the overall municipal budget increase to a figure less than inflation at 2.98% (inflation in 2024 was 3.41%) despite losing $500 thousand in America Rescue Act funding, mandated insurance and pension benefit increases of greater than 11%, inflationary headwinds, and debt service at historically high levels (to pay for the new Police/Court building and Turf Fields).  

Even though our grant dollars have more than doubled in 2024 to $1.573 million and our revenues have increased, my hopes this year to keep the municipal tax increase at a similar level (either at or below inflation) have been dashed by some recent incredibly high cost increases which we can’t control–Health Benefits up $360K (23%), Pension Benefits up $140K (8% increase), Debt Service up $244K (10%), Legal Fees up $150K (80%) and Insurance up $192K (24%).  Compare these % increases to inflation at 3.41% with the fact this represents over one million dollars we largely can’t control and you can better appreciate why this year’s increase is not going to be lower than inflation.  

Please take a moment to watch the Town Hall HERE. See what was presented in terms of the details of our collective challenge and the suggestions/questions offered by your friends and neighbors who attended the meeting.  We take all of the input we receive from you seriously.  

Until we dramatically increase revenues through the all important redevelopment activities we’re pursuing west of Grand Avenue along Fort Lee Road and Willow Tree Road, we will most likely continue to be budget challenged given our low commercial tax base.  

The good news is that the increase won’t be as great as it might have been because of shared services opportunities we’re exploring, aggressive pursuit of revenue and some creative, alternate services received free through institutions of higher education.  Even so, the likely increase in the municipal portions of your taxes will still be approximately 7% (down from 12.5%).  This is still considerable and with the input received from residents at the Town Hall we will proceed to craft the best, responsible budget we can at our upcoming Mayor and Council meetings.  

Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee:

I’ve formed a Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee to gain valuable perspective into the concerns and priorities of our high school students, particularly as they relate to key municipal services such as the Recreation Commission, Library, Police Department, Environmental Commission, Shade Tree and diversity matters.  I believe our teen population can help all members of the governing body better serve Leonia and address potential blind spots.  

After our first meeting this past Thursday at the Municipal Center Building, I was really encouraged.  All of the young people came prepared to contribute and offer their insights on what’s working well in our community, what might need some improvement and to share their thoughts on the effectiveness/accessibility of our municipal services for teens.    

At each monthly meeting, I will be asking a different department head to present and then facilitate a discussion with the high school students about municipal offerings and services.  Our initial meeting featured Mr. Sean Krakower, Superintendent of Recreation.  

In order to select the students to serve, I conducted individual interviews.  I  was incredibly impressed with their perspectives, energy and desire to contribute.  I have no doubt the students will be valuable contributors and our initial meeting bore this out.  

And thank you, too, to the parents of these students because you are raising some very responsible young people.  

MACORE Presentation to the Mayor and Council:

Owen Sheridan, Chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Racial Equity (MACORE), recently presented the attached deck HERE, to the Mayor and Council.  

Leonia remains a wonderfully diverse community.  The demographic trends which Owen presented are quite interesting.  Between 2013 and 2022 (according to U.S. Census Data), Leonia’s Asian population is basically flat at 37%, Latin/Hispanic has increased to 23%, White is down from 39% to 34%, and the Black population has also decreased at 2%. 

Numbers alone, of course, don’t tell a complete story.  The value MACORE delivers to our community is more wrapped up in their exploring the “Leonia Experience” from diverse perspectives, what the obstacles to engagement might be and suggesting actions as a result.  As a diverse community, we must take the time to understand and appreciate different perspectives and cultures.  At the end of the day, I believe this will make us much stronger as a community–recently vividly illustrated by the outpouring of support for our friends and neighbors affected by the fire.  

MACORE’s 2025 priorities include Communication/Promotion, Education/Advocacy and Events. This year, MACORE is taking a leadership role in promoting Leonia Day and helping ensure participation across all the various boards, committees, and commissions that represent the volunteer army which keeps Leonia running. 

Don’t forget… Leonia Day this year is Saturday, May 3rd.  More details to come in a future status update about this year’s event which, as in past years, will include a tour of Police HQ, an art show in the Municipal Center, tables for our volunteers to showcase their work. a biergarten, food and games for the kids.

Rapid Deployment Force:

Emerging from the fire disaster and reflecting on our experiences as a municipal government to assist the affected families, I was very pleased with the coordinated responses of our fire services, the Red Cross, all of our Leonia departments including the LFD, Police and DPW, plus the county and state agencies who came in to help.  Overall, I give the borough high marks for effectively and efficiently coordinating all these efforts to benefit those in distress.

From this experience, what I think we should have had (and did not) was a Rapid Deployment Force of volunteers which we could have called at a moment’s notice to help.  For example, we needed volunteers to help the families evacuated to the Recreation Center and facilitate Red Cross interviews, organize and accept the huge outpouring of donatables at the Library, and help provide food for first responders. These are a few of the things I envision a Rapid Deployment Force of resident volunteers providing in terms of services.   

Of course, I fully appreciate how busy everyone is and, despite the many ways you can volunteer (and we have more volunteers today serving on boards, committees and commissions than ever before) it might still be difficult for some to commit to attending regular meetings.  

By signing up to join a Rapid Deployment Force you would be committing to showing up when there is a need and helping your community through that moment or crisis as the case may be.  

I’m asking anyone who wants to sign up to do so at this link HERE.  Please provide your contact information and indicate interest by putting a tick mark next to “Rapid Deployment Force”.   This can give people another opportunity to step up and help their town when it is most needed.  

Cafe de Lyon:

Located at the southwest corner of Broad Avenue and Fort Lee Road, this is a new Espresso/Dessert Cafe which I look forward to trying.  I spoke to the owner and he will likely be opening in a few weeks.  Patisserie Seoul was the original name now changed in favor of Cafe de Lyon.  I have to admit, I always appreciate when a business tries to work a derivation of “Leonia” into their name.  

I encourage Leonians to frequent your local business establishments.  In many ways, their success is your success (property values immediately come to mind as they always reflect favorably when there is a vibrant business district.)   I look forward to my first baked goods and some coffee at Cafe de Lyon.  

Philanthropy/fundraising:

Finally, one more call for a volunteer.  Who can blame me?  We are currently on a roll…

This time, I am looking for people with fundraising or development experience.  If you went to college, think about your school’s outreach to alumni.  I want to explore setting up a development function within the borough similar to how a school alumni development office operates and offer appropriate and well deserved recognition as the situation may warrant.  

There are many ways residents can contribute to their community and some of these can be legacy donations.  We need the mechanism and process in place to properly and respectfully solicit donations on behalf of the borough.  

I don’t think we’ve done enough to tap into this opportunity just yet.  So, if you have experience as a development officer or experience raising funds for a non-profit organization, please consider putting your skills and experience to work on behalf of Leonia.  

Use this link to sign up and indicate your interest in Philanthropy/Fundraising HERE. by filling out the form and putting a checkmark next to the Philanthropy/Fundraising option. 

Last Comments:

Next Town Hall will be about our all important Redevelopment/Revitalization efforts.  Stay tuned for details.

Please be sure to check out “Broad Strokes”, the new art exhibit at the Municipal Center.  

Let’s hope warmer weather and Spring is right around the corner…

Kind regards,

Bill Ziegler

Leonia Mayor

March 3, 2025