The town has faced challenges, Mayor Thomas Lankey acknowledged.
EDISON -- It began, naturally, with a Bruce Springsteen quote.
"Between our dreams and actions lies this world," the Boss crooned in Dead Man Walkin'.
The state of Edison Township is somewhere in between its actions and its dreams, said Thomas Lankey, the Edison mayor (and Springsteen superfan).
In his third State of the Township address at a ballroom in the Pines Manor Thursday night, Lankey said the town has made significant strides, while also facing challenges.
"The state of Edison is making steady and deliberate progress forward," Lankey said.
The town has a program to pave 64 roads; it is restructuring the Department of Public Works; and it will soon welcome the Hartz development off Route 1, bringing with it a Top Golf location and a Starbucks drive-thru.
People in Edison have asked him when their roads will be paved. They were in "dire shape" before he took over, Lankey said.
"We're going to get to you," Lankey said.
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He also has had to make some tough calls, he said, like raising taxes in the first two years of his administration after he was elected in 2013. Though people have raised the issue of raised taxes frequently, the increases have helped build a "foundation" for the town, Lankey said.
And, Lankey said, its police department is dong well under Police Chief Thomas Bryan's leadership -- despite what you might read in the media. Those reports have included pay raises for top police officials, a new deputy chief who was able to skip the captain's test that the town touted as one of the solutions to its problems, and the ongoing saga of the "lingerie cop." Most recently this week, the town's request for a stay to give Anthony Sarni his job back was denied by an appeals court. The town has authorized a contract not to exceed $30,000 for a new labor lawyer, Arthur Thibault of Aprusseze, McDermott, Mastro & Murphy, to work on the Sarni appeal.
What you might not always read about, Lankey suggested, is that Edison is one of the safest towns in the country. That its officers are now being outfitted with the latest body-worn camera technology. And that the department, once one of the whitest in the country compared to its town's population, is becoming more and more ethnically diverse.
"These officers have done a phenomenal job," Lankey said. "We are better prepared and better equipped."
The town is now up to 184 officers, up from the low 150s. And the new waves of officers, 36 in all, have done a great job, Lankey said. Many of them will be outfitted with body-worn cameras.
Bryan was in attendance, along with numerous other luminaries and top township officials, including Fire Chief Brian Latham, county Freeholder Charles Tomaro, the new DPW director John K. Haines, members of the Town Council and Maureen Ruane, the business administrator.
The event was hosted by the Edison Chamber of Commerce, which said the township has seen 15 new business openings so far this year, a quicker pace than in past years.
"Mayor Lankey has been very dedicated to the needs of the community," said Nathan Rudy, the president of the chamber.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.