Trading places in Middletown
Brightbill sworn in as mayor; Scharfenberger is deputy mayor
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer
Pamela Brightbill will be deleting a word from her title because the word deputy is no longer necessary in front of the title of mayor.

Pamela Brightbill

After being sworn in by former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie at Middletown's annual reorganization meeting, the former deputy mayor switched seats with former Mayor and current Deputy Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger to preside over the meeting.

"2009 begins with challenges not faced in many years," Brightbill said. "The current economic crisis has us facing difficult times that will require us to review the ways and means of doing just about everything we do.

"Fortunately, Middletown is positioned to lead the way in these challenging times. It is not by chance that we were again named one of Money magazine's top 100 places to live."

Brightbill was first elected to the Township Committee in 2005 and was chosen by her peers to serve as deputy mayor for the past two years.

She was re-elected to the Township Committee in November.

Brightbill said that she would be spending the next year addressing affordable housing issues, specifically the current third-round affordable housing obligation mandated by the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).

"We complied with the state's mandate to submit an adopted Fair Share Plan for affordable housing to COAH by Dec. 31," Brightbill said. "I will continue to fight this mandate that will not only cost the residents of Middletown and the state billions of tax dollars but change the character and landscape that makes Middletown the special place it is."

She said she would work toward keeping municipal property taxes from escalating, by taking such action as delaying the property revaluation while real estate values adjust,

Brightbill said that her priorities are preserving the township's remaining open space, halting overdevelopment, and helping the environment by implementing more green initiatives.

"You may have heard me mention our 'Middletown Team' in the past. I am encouraged and proud when I see the three parts of our team — residents, elected officials and township employees — working for the common goal of making Middletown the great place it is," Brightbill said.

"The more we all work together, the greater we will be. In trying times, this will be even more important, and I ask all three integral parts of this team to remind themselves daily that we are all on the same side."

Brightbill said that the township is looking to create a thriving business community to stimulate the local economy.

"In these tough economic times, I feel it is more important than ever to support our Middletown business community," Brightbill said. "I'd like to be sure that our business owners know that Middletown is committed to creating a thriving business community and a strong local economy. With that said, I would like to propose a 'Buy Middletown' campaign. I have spoken to several business owners and will be putting together a group to work on this initiative. It's up to us all to keep our storefronts open and encourage everyone to 'Buy Middletown' before going elsewhere."

Also at the meeting, two new advisory committees were created.

The first is the Recreation Master Plan Steering Committee, which will be made up of township professionals, two committee members and three residents who will begin the process of reviewing and planning for implementation of the recreation master plan completed last year.

The committee will plan for the next decade of the township's parks, recreation, cultural arts and open space programs and facilities.

The other is the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, which will consist of Brightbill and Committeeman Sean Byrnes along with township professionals and three residents.

The committee will work with the administrator and chief financial officer to create objectives for various departments and track their success in meeting those objectives.

Brightbill said the township is finding new ways to save money.

"One great example of this planning will be seen shortly when Ted Maloney, our current assistant director of the Department of Public Works, will be named our township engineer," Brightbill said. "Mr. Maloney was hired two years ago for the public works position with the expectation that his engineering degree could then be used for small in-house engineering projects.

"The hope being realized here today was that he could do increasingly more of that work. Mr. Maloney has been an enormous asset to Middletown and will now be the town's first point of contact for engineering problems or concerns and will attend our Township Committee meetings."

Another appointment at the meeting was the selection of Brian Nelson, a former commissioner on the Middletown Sewerage Authority and former executive director of the state Republican State Committee, to take over the position of township attorney from Bernard Reilly, who served in the role for years.

Reilly will continue to represent Middletown on litigation, tax appeals, labor relations and COAH regulations.

Positions on committees including the planning and zoning boards, housing authority, landmarks commission and others were filled.

"While many of you here today are our friends and families, a large number of you are here to be appointed or re-appointed to one of our many volunteer boards and commissions," Brightbill said. "We are fortunate that so many of you are willing to give your time and ideas to the boards you serve on. In many cases, you are our eyes and ears in the community, and many of the events you coordinate fill a real need for our residents."

Contact Jamie Romm at

jromm@gmnews.com.