Councilwoman on your ice? Here. Councilman Chorts. Councilman Sone? Here. Deputy Mayor
Pruitt? Yes. Deputy Mayor Katz. Here. Mayor Humidideen. Out of quick notice of this meeting has been provided by
resolution number 2-7-2017, sending a copy to newspapers, officially designated for 2018, by a
So we have Resolution No. 238-2017 following the copy in touch with Court's Office.
I'm porting on the Miss Bull Building Bolton Board and the Mayor here by directs to the statement.
We couldn't ask.
Thank you very much and good evening and welcome to this regular Council meeting, May 29th.
Also for the record, on my left is our Township Manager, William Brown, on my right.
The gentleman with the beard at the table is our Deputy Township Manager, Dean Kaczynski.
We just heard from Esa Basi and with, okay, and we have with Esa sitting at the table with him is Omar Stavall.
And for the first time ever, here publicly at Council Meeting, we have one of our newest additions to the clerk's office, the famous, the one and only, Doug Russione, welcome.
Doug, we've been hearing some wonderful things about you, I know it's only been 57 days.
but the words have gone out there already.
So keep up the great work.
All right, this is where all the funding magic happens.
And we have Jennifer Jackson outside it.
All right, Jennifer Jackson, our senior clerk,
she's actually the one setting up all the cake for you
that we brought you.
So, all right, also the person keeping this building
so beautiful and sparkly clean, Clarence Barnes,
he's in the hallway, so please thank him when you see him.
Oh, glad! Great work.
Ron Goodman behind the TV, the one who's helping us get our message
out to the whole community, our volunteer cablecaster. Thank you, Ron. And I
like this.
Is there a little sign of applause down there? Is I like it? I'm having an...
All right. And on my right, you have to give them the same applause, even though he's an attorney,
please. On my right we have from the law firm of Chodanian, Chazen, Laperello,
I'm alone in Capuzzo. We have the famous John Shedanian.
All right.
Okay. Upcoming events. Counselor me. Next
hella vice. Counselor me will take place on Tuesday, June 19th, with public input at
APM. The primary election market calendars will be held on Tuesday, June 5th.
Poles will open 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Council met in closed session to discuss personnel,
legal representation, legal issues concerning any open agenda items and litigation
updates. I see that we have in the audience, Janice Prishal, who is also the volunteer director
for the Tinaq Food Pantry, and myself and Council Member Rice went and took a look
at your new location downstairs. You're doing a great job at the Food Pantry helping
the whole community, and now you're over here.
And one more applause is tonight is also Jason
and Castle Knight, Jason just graduated from law school last week.
So there is no negative about Jason Castle during good and welfare that is forbidden
tonight, save it for the last meeting.
Okay.
Let's go for the first presentation, which is the 2018 Matthew Feldman Award from, and I'd
like to ask Councilman Sond to join me down below as we give the Matthew Feldman
Award.
All right.
Councilman Sond, wow.
You really came back and with a lot of, a lot of goodies.
All right, you want to come on up and make the presentation?
Sure.
I'd like to ask the other advisory board members to come up.
Pat, Mickey, Lilian,
good evening.
My name is Wendy Weinberg-Dizanti.
I'm co-chair along with David Langford, who is here
for the T-neck advisory board on community relations.
The advisory board is one of many boards appointed by the town council comprised of resident
volunteers.
This is a great group of people who share varied ideas and thoughts and serve as the
eyes and ears of the community to encourage positive relations across diverse groups,
which is so dearly needed in our current times.
I think we all can agree on that.
We are responsible for initiatives such as racial, cultural and religious dialogue sessions
in the community, opportunities to collaborate with other town advisory boards, and the
occasion we are celebrating tonight, the Matthew Feldman Community Award.
The annual award is named and memory-intribute to former State Senator and Tineck Mayer, Matthew
New Feldman, who was mayor during the 60s and did so much to help further integration
in our town, which is truly a hallmark of our great town.
With the assistance of the town clerk's office, the award is publicized online and in
local publications.
