Ciasullo looks back on service

OGDENSBURG — Former Ogdensburg Mayor Steve Ciasullo said “It has been an absolute pleasure” working for the town, with residents, professionals, town employees, and council members. He also thanked his family for putting up with all that comes along with being mayor.
On Sept. 12, Ciasullo resigned as mayor and Council President Rachel Slater was unanimously elected to fill his unexpired term through Dec. 31, 2018.
Ciasullo said, because the town is in great financial shape, it allowed him to depart and continue healing from a serious fire fighter accident. He said Ogdensburg has more than $1 million in surplus for emergencies or to offset taxes; they only raised taxes one time — less than a percent — in about six years; and they have the lowest debt ever, which is why Ogdensburg is AA rated.
Around eight years ago, he said, he was told Ogdensburg should have $300K in surplus, when they had about $90 to around $110K. As mayor, he said, he was basically the town manager, working on every contract, every set of specs, and trying to find the town ways to save money, without any new revenue.
“We had to make some changes,” he said, and it all came down to doing a correct budget and not wasting money on unnecessary contracts or unneeded supplies, plus, a whole different process of running departments.
Ciasullo said he first got involved in the town about 11 years ago to see if he “could make a difference.” He added, he had no idea what was possible, and then he and the council “kept going for more,” Ciasullo continued, “We saved money that nobody thought was possible,” but it took a lot of work to get there.
He said, if they had not made the changes, it would have definitely led to the state possibly taking over the Ogdensburg finances. Ciasullo added, “We were on a road that wasn't looking good.”
Really looking after every dollar he said needs to continue even if right now the town is sitting financially better than ever. He continued it would be wrong to say, “The money's here, let's use it,” when it was so hard to get that money.
Ciasullo also said, it was an honor to be part of the Ogdensburg Hundredth Anniversary and seeing Main St. get done,
While mayor, Ciasullo and council helped revitalize Heater's Pond and brought back: the Winter Fest at Heater's Pond, the bi-annual fireworks with Ogdensburg Day every year, softball field at the fire house, and Plant St. Park and field, which the state took over because the borough had stopped using it for over 25 years.
Ciasullo added, now the borough raises enough money from the other field use fees to pay for both the softball and Plant St. fields, for which the borough pays insurance, maintains, and utilizes for youth sports.
He said, he actually enjoyed and will miss the residents' phone calls and trying to help fix problems.
Slater and the current council, he said, will be very positive for the town, and he hopes the council will continue to make wise decisions based on their town history, “Where we came from to get to where we are at right now.”
Ciasullo said, “Ogdensburg is the hidden treasure of Sussex County, There really aren't a lot of places like it around this area of New Jersey.”
Concluding, he said, he still has some good redevelopment ideas for the town, which he will present to the council. “Our little town is in good shape,” he added, “We need to work hard to keep it here.”