Middlesex County Freeholder H. James Polos has been recommended as the new executive director of the Middlesex County Improvement Authority (MCIA).
“As a Middlesex County freeholder since 1998, Jim has time and again introduced programs that have helped enhance county and MCIA services,” MCIA Chairman Leonard J. Roseman announced in a statement on Oct. 6. “He possesses the right combination of public and private experience and forward-thinking that makes him uniquely qualified for the position.”
Polos will vacate his position as a freeholder. His seat will be filled at a later date.
Polos, of Highland Park, holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University. He is president of Midlantic Property Management in Highland Park. He serves on the Metropolitan’s Council of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey, the Order of Saint Andrew as an Archon of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Highland Park School District Safety Committee and he has also been a longtime volunteer as the emergency management coordinator for the Borough of Highland Park.
Roseman said that in his time as a freeholder, Polos created the Common Cents Cooperative Pricing Program, which through using economies of scale, saved participating municipalities and schools thousands of dollars over the years when buying goods and services. Polos also was at the forefront of Shared Services, helping the MCIA sponsor purchasing programs for natural gas and electricity that saved participants tens of thousands of dollars each time the services were aggregated.
He authored the Clean Air Initiative of 2004, integrating hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles into the county fleet. This was the start of the county’s commitment to implementing environmentally friendly technologies and programs into its operation and encouraging municipalities to do the same, according to the statement.
Under Polos’ direction, the county invested $9 million in a new emergency radio system that builds on its Shared Services portfolio by offering towns the chance to join it. Each participating town would save millions of dollars because they will not have to build their own infrastructure, according to the statement.
“I have known Jim since his first days on the freeholder board,” Roseman said. “He has a passion for public service and civic duty. He is a family man who wants a better future for his children. These are the very things that compel him to seek out innovative approaches to doing business and serving the public. And they are the reasons I believe he is the perfect person to lead the authority.”
Polos would oversee the daily operations of the MCIA, which owns and operates the Roosevelt Care Centers in Edison and Old Bridge, helps finance large projects and the Cooperative Purchasing program, performs due diligence for the county’s Open Space Preservation program and operates three golf courses and the curbside recycling program. The MCIA also runs MCFOODS, the county’s food bank, and assists towns with redevelopment efforts.
Polos would succeed Richard Pucci, who held the position since the Authority’s inception in 1990. Pucci retired in December 2015.
