Cost-cutting tops list in Madison

For the two veteran council members and four newcomers vying for three seats on the Madison council, sharing services, cutting costs and maintaining the quality of recreation facilities are top priorities.

Republicans Don Links and Councilman Vincent Esposito will face off against Democrats Anthony Occhino and Tom Haralampoudis for two three-year council seats.

Also up for grabs is an unexpired, two-year seat, for which incumbent Democratic Councilwoman Carmela Vitale and Republican Sam Cerciello are running.

The unexpired position was created when Democrat Dan Dunham, elected in 2008, resigned in March to take a new job in Illinois. Vitale was among three Democrats nominated to fill the position, and was selected by the council to serve until the next general election.

All six candidates agreed the borough must find ways to control spending.

"You can't really say you're going to lower taxes," Links said. "What I think we're looking to try to do is manage the tax increases." He said he would be interested in sharing services with the Madison Board of Education in an effort to save money.

All candidates agreed with the shared-services sentiment, both within the Madison municipal workforce and with other towns. Esposito, in a debate earlier this month hosted by the League of Women Voters, said he wanted to see more interdepartmental sharing, as well as accountability by borough employees.

As council liaison to the Madison Board of Health, Vitale said she helped increase departmental revenue, thus allowing for a 7.9 reduction in the board's budget.

Occhino said the new police and fire building could potentially be used by other municipalities as a training facility.

Haralampoudis said he would investigate different health care packages offered to municipal employees as another way to minimize costs.

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