The criteria for the award include, Musliver Work and Tineck, has worked to improve intergroup
and community relations and has promoted a spirit of community and exemplifies the spirit
of volunteerism. This year, the individual who meets all requirements and embodies
these qualities is Haley and Wanamaker. It's
one of the longest of clauses we've had
in this chamber.
Haley has provided an invaluable instruction in guidance to our children and
and to their parents as an educator and as a volunteer.
She joined the Tnex School System as an alternate root teacher.
She was a pre-K teacher for over six years in the even start literacy program for
children and their mothers who needed to learn English since they weren't native speakers.
She then became a kindergarten teacher and after that a gifted and talented teacher.
She created and implemented a fourth grade curriculum, which taught students TNIC's unique
and courageous fight to voluntarily and segregation.
Too many of our students, and my guess is even people in our community, do not know the
amazing history of TNIC.
How wonderful, Halley communicated this.
Another important contribution Halley has made to our community to encourage acceptance
and appreciation of our diversity was the building bridges project for middle school students which I'm smiling about because I personally had the opportunity to work with Halley and other parents and volunteers.
It was quite moving to witness our students of different backgrounds walk with one another from one house of worship to another and share in that experience something I will never forget or my daughter.
Additionally, Halle has been very involved in civic life, including voter registration
drives and issues regarding the education and well-being of our students.
It is my pleasure, at the behalf of the Advisory Board and Community Relations, to present
the 2018 Matthew Felman Award to Halle Ann Wanamink.
Congratulations and wait, we have more.
You brought some crowd with you tonight.
Are they available every Tuesday?
We have Councilman Sone would like to redo this special clock that we got you.
This is, again, our Honorary Clock battery included.
I want to thank the clerk for his work on that.
The Matthew Feldman, by the way, a lot of community relations award is presented to
Halley Ann Wanda-Maker, who has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to intergroup
of community relations, fosters the spirit of the community, and exemplifies
volunteerism.
By the TNIC Advisory Board on Community Relations, this May 29, 2018 against my pleasure to
bestow this upon you.
And there's more, we have a proclamation from our state senator,
good
evening.
On behalf of Senator Weinberg, who regrettably cannot be with us this evening, ask that I present
this proclamation to you on behalf of the Senate and general assembly.
Joint Legislative Resolution by Senator Weinberg, Assemblyman Johnson, and Assemblywoman Valerie Huddl.
Whereas the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey are pleased to acknowledge
Kelly and Wanamaka, a highly esteemed member of her garden state community who will be honored by the township of TNAC as the recipient of the Matthew
new film and community relations award, and whereas within all the spheres of her life and work,
Halle and Wanamaker has established a model to emulate and has set a standard of excellence
toward which others might strive.
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the State and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey
that this legislator held hereby joins in saluting Halle and Wanna Maker,
pays tribute to her notorious record of service, leadership, and commitment,
and extends sincere best wishes and continued success in all her future endeavors.
And be it further resolve that a duly authenticated copy of this resolution signed by the Senate President
and assembly speaker and attested by the State Secretary and the Assembly clerk
by transmitting to Halley and Wanda. Make a sign, Steven Sweeney, and Craig
Kaumlin. Halley, Wanda, make a congratulations.
Furthermore, this you do not get to keep, but again, you are the last on this plaque
and again, it's always a pleasure privilege to look back at all those honorees who
you join and again follow in that legacy. This has been put up on the wall here, and
again, I look forward to seeing a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth plaque filled
up with other honorees, and again, congratulate you. This is a perpetual, those stay at home.
This you can come and visit with your crowd and any council meeting you so desire.
Congratulations again.
So, let me see, woo, I'll go this way. Okay. First of all, thank all of you for coming.
I so appreciate you being here, and I just want to say a few words.
When I got the phone call from Pat White that I was being chosen to receive the 2018
Matthew Feldman Community Award, I was deeply humbled and honored, actually was speechless,
and I had to call her back, and apologize for being in articulate.
I said I'm sorry.
When I resourced the other individuals and organizations that are on that plaque that
I have received this award I was even more humbled and honored.
And when I researched the history of Matthew Feldman and his role in the T-NEX Voluntary
Decegregation of the Public School System, I was humbled and honored beyond words.
