Mendham a 'Natural Pick' for NJ's Best Town, Mayor Says

Mendham Borough Mayor Neil Henry picked up the phone in mid-July, and took a call he wasn’t expecting.

“I always knew Mendham was a great place to live, but this caught me by surprise,” Henry said.

The resident of 15 years heard a reporter from New Jersey Monthly on the other line, telling him the town he lives in and oversees as a member of the governing body was the best place to live in the state.

The magazine, which compiles “Best Of” lists from school rankings to best doctors and restaurants throughout the year, said Mendham Borough, for a multitude of reasons, was the best town to live in out of the 514 ranked municipalities. 

“We’re a small town of 5,000 people, so when [NJ Monthly] said we were the best place to live, it was a big blend of emotions,” Henry said.

But once the news set in, Henry said it felt right.

“Of course once I realized the magnitude of the designation, it was just a natural pick,” he said.

Henry touted the small town’s public employees for the borough’s success, citing the countless hours he and the Mendham council put in to their duties, and thanked the police department and department of public works employees for their service.

“We’ve got all the right people in the right places, and that’s one of the big reasons Mendham is best place to live,” the admittedly excited mayor said. “This designation is a big feather in our caps.”

What now?

While the mayor may say it’s a natural pick, it took plenty of time and effort to attain the top spot in the much-heralded rankings. So how does a town go about keeping it’s place on the list?

“Obviously we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing, because that’s proven to be a formula for success,” Henry said. “But there are two areas to focus on that will keep us at the top.”

The mayor said the town’s finances, including a municipal budget well under the state’s 2-percent tax cap mandate, need to be kept in proper shape. The second order of business is to make sure the town’s master plan – due for re-examination in the coming years – is up to par and “keeps Mendham, Mendham,” Henry said. “That’s how we’ll maintain the direction of Mendham.”

Northern New Jersey as a whole made quite a splash in the rankings, with nine of the list’s top-10 towns to live in hailing from northern New Jersey counties.

Other nearby towns in the top-10 included Warren Township at number two, and Hillsborough Township at number 10.

Chester Township was ranked number 25; Tewksbury ranked number 31; Mendham Township ranked 32; Chester Borough ranked 40; Washington Township ranked 46; and Randolph ranked 80.

The magazine’s methodology to compile the list was based on metrics including average residential tax bill, change in average property tax bill, effective property tax rate, median home sales price, change in median home sales price, total crime rate, student proficiency on state-mandated tests, among other factors.

Earlier this month, NJ Spotlight compiled a list of the state’s wealthiest communities, based on the New Jersey median household income of $71,180. On that list, Chester Township, Mendham Township, Mendham Borough and Washington Township did not make the top-10.

What do you think of the rankings? Did the area’s towns fall in the right places?