Commissioner Thomas J. Evans, CPA is a lifelong resident of Nutley. He graduated from Nutley High School (class of 1973) and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1977. In 1982, Tom became a Certified Public Accountant.
A full-time Commissioner, Tom recently retired as a senior Partner and Chief Learning Officer at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Tom brings over 38 years of public accounting and corporate leadership experience to the Township. As Director of Revenue and Finance and as a member of the Board of Commissioners, Tom has led both operational and capital planning excellence, ensuring public sector financial compliance while building productive relationships with State, County and Local officials. Tom’s success in business and as a commissioner has always been grounded in his core values — Integrity, Teamwork, Mutual Respect, and Personal Accountability.
Over the past 22 years as a Commissioner and Director of Revenue and Finance, Tom has helped Nutley:
- Implement a sound financial planning process to manage costs and capital needs. Since 2014, debt service costs have been reduced by over $500,000 annually. Improved our municipal bond rating from Aa2 to Aa1, saving interest costs when borrowing money.
- Through his State and County relationships negotiated $28.0 million in Transitional State Aid (TSA) to offset the closure of the Hoffman La Roche building ( saving $2,800.00 per residential taxpayer on average), ultimately converting this to a permanent annual state aid increase of $2.6 million.
- Lead efforts to secure financial agreements with ON3 that benefit the municipality driving maximum recovery of lost commercial tax revenues.
- Advocate for improving our business district and standing firm on redevelopment matters for the Ciccolini property and Diamond Spring Pool Club.
- Advocate for veterans, ensuring that those who served and are disabled receive their due tax benefits from the municipality. Personally introduced 50 resolutions to allow full tax exemption for eligible veterans. Voted yes to establish and annually fund our local Veteran Bureau and maintained a 100% yes voting record on all veteran matters,
- Advocate for seniors eligible for the State Property Tax Freeze program, growing this program from 214 households to over 1500 households today.
Tom is a current member of the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation Board and the Advisory Board for the Hackensack Meridian Health – John Theurer Cancer Center. He is a member of Nutley Unico, the Nutley Irish and Third Half Clubs. He supports the Nutley School PTOs, the Nutley Family Service Bureau, and many organizations throughout the Township. He previously served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Nutley Free Public Library and is a former advisory board member of the Center for Leadership and Ethics (COLE) – part of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
In 2017, Tom was deeply honored to be inducted into the Township of Nutley Hall of Fame and remains dedicated to the welfare of Nutley, the town that he and his family will always cherish. His wife, the late Yolanda Perrotta Evans, was an attorney and proudly served as counsel to Nutley’s Zoning Board of Adjustment. Tom honored her life by establishing a trust fund at our Library dedicated to the children’s library which today has become its largest endowed fund.
When he is not acting in his professional roles, Tom spends time with his growing family, especially his two grandchildren. Tom’s three children are all graduates of the Nutley School system. Tom’s daughter, Mary Kate, is an accomplished attorney serving most recently as a senior executive at the NJ Economic Development Authority. Her husband, Jared, is currently an Executive Vice President for the National Hockey League. His son, Tommy, is a Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in their advisory service practice. He is married to Christina, an English teacher. His son, Andrew, recently completed his associate degree in international relations and is a real estate salesperson with Realty Executive First Class. His wife, Claire, is project manager with Novartis.