Receiving this award has a deep personal meaning for me.
Though I was raised in liberal Minnesota, I'm the daughter of parents from the South.
I spent my whole childhood visiting the small home towns of my parents, where I witnessed
ugly division, racism, and oppression.
Even as a small child, I knew this was deeply wrong and I made a vow to myself to try
to create a different kind of community when I grew up.
When my husband was here and I married in 1990 and we're looking for a town in which
to settle, we knew Tineck was the right place for us.
Its emphasis on multiculturalism, diversity and activism was where we could start our family
and live the values we hold dear.
And indeed, Tina gave us this wonderful environment in which to raise our two daughters,
Halliama and Anna, who are sitting there, so proud of them.
Tina also gave me the opportunity to lead projects such as Building Bridges and the
Even Start Family Literacy Program, by the way of which there are some of my wonderful
moms and children that are here.
It also gave me a chance to teach in my kindergarten and other classes the unique history of TNX role in the fight for equity and education. It gave me the chance to meet and learn from other dedicated community activists who encouraged me to be involved in many aspects of TNX civic life, including voter registration drives election campaigns and other issues. I'm thankful to have spent 28 years in this unique and wonderful community. I'm honored to receive this award, the 2018 Matthew Feldman
community award, and I'm very thankful to the township, the TNEC Advisory Board, community
relations, my friends, my family, my students who are here tonight, and who have supported
me.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come full circle.
I hope to continue serving TNEC as a volunteer and giving back to the town that has given me
so much.
Thank you so much everybody for coming.
Haley certainly a very well-deserved award, they can hang out, because we have a lot more
cloppin' map to do tonight.
We have to work for our cake.
I don't know if you remember the first time that I had got the opportunity to meet you.
There was about 200 students that used to walk on West Anglewood Avenue and cross three
bridges to go to school.
And they do that on the way back as well.
And you came in front of the council and you said, this is crazy.
This is an accident waiting to happen to have 200 students every single day going this way
in that way over the railroad tracks, and sometimes the trains were there so they go under the train or through the train.
And it was a very, very dangerous situation and we were able to get a fence put in.
Remember that?
And because of that fence, so we were told, why are we wasting our money on a fence?
It was going to get ripped down. I think we're 15 years later. The fence is still there. Lots of ivy
But the students are not going down the tunnel. So that was a major contribution that you that you had towards
Tinack and to the youth and
Honestly to the safety of our of our young ones. So thank you. That was my my first introduction to you. All right
Councilman castle. It's your night
After Hayley leaves
I want to first say congratulations, but also thank you, because the Matthew Feldman award
is presented to the individual or group who best exemplifies the efforts to improve community
relations in T-nec, and I view that as being T-nec's own Nobel Peace Prize, that we live in
You know, polarizing time and, you know, elections often show how polarizing our community can get, but you, in this award, remind us of the unity, and that there are people who are working behind the cameras who are working, you know, behind the poles who are working within the communities and not the outdoors and meeting their neighbors and making this community a place that is a shining star in not just the state but the country. So I want to, I want to thank you.
And, you know, there are no other words I can say other than congratulations to thank you so thank you for everything you've done.
Absolutely.
I'm so excited for this for you.
And because you're so with unassuming and because you do, what you do, just because you just think that everybody should do that, is why you are the person to receive such an award.
Halley, I met Halley when my youngest was three, who's now 20, and that was
assuming grace for me at the time because I had two kids 18 months apart, my
youngest having special needs, and even start was a place of refuge and sanity
for me. And so I see some of the moms back there from even start and reunions at
Halley would still open her home and have the families come back. And that was just
such a safe place for so many families and welcoming and the languages and
And what a great play start to have an even opportunity here in TNAC.
First, so many times of being in your home of Christmas, we just have open house, open in and out.
I'm sure many of you have seen it, Halle's Christmas, where we had guest appearances by Santa.
So just always the community person opening up her home, the witnessing President Obama becoming our president,
being in your home and just screaming and just hugging and laughing with so many of you, I'm sure.
Just exemplifies to me the type of person that you are.
