I have served as a Lakewood fire commissioner since 2012, and I am grateful for the opportunity which this position has given me to help the residents of our community. I have been involved in public fire protection activities for many years (even when I was attending law school in Washington, D.C.), and it’s a privilege to continue working for the safety of everyone in Lakewood.

I have always emphasized the need for a cost-effective fire department. The Fire District tax is only a small portion of the property tax bill, but there must be diligent, careful oversight of all spending. I have insisted on detailed justification for all expenditures, and have worked to minimize any spending which would not contribute to the protection of our residents. Over the years, I have been successful in reducing or eliminating unnecessary expenses, so that our limited funds can be directed toward our core mission.

One of the significant accomplishments during my tenure has been the increased professionalism of the fire department. The appointment of Jonathan Yahr as a full-time fire chief has been a great success, as he has led the major improvements in the department so that it can handle the increased workload of our booming population and businesses. Under his leadership, response time has been dramatically improved. During the last year, we also established the full-time position of fire prevention specialist, providing age-appropriate lessons for thousands of school children each year.

Our efforts have been recognized by ISO, the fire insurance rating organization, which last year awarded us a much better fire insurance rating. This directly benefits our residents, by reducing fire insurance premiums. A number of areas were cited as needing further improvement, including communications, training, and location of fire stations, and I will give these points my attention in the coming years. I would also like to redouble our efforts to recruit volunteer firefighters, since we have unfortunately not made the necessary progress in obtaining new members.

Throughout my time as fire commissioner, I have given special emphasis to the needs of our community. Our organizational work on pre-Pesach chametz burning, and on Lag B’Omer bonfire permits, has made Lakewood’s annual events a model for the surrounding towns. I hope to be able to make these occasions even better, always striving for the safest possible way to conduct these gatherings. I’m also glad that I was able to introduce a cultural awareness program to the fire department, so that all of our firefighters receive training in interacting with the specific needs of the frum community.

In addition to my work as fire commissioner, I maintain a full-service law office, providing legal services to individuals and small businesses in the Ocean and Monmouth county area. While I spend most of my time dealing with real estate and litigation matters, I have also handled a large number of pro bono cases, by referral from the Agudath Israel Legal Network, local shuls, yeshivas, and other organizations. Just this month, for example, I persuaded a homeowners’ association in a nearby town to allow a resident to erect a sukkah, after she had previously been refused permission to do so.

The Fire District is here to provide top quality service to Lakewood’s residents, businesses and visitors. I hope to continue working toward that goal in the coming years, and welcome any suggestions that would help to accomplish that.