Deborah Smith

Deborah Smith joined the board on Jan. 3, 2016, and she is now serving her third, three-year term. She served as Director through the pandemic in 2020 and was elected by her peers on Jan. 4, 2021, to lead the board as Commissioner Deputy Director for that year.

As Director, Commissioner Smith established the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, which led to the ARPA distribution to small businesses. She continues to chair the county Budget Committee and is Chair and a voting member of the Insurance Fund Commission. She also serves on the Capital Budget/Facilities Review Committee and is proud to introduce a new budget for 2024 that includes no tax rate increase for the fifth year in a row.

Previously, Commissioner Smith served on the Denville Council for 20 years, with two years as Council President and two years as the Council’s Planning Board Member. She also served on the Denville Zoning Board prior to her Council tenure.

Commissioner Smith has long served her community, volunteering for many community activities. She was the Township Council’s liaison to the Denville Public Library, senior citizens’ organizations, the local historical society, fire department and many other groups.

While serving on the Denville Council she cast the key vote that prevented potential development and led to eventual acquisition and preservation of 420 pristine acres of former Jersey City watershed land, a site now named Jonathan Woods.

A graduate of Long Island University in Brooklyn, N.Y. with a BS in Mathematics and a Master in Counseling, she received a Certified Financial Planning degree from Adelphi University, completed a Certificate in Municipal Government from Rutgers, and participated in the CTW Excellence in Public Service Series.

Commissioner Smith had careers in market and media research with AC Nielsen and Simmons Market Research Bureau, worked in financial markets as a stockbroker and commodity broker, and was an advertising director for a New Jersey rehabilitation magazine, before starting a 25-year-career with Dun & Bradstreet as a Key Accounts Manager. In November 2014, Commissioner Smith retired from D&B.

Commissioner Smith resides in Denville with her husband Steven, a small business owner in Randolph.