Get out the vote working with myself, my campaigns, always just opening your home.
Here's the keys, whatever you need.
Just a model representative to our community.
I love you so much.
You and your family.
You're amazing daughters.
So as you said, it's so proud and just wonderful students, representatives of you and your husband.
So, yes, you're so unassuming, but this is so well-deserved for such a person as you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Okay.
There's so many wonderful people in TNAC, and to be selected for this award in this community
is indeed a great tribute.
I also want to mention the fact that the rumors follow people.
That's fantastic.
I really appreciate the fact that all of you have come out, she must be a great lady.
And of course, she is, but what I'm most impressed about is whenever a teacher gets an award, I have a special warm spot in my heart for that.
Let's give her a round of applause.
Councilman Schwarz.
I'll make a brief congratulations, and maybe you can answer this one question about TNIC, I have not found the answer to.
In that tunnel, there is a room that doors locked.
Does anyone know what is in that room?
It's a sum pump.
God.
I thought this could have gotten a lot better.
All right.
Let's have some cake.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I don't know.
In my, for more than ten years, I have served as a member of the advisory board of community relations for the past four years.
I've been proud to serve as liaison from the council.
For the past ten years, as an advisory board, we have sat down and tried to figure out
How can we get TNX residents together?
How can we take advantage of our diversity
and turn it into our greatest asset
rather than our greatest challenge?
And there are a few people who personify that effort
to do that in person, indeed,
by through building bridges,
through even start, through your efforts as a teacher,
and again, in inculcating those issues
and inculcating those ideals into our children
who grow up in this township,
You truly personify that goal and objective.
It is an honor and a privilege to be here this evening
as my final act as liaison sharing that with the community
and sharing that with you and your family.
Again, it's a pleasure and a privilege.
Now, LGFK, well said, Councilman, so all right, let's see.
Okay. Do
you know how to work for the library
for Mayor Lizette Parker, myself, Council Member
Rice, and Dr. Pruitt, correct? And we want to just run this by you.
Okay. Mayor Lizette,
P. Phillips, Parker, a passionate trailblazer dedicated, whose dedicated leadership and service left the lasting impression on the heart of our Tina community gone, but never forgotten, and then it will be signed by the manager and the council members.
That's okay with everyone?
Yes, any objection?
Okay, let the record reflect, sit there until he comes.
It was just a presentation.
Let the record reflect that all council members are in favor of that.
Okay, the next is we're going to have a budget presentation.
Can you do the budget presentation without the clerk or you need the clerk for that one?
Yeah, we're just going to get it started.
Old-wise outside help.
Can you give me that community?
I'm not going to be able to start that.
Doug, you can bonus points for this one.
Overhead.
Communication.
Yeah.
Yeah, you want to just do the communication, is there a new business?
We were going to do the water line.
I was just going to wait till after the presentation by the manager.
While Doug warms up the presentation, do we not turn it on?
Here's some remotes somewhere there.
Right, behind your hands, go.
Thank you.
You got to go on to them.
Councilman Kassel, are you familiar with this gun violence awareness where orange
date requests, oh, you request it?
Okay.
Go ahead.
Councilmember Rice, you want to just mention it while we warmen up the projectors?
Sure.
do it.
Obviously, the correspondence from Robin Platismore and with the request, it was actually her
and David Hersfield.
The wear-arrange movement was started by friends of 15-year-old Chicago High School student
Heidi Pendleton, who was shot and killed in a neighborhood playground, weeks after returning
from marching at President Obama's second inaugural parade.
So since 2015, the movement has become a national and landmark buildings and monuments across the nation turn orange to commemorate gun violence awareness, including the Empire State Building Niagara Falls and the Superdome in New Orleans to name a few.
Last year, we had 14 municipalities in Bergen County, passive resolution, and
inclinations, decorating their townholds, libraries, and police stations and orange
ribbons.
This year, the gun violence awareness day is Friday, June 1st, and we are hoping to
cover Bergen County in orange, and this is especially because Robin played us more
from mom's demand action.
So, your action that you're looking for counsel is just a pot for inclination request?
Correct.
Any objection from counsel?
