As 2026 begins, my colleagues and I on the Board of Commissioners are reflecting on
the progress Camden County made in 2025. The past 12 months were focused on
making Camden County a better place to live, work, and visit for all through strategic
investments, supportive services, and long-term planning to ensure an improvement in
quality of life for our residents in every municipality.
The county continues to grow and expand in thoughtful ways as we continue to usher in
new homes and businesses. We saw the county tax base grow by billions and home
process real estate values stay strong throughout 2025. You do not have to go far to
see the $2 billion construction happening Cooper University Health Care in Camden,
the $500 million investment Virtua is making at their Our Lady of Lourdes campus or the
new housing that has sprang up in Lawnside, Cherry Hill and Gibbsboro. In total, the
rateable base in the county grew by $7 billion over the last year, which is a testament to
the special place we live in here in Camden County. It also underscores the hard work
we’ve put in to cut the red tape for businesses and attract new construction into the
county.
We came into 2025 with bold ideas to enhance people’s lives and make a positive mark
on our community. As a board, we have been put here by the voters to build a better
Camden County on top of an already solid foundation of accomplishments. From getting
kids off the street and into job training programs or reducing violent crime in the county
by 50% over the last 10 years, this board has never shied away from a challenge. That
said, we are moving into 2026 with the same attitude to face new challenges head on
and lead with bold strokes.
The summer of 2025 marked a historic milestone for Camden City and Camden County
as a whole. From June 21-Sept. 22, the Camden County Police Department and
Camden County Prosecutor’s Office recorded zero homicides in Camden City, making
the summer of 2025 the City’s first homicide-free summer in 50 years, representing a
43% decrease compared to the same period in 2024. This achievement is the result of
our unity policing initiative, substantial investments in training and technology, and an
overall culture shift that began in 2013 when the Camden Police Department was
disbanded, and the Board of Commissioners established the Camden County Police
Department.
The Board of Commissioners remains dedicated to supporting our recovery community,
and decreasing the number of residents lost to substance use disorder. In 2025, we saw a significant decrease in overdose deaths in Camden County. From Jan. 1-Nov. 30,
Camden County reported 162 suspected overdose deaths, a significant reduction from
188 suspected overdose deaths during the same time in 2024, and a substantial decline
from 303 from that timeframe in 2023.
Also, recognizing the challenges that have come with the substance use disorder crisis,
we have now started to employ social workers in every corner of our forward-facing
operations. In 2025, we had social workers meet our residents where they are,
providing support in our county libraries, working alongside with our police department,
and inside our municipal courtrooms to help our most vulnerable residents chart a better
path forward. These programs have been helpful to have professionals navigating a
complex system to get residents the services they need to stabilize themselves and
create better outcomes for everyone here in the county.
We also continued to work toward fulfilling the county’s six-point plan to eliminate
homelessness by 2030 by breaking ground on two innovative and transformative
projects. Chief among them is the $22 million Martin McKernan Supportive Housing
Center, a 60-unit non-congregate supporting housing located on our Lakeland Campus
in Gloucester Township, aimed at helping people experiencing homelessness to rebuild
their lives and become more self-sufficient through access to job training, mental health
support, and assistance finding permanent housing. We also broke ground on the $8
million Camden County Multi-Agency Center in Camden City, which will connect
Camden residents who are experiencing homelessness or substance use disorder to
resources to help them on the road to recovery.
When the Federal Government shutdown toward the end of 2025, Camden County
stepped up to support our residents who were directly impacted. We donated over 3
tons of emergency food and fresh produce to residents whose SNAP benefits were
halted and to Federal employees who found themselves without paychecks. In addition,
we collected donations at multiple sites throughout Camden County and launched the
“Bridge the SNAP Gap” donation campaign.
At a time when food costs are especially high, the Commissioners are proud to have
celebrated the official opening of the $5 million Mary Ann Wardlow Center for
Community Nutrition in Blackwood. The 7,500 square feet center was created to expand
upon the county’s growing need for home delivered meals to residents. To that end, we
celebrated the delivery of the one-millionth meal through our Home Delivered Meal
program, which provides over 400 Camden County seniors with one ready-to-eat meal,
delivered every weekday, at no cost to the participants.
Amid the ongoing affordability crisis, the board remained focused in 2025 on
maintaining strong fiscal control of our budget, and once again lowered the county tax
rate. Moving forward, we will continue to ensure that Camden County remains an affordable place to live by freezing spending and ensuring we remain fiscally
responsible. We know that families are finding it harder in the Trump economy to make
ends meet; based on that, we have a morale imperative to hold the line for the
taxpayers.
Improving the streets and bridges throughout Camden County continues to be a
paramount priority of the Board of Commissioners. In May of 2025, we announced our
$161 million infrastructure program, a historic investment in roads, bridges, storm water
drainage and other aspects of infrastructure throughout the county. In 2025 alone, we
invested more than $81 million into our aging infrastructure. Among these projects, the
Kings Highway project spanning Audubon, Haddon Heights, and Mount Ephraim a $6.5
million Cross Keys Road widening in Pine Hill and Berlin, a $3.7 million project to repair
the Somerdale Road Bridge in Gloucester Township, and many others.
The Camden County Department of Public Works continues to play a critical role in
maintaining and preserving more than 1,200 lane miles of county roads, ensuring they
remain safe and reliable for residents, commuters, and visitors.
The Board of Commissioners is proud that Camden County continues to be a premier
destination for parks and outdoor recreation throughout New Jersey. As part of our
Parks Alive 2025 initiative, we invested heavily in improving our parks and revitalizing
our green spaces to increase both active and passive amenities for residents and
visitors alike. These investments included a $2.5 million renovation to the William G.
Rohrer Children’s Playground at Cooper River Park, which is the most visited park in
the County, $4.1 million in upgrades at Von Nieda Park, and $1.3 million in playground
improvements in Newton Lake Park, a $1 million kayak launch on the back channel of
the Cooper River.
Additionally, The Camden County Board of Commissioners has approved the
recommendations of the Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historical Preservation
Trust Fund Advisory Committee to award $675,000 to 27 municipal recreation facility
enhancement projects and $540,000 to 13 historic preservation projects throughout the
county, helping to enhance our recreational spaces and protect key historic sites for
years to come.
The successes we saw in 2025 are a direct result of years of hard work, planning, and
investments in enhancing Camden County. As we look ahead to 2026, we know that
Camden County’s future is bright, and we look forward to continuing our work to make
this the best place to live in New Jersey.
Louis Cappelli Jr. is the Camden County Commissioner Director and a partner in the law
firm of Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt, Cappelli, & Tipton.
