Negotiating with Pompton Lakes Utility a Priority for Caputo

The following is the sixth in our eight-part series of council candidate profiles for the Nov. 8 election. Each day, Tri-Boro Patch will bring you a new profile so that you know who you can vote for and what issues they are most concerned with. On election day, we will bring all of the profiles together for you in one article so you can make an informed decision.

In Blomingdale, four candidates, two Republicans and two Democrats, are running for two council seats. This is a profile story of one of them.

If elected, this will not be Republican candidate Ron Caputo's first time on the

The U.S. Navy veteran served as councilman in 1997, 1998 and 1999.

Caputo said he originally decided not to seek re-election then because "the political climate was changing."

"I became slightly disenchanted because of the time it took to get anything done," he said.

Now, Caputo said he is running because he supports the Republican majority's mission and wants to join the members in working to achieve some of the things they are working on.

"I agree with their platform whole-heartedly and I want to help," he said.

Caputo is a former teacher of the apprentice school of Iron Workers Local where he served as vice president. He holds his New Jersey Building Inspector's License and has been retired for the past eight years.

He is also a past commissioner of the Bloomingdale Board of Adjustment, a former Library Board trustee and an exempt firefighter of the Caputo was once a manager for as well.

Caputo and his wife Judy have lived in Bloomingdale for more than 42 years. What he likes most about the borough is its "small town feeling," he said.

"When we moved here 42 years ago, basically we had almost as many residents then," he said.

Some of the priorities he has if elected to the council again include helping initiate negotiations for a shared services agreement with the Pompton Lakes Municipal Utilities Authority to provide water and sewer services to the borough. Caputo said the borough's infrastructure is deteriorating and the agreement could help.

"In past experiences, we did remedial work," he said. "None has been done in 11 years."

Caputo thinks that by negotiating with the MUA, Bloomingdale residents' costs could be lowered.

Caputo also said he would work hard to minimize tax increases and ensure that the budget stays under the state-mandated 2 percent cap.

He is also strongly opposed to the the council majority has requested be for voters on Tuesday.

"I am solidly against the lighting project," he said. "I would encourage our voters to vote against it."

Caputo feels the money could be better spent elsewhere.

"I would rather have that money used for flood mitigation," he said. Caputo is a member of the borough's as well.