No.
Let the record show no objection, yes, Councilman Castle.
I just think it's important to read the resolution and to know that the reason that the color orange was selected is because that is the safety color that hunters use, that is true.
So, and that's actually written in the resolution as well, but that's the reason for the color orange.
Yes.
Sounds good.
And I think especially in this timely, the timely portion of current events is why I think it's also important for us to join
and be a part of this resolution and I actually am going to forward this information
over to our superintendent of schools and I know it's short notice because it is this Friday
but to see if they could also join us in commemorating Friday June 1st as National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
Excellent.
Okay.
Next is we're going to go over the summary of actions for the proposed budget.
We'll turn the meeting over to the manager.
Okay.
You ready?
Council may discuss it.
Yeah.
Okay, first slide.
Because this is the summary of actions on the budget that I initially proposed, and the budget that was introduced on May 15th.
on May 15th. The original budget that I proposed, the total budget was $70,296,000.
The original proposed levy was $56,729,000. The original proposed levy increase was 3.41%,
which would make an average increase of $128.25.
Annually, to a homeowner assessed at 382,295. I met with the Budget Subcommittee after my initial proposal to council. And we worked on bringing that number down significantly.
Okay, next slide.
Oh, was that the next slide?
I go back, I go back.
All right, so the current proposed budget is 70,579 and change.
The current proposed levy is approximately 55 million, is actually 55,955 and change.
The levy increase is 1.99%, which would mean a $67.43 annual increase on property valued assessed at $382,295.
And these are the various items we adjusted to bring the budget down.
So parentheses, when you see something in parentheses, it's a subtraction, it brought it down.
If it's not in parentheses, it's an addition.
So one of the things we did was we took out the police cars, $220,000 for police cars,
and we put the police cars in the capital budget, since we're going to be buying SUVs.
tree planting, we took out the tree planting and tree trimming of $125,000.
In my initial proposal, we had proposed going into permanent financing so that we would
not have to make a payment on debt of $506,228.
After reviewing that with the bond council and the auditor,
we decided against that, and we didn't move forward with that.
However, we are working on a plan to evaluate the township's debt
That the same way we did in 2012 so that we can properly ladder the debt so that it could
be paid off in a manner that does not spike our debt service capital improvement fund.
We added $213,161 to capital improvement fund and my original proposal, that number was
was kind of unsettled because we didn't know exactly how much was left in the capital
improvement fund that would be available for capital improvement fund down payment.
So that number was a little unsettled and now it's firm.
Court salary and wages were removed $50,000 from court salary and wages.
Public works, other expenses.
We removed $50,000, there were three positions that we had a full year salary in.
We had one police officer position, firefighter position, executive assistant position.
We figured that we wouldn't be hiring or doing any hiring before June.
So we took out half of their salary, which was a reduction of 75,000.
Social security contributions, the amount of town has to pay towards Social Security.
We had to increase that number, but we had a 10,500.
The reserve for uncollected taxes, we were able to bring that down a little bit more as a result of the adjustments made within the budget.
That was a reduction of 117,312 in change.
We added the grants, the known grants that we would be receiving, which the grants really don't have any impact on the budget.
The grants are in the budget and they go out the exact same amount, so they really don't have any impact on the budget.
Mr. Manager, just for the benefit of the public, there was some confusion as to why the tax,
The budget went up while the tax levy was going down, and again, I know that that's related to the grants being added in,
even though there are pass-through, but just to explain that for the benefit of the public.
So I have to say that, again, I'm sorry, when you looked at the data, the total budget amount increased.
Yes, okay.
And there was some confusion about how that quarter would happen.
I know, and I understand that that was due to the grants that you were describing,
These are a pass through the money comes in, so it has to be counted as revenue and spent.
And that's why we're going to see that two sides of this, and we're going to see it on the next slide as well.
But that's one of the things that was added to the budget, even though it was really not an increase in our expenditures.
Right, so there's really two different things that we're looking at.
