At Tuesday night’s meeting of the mayor and council: there’s more than meets in the eye with Secaucus’ precipitous decline in NJ Monthly’s ranking, cost-savings at the new recreation center, council meetings to air on TV starting next week, recreation revamp is underway from concerts to holiday events, feral cats are in the cross hairs, and Meadowlands Parkway’s “sidewalk to nowhere” is finally on track…

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Secaucus administrator David Drumeler said the town’s steep decline in New Jersey Monthly magazine’s ranking of the state’s best places to live was misleading because the publication used different criteria in its rating this year.

Gonnelli and Drumeler

“I wouldn’t mind so much if they were comparing apples to apples from one year to the next,” he told eSecaucus. “When you’re not, it’s a little misleading.”

Drumeler said the biggest difference in the ranking was likely the way it considered property taxes. Previously, the ranking considered the median property tax rate for the year (which is very favorable to Secaucus, compared with the rest of the state) but the magazine added a criteria of the change over the last two years, which was not previously considered.

“When you don’t front-load your tax bill — we’ve only had three increases over a decade — you’re saving that increase every year,” he said.

Drumeler said declines in Secaucus’ crime rate and population, as well as strong school scores and relatively low unemployment of 2.9% all reflect favorably on the town.

The previous NJ Monthly ranking also took into account median home value increase over six years, while the recent ranking only looked at the change from ’06-08.

The ranking also dropped as a criteria a town’s proximity to theaters, which Secaucus clearly would have benefited from and was included in the previous ranking.

TV TIME: Three years after the project began, Tuesday night’s council meeting is slated to air in its entirety on Comcast channel 34 next week.

First Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas, who worked on the project with 3rd Warder John Shinnick, said meetings will air four or five times during the week following the meeting, including an evening and afternoon airing and on Saturday.

Mayor Mike Gonnelli said all parts of the public meeting will be aired, including the public comments, which were a point of contention during the previous administration amid legal concerns. Gonnelli urged members of the public to be brief and courteous in speaking publicly.

REC CENTER COSTS CUT:Gonnelli said some creative re-working of rec center personnel has resulted in a reduction of work hours that should save the town about $70K annually.

By reworking the schedule and eliminating some duplication, 712 man hours a month will be eliminated, the mayor said.

“We’re not taking anyone’s job away,” said Gonnelli. “We’re just reducing hours and moving people around.”

REC REVAMP: 2nd Ward Councilman John Bueckner said the town’s Thursday night concert series is being targeted for an overhaul because of its $40K price tag. “That’s not a luxury we can afford anymore,” he said.

Bueckner said one way to pinch pennies is by bringing the booking in-house, so he’ll be booking bands. “Good thing I don’t have to run this year,” he dead-panned. “But we’re not going to spend $5,900, or something like that, to bring a band into Secaucus. Not in these times.”

The St. Patrick’s Day event held a La Reggia in recent years (costing about $7K last year), is now scheduled for the senior center. Dinner and Irish music are on tap there.

The Easter Egg Hunt, which used to cost about $7K, is also being targeted for cost-cutting. A program at the high school is planned.

Bueckner also said notices are going out to encourage rec center members to renew their memberships as the first-year pacts lapse. Flyers are also going out to businesses in town advertising the new membership options for non-residents who work in Secaucus.

WILD CATS:Gonnelli said the town will be implementing a program modeled on Harmon Cove’s successful feral cat program to rein in wild felines living in town.

H.C.’s program traps cats and spays/neuters them before releasing the healthy cats into the community, where they help control the rodent population.

“We’ve identified certain areas that we’re going to target in the spring,” he said.

SIDEWALK TO NOWHERE:Completion of the “sidewalk to nowhere” on the north end of Meadowlands Parkway is finally underway and is slated to be completed by the spring.

“It will ensure the safety of the public in that area,” Gonnelli said.