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LAVALLETTE — The annual municipal reorganization meeting was held Monday night, when two longtime council members were sworn in again and the governing body previewed what the borough has to look forward to in 2025.

Before the meeting got underway, the oath of office was administered to incumbents Joanne Filippone and Jim Borowski so they could take their seats on the dais.

Filippone took the oath of office, which was administered by Borough Administrator John O. Bennett, with friend and resident Barbara Sussino holding the Bible.

“I was just sworn in by John Bennett, a former (acting) governor of the State of New Jersey and a former state senator,” said Filippone. “He’s also the business administrator for the Borough of Lavallette and I’m even prouder to say that he’s my friend…Never in my greatest imagination did I think that this would go on forever…I thank you all.”

Following her was Borowski. His brother, attorney John Borowski, administered the oath to him, while his wife, Andrea, and daughter Kayleigh held the Bible. He thanked them, as well as his son and his late mother.

“I’m truly honored and blessed that the voters of Lavallette think enough of me to continue in service to this great community, in spite of my old age — 2025 presents some new challenges as well as having to manage some ongoing ones,” said Councilman Borowski. “I cannot thank the borough staff and workers enough for all that they do to help make our jobs more seamless, easier and more manageable.”

On a motion from Councilman David Finter, seconded by Councilman Michael Stogdill, Councilwoman Anita Zalom was unanimously reelected council president for another year. Council President Zalom will be entering her third decade of public service on the Lavallette council during her current term.

“Thank you very much, I am very, very proud to be the council president of this town; to have worked with the workers we have and with the council people and mayor,” said Zalom. “It’s really a wonderful thing. I’m very lucky.”

ENGINEERING APPOINTMENTS

In a first for the Lavallette mayor and council, three consulting engineer appointments were made. Currently, Van Cleef Engineering, a firm with a location in Toms River, serves as the borough engineer.

“In the past we had one engineer that got a three-year appointment, and we still have Van Cleef on for two more years,” said Mayor Walter LaCicero. “We’re going to appoint several consulting engineers, which gives us the flexibility to look at resumes a little bit closer and to pick ones that may have a little bit more expertise in particular areas. We’re not bound to Van Cleef, although they’ve done a great job for us.”

The firms Morgan Engineering, based in Island Heights, Remington & Vernick, based in Toms River, and T&M Associates, based in Middletown, were appointed as consulting engineers with consent of the council.

MEETING DATES

The Lavallette Borough Council announced the following dates for meetings for the year of 2024. All the meetings take place on Mondays at 7 p.m., unless noted otherwise: Jan. 21 (Tuesday); Feb. 3 and 18 (Tuesday); March 3 and 17; April 7 and 21; May 5 and 19; June 2 and 16; July 7 and 21; Aug. 4 and 18; Sept. 2 (Tuesday) and 15; Oct. 6 and 20; Nov. 17; Dec. 1 and 15.

Each meeting will be held in the municipal building, located at 1306 Grand Central Ave.

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General Business

On Jan 3, 2025

Two weeks ago, North American Van Lines’ 2024 Annual Migration Map ranked New Jersey fourth in the nation for outbound migration. This week, United Van Lines and U-Haul have reported similar findings, underscoring the fact that more people are leaving the Garden State than entering.

According to U-Haul Growth Index data analyzing one-way customer transactions during the past year, New Jersey is the No. 48 growth state of 2024. The Garden State inches back one spot from the 2023 ranking. Meanwhile, South Carolina climbs three spots to dethrone Texas as the No. 1 growth state.

U-Haul customers coming to New Jersey accounted for 48.1% of all one-way traffic last year while out-of-state departures was 51.9%.

Looking at year-over-year changes, U-Haul arrivals into New Jersey fell 1% while departures remained the same in 2024.

U-Haul ranks growth states according to each state’s net gain (or loss) of one-way equipment from customer transactions in a calendar year. The U-Haul Growth Index is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way U-Haul truck, trailer and U-Box® portable moving container transactions that occur annually across the U.S. and Canada.

New Jersey’s notable leading growth markets include (in alphabetical order): Bridgeton, Bridgewater Township, Cherry Hill Township, Franklin Township, Glassboro, Jackson Township, Jersey City, Lakewood Township, Mount Laurel, Ocean Grove, Vineland, Wildwood and Williamstown. Bayonne, Bloomfield and Hamilton Township are break-even markets.

North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee round out the top five growth states for 2024. It’s the same top five from 2023, but in a slightly different order.

California ranks 50th for the fifth year in a row with the largest net loss of one-way U-Haul customers. Oklahoma (+30), Indiana (+19) and Maine (+18) are the biggest risers YOY, while Colorado (-31), Nevada (-24), Wyoming (-22) and New Mexico (-21) saw the biggest slides.

Meanwhile, United Van Lines’ 48th Annual National Movers Study reported that, for the seventh consecutive year, more residents moved out of New Jersey than any other state, with the state having a 67% outbound migration. The top motivations for moves out of New Jersey were driven primarily from those looking to retire (22%) and wanting to be closer to family (20%), with more than 40% of movers aged 65 and older. Of those moving from New Jersey, 20% moved to the sunshine state of Florida.

West Virginia was the state with the highest percentage of inbound migration (66%), among states experiencing more than 250 moves with United Van Lines. The Mountain State jumped nine spots on this year’s inbound list, compared to the 2023 National Movers Study.

North American Van Lines annual report, which uses state-by-state movement to highlight trends in population movements within the US, found that New Jersey experienced a 44% population inbound rate vs. a 56% outbound rate.

To access more business news, visit NJB News Now.

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