One is we're looking at the total budget, which is approximately $7 million.
dollars and another we're looking at the levy, the amount that we're actually getting
from taxpayers. So there's other sources of revenue that we may have that don't come
from taxpayers that would have no impact on the levy. So you might see the total amount
increase but the levy not increase and that's what you've seen here with the grants, the
the total amount of spending increased, and the levy didn't increase as a result of the grants.
Well, the second item down is tree planting, and I know that we have adopted a policy in the town that we are replacing trees that are being cut down or so on and so forth.
Why is in tree planting, since we're simply replacing part of our community, why couldn't that number be shifted into the capital budget?
I guess we could shift it into the capital budget.
We could shift it into capital, we may be able to shift it into open space.
I would say both of those things are possible, yes.
Because I know that last year's budget, we had 75,000 set aside.
If this is something that is part of our tree city, right, the underlying community, that seems like it would be an obvious fit for to go with police cars under the capital.
And then we just replenish that every and let me just add I mean police cars isn't something that I want to do
I mean I don't really I think we have a point that we're trying to get to I
Don't want to put police cars in capital. I think police cars should be in our operating budget
Whether they're able to be capitalized legally or not. They should be in our operating budget
tree planting I
I have no issue with taking the tree planting funds out of open space if, after I review that with the attorney, we have over $1.2 million there, if we want to use $75,000 or $100,000 on trees, I think that's perfect.
I would have checked to make them take trees out of capital.
If it could be in most grade for capital, I'd rather say that for more capital-related projects.
We've got a major, I understand we're at Trees City, USA, but we're at Trees collapsing and causing damage all over the town city, USA.
And I think we really need to get a better idea of where we're putting trees.
You know, we take down trees and it's very nice people cold, they want a nice tree put on the front yard.
Flash for 50 years, that tree's falling down and our sidewalks are crumbling.
And I think we need to have a bigger plan on our long-term trees.
Trees are real estate in the units, multi-generational, and we just had some major tree damage occurred two weeks ago, I believe.
So if it's put in most, and that's fine, but from a capital point of view, I think we have other stuff on that we need to do.
One offer, they're not too suggestions that we don't have to trim trees.
Okay, we can move to the next slide.
So
we had, we also canceled, we had cancellation of improvement authorizations which added 739,000 to the budget, this is, this is an addition.
We went back and we looked at completed projects and open contracts and anything that was there, we were able to cancel it.
And this really is, you know, adding a revenue to the budget of $739,000.
We anticipated additional construction revenue since there's a couple things that we know are going to occur in 2018 at a positive.
We're okay with anticipating just a little bit more in revenue.
So we anticipated additional delinquent taxes, we increased that number to 487, and as I said in the past, we added the grants.
So that makes the total budget at this point, $70 million, $579, and change the levy, which is what the tax payers are going to pay for municipal services and
in the library is included in that $55,955 in change.
It's a 1.99% increase on the levy.
When you calculate that increase, it's on the levy, not on the total $70 million.
And it's $67,043 on the average home assessed at $382.95.
That's $67,43 annually.
And next one.
And that's it.
I have two questions.
First of all, how much is in the reserve for the uncollected taxes?
I see that you took out 117.
So it is the reserve for uncollected taxes is an amount that we have to budget.
But how much do we budget?
The new number, I think it's somewhere around a million five possibly.
My question is, why do we have to budget so much when we had a surge this year of pre-pay taxes which we've never had and where does that show up?
Okay. The two things.
The reserve is a formula that the state has for calculating a reserve. You can use a three-year average of the amounts that you've been reserving.
It's really, I mean, really, it's a number that we have to reserve for people who don't pay their taxes.
Right, but what happened in the past I was told that we have this reserve because we need to make our pay roll, right?
No, no, this is a reserve that we have every single year required by the state.
And sometimes it's used, like in years where we had to make the refunds.
We had to go into that reserve in order to cover the refunds on the tax appeals.
This money goes into our surplus if it's not used.
Then there was a second, I just want to answer this, second question that you asked.
I don't know if it looks like Councilor Son has something to add to that one, and then I'll come back to it, yeah.
I think there are two separate issues, and I just want to get a clarification from the manager.
We have 155 million in assessed taxes.
We know that we don't collect 155 million in taxes.
If we did, we'd have 100% and there would be zero in that reserve.
The reason we have a reserve on collect taxes is because we know that year after year after year, there is some percentage.
So we take the percentages from three previous years, we calculate that reserve.
One of the reasons that this has gone down is because of the shift on the date of the tax sale.
So that caused the spike in payments.
And again, those payments were made for prior years so that we had that spike and
we could lower that amount.
The, any payments that were made for 2018 that were made in 2017, those pre-paid taxes.
is in it, we have to set that aside because that's not 2017 revenue, that's 18 revenue.
We got that a little bit earlier, we got a few million dollars earlier in 17, but we had to set that aside for 18 tax.
So if we take into consideration number one that we have a reserve now, number two, is that we should be accruing some type of interest on that.
So we actually don't have a reserve.
reserve, the reserve that we're talking about in the budget, it is a amount that you have
to budget to reserve, not an actual reserve.
And the second thing that you ask, the prepaid taxes go on our books as a liability.
They are a liability.
That money cannot be used.
It is money that the taxpayers have given us.
We hold it as a liability to be paid to their tax bills, so it can't be used for anything else.
It's a liability that we assume it's used to pay our pranks, isn't it?
No, no, no, no.
There's a bill out there.
There's a bill that the taxpayer has, okay?
And they sent us the money early, right?
So we have a it's our liability to use that money to pay their bill to get interest on that advance money. Yeah
It's small. It's what is it?
What is that? How much do you get?
I don't know. That's $200,000.
No.
No, nothing. Do you know how much we've collected in advance? It's about $5,000 a month. Over $14,000 million. I know we collected in advance. The last number that I had checked was $14,000 a month. It's $12,000 a month. It's $12,000 a month. It's $12,000 a month. So can we take that in consideration and take off more money from the budget based on that additional revenue? It's about three months of the pre- pre-payment. So it's about $30,000 a month. Why not? That's interest. I'm not saying talk to that.
That's the principle.
And remember, we had to credit that, and as February 1st was the first tax belt.
Somebody paid this December 31st, and we basically had to credit that to our account.
We would have gotten it in February anyway.
So it's not like it's 14 million that's going to be sitting here at Infinitom.
All right, and the other question I have is the anticipated construction revenue.
You only listed as $30,000 shouldn't it be?
We had initially proposed, so-
Does that take into consideration the permits that were paid in the last 90 days, like Avalon Bay, et cetera, since the budget was originally put up?
Yes, so what we did is you're allowed to budget up to what you received in the previous year.
So we received about $1.1 million in 2017, so we could budget up.
We could anticipate up to 1.1 million.
We don't recommend it and we don't do that.
That is what got us into a budget issue because we anticipated 1.7 and a year where we had
received a lot of construction revenue and it didn't materialize in 2017 the way we thought
it would materialize.
So, Avalon Bay didn't come on until 2018.
We thought it was coming on in 2017, 1500 TNAC Road didn't come on at all.
So we received basically less revenue and construction revenue.
So from what we initially proposed, we added additional 30,000 to that number, okay?
And that included the Avalon Bay anticipated because you said you anticipated?
No. So, no, it did not. We can't, so is it fair to say because I think Avalon Bay was what about 300, 400 grand?
No, I think it was, I think it was 300,000.
I think it was 700,000.
On the other hand, was it fair to say that maybe we can up that number from 30,000 to 100,000?
Well, no, you're saying can we update 70,000 dollars more?
Right.
Well, can I actually, did we get 1,500 Tne Grotto, we didn't get that yet?
No, we did not give 1,500 in the road.
But it wasn't anticipated and it's that N18, it was anticipated.
So, I mean, I've discussed this with the auditor and I think that we are trying to find
a bunch of little pockets in order to try to get to this gap that we have from 0 to 1.99.
So, there's a couple of dollars that are around from the interest for the 14 million.
There's a couple of dollars that we didn't anticipate for the permits, you know.
Yeah, but I think that, I think that, I think maybe our reserve front collected, maybe
you're talking about the formula, but what if we break the formula?
Maybe you don't know the answer.
What if you can't break the formula?
But I think that there's other things that we need to be concerned about.
we need to try to leave the budget the way it is when you talk about some legal expenses
that we've seen this year that are higher and we're going to probably need transfers
at the end of the year when you talk about overtime there's a lot of issues coming up that
we really need to be concerned about this budget. I mean this isn't, I mean I don't even recommend
that we go to 1.9 million. We should be at 3.41, huh? Either do I. I'm not recommend
we go to 1.99. Councilman so and then deputy mayor. So again, I just want to get an explanation
was we'd we'd always been told this is something that Councilman Castle and I had discussed
as that is that the Reserve for Uncollected Taxes was a rigidly defined formula that was
inviolable that we couldn't touch it. It could never be changed. It was no way we could
we could get anything out of it. So while I'm glad to see 117,000 that we can take out of
In the budget, again, I'm not saying that we can bust that.
I just want to understand how, number one, how we were able to do that.
The second just for clarification, in terms of building permit fees.
In 16, we budgeted 900,000 and we received 1.7 million.
That was an extra 800,000, which we were able to put into surplus, which covered other expenditures.
In 17, we budgeted that same revenue from 16 of 1.7 million.
And we came in short by 1.1 million, and that's a double whammy, because not only we were 600,000 short but we're taking out of surplus rather than putting back in.
We can't budget more than 1.1 million, because that's what we received last year, even if we know we're going to receive it.
what we could possibly do is possibly, is they look, if we know, if the actual receipts
are higher, we can, we can't go any higher than the 1.1 million, again, other than
that adjustment, but just say, look, you know, if we know or are confident that we're
going to have that much more of a question, maybe we can go after the question.
And again, the question is whether that's the, so what we could do, but we would need
to know what the estimate and what the target would be for that revenue.
Those projects, as you said, in this mostly 1500-tonic road, and the Verizon Building
and 7075 World of Wings, what is that revenue?
Where will we be for this year?
We heard from the manager in terms of the 1-inch lines that there is a plethora of activity.
I'm doing project during the winter time.
I'm doing the project where I know I will be hit with an added assessment.
There is added money coming in.
and can we dip into that? Should we dip into that? How much is available?
There's no way we should dip into it. I think we've got to be careful because if we say
this too loud about dipping in, the mayor is going to come and shootin' through the window.
So just when we're ready to vote, we'll mention it. All right, Devin Mayor for it.
We had a zero tax increase for three years,
but we didn't have a zero spending decrease
for three years.
We found out money in surplus, so it looked like a zero tax increase, but we still had
to spend money to fill the gap.
And when we take the surplus down to a certain level,
the AA-2 rating the Moody's has is threatened.
So we had a couple of good years and we got by.
We don't have that money right now to plan that way.
The other way is we starved the capital.
So the road center had rain inside last month because we didn't fix the roof.
This building is falling down because we have an allocated capital necessary to repair
it.
Don't even begin to talk about BVW.
We need to provide the money necessary to run the town.
And I'm not advocating for spending a dollar more than necessary, but to land on zero because it sounds good.
It's just every possible.
I want to land on zero because it looks good.
Okay. Well, that just sounds good, and it is good.
Any other council members?
No?
All right, yes, council members.
If I just, just again, we have kept our spending the same.
Again, the spending has been pretty consistent.
We have not gone over 71 million.
We have kept it consistent.
The question is that one of the things that we can count as revenue is the money that
we take from surplus.
We started 2017 with a little bit over 8 million in surplus.
We were able to use 80% of that, so we put in 6.4 million into our budget, and we count
that as revenue.
It's not revenue.
It's money that we took from ourselves from our bank account.
Now, when we put back less than that, and we started this year, Mr.
Magitz would be of 6.3 million, just a little bit over 6 million.
So we could only, based on the order of guidance, use 80% of that, that's 4.8 million.
That's where that big change is.
It's some of the increases in, as you said, the loss of revenue, because we lost $600,000 in building permit fees, that's 1%.
If we had kept that $1.7 million, we would have been able to budget the $1.7 million again,
and we would have had $600,000 in surplus, which meant we could have used $480,000 of that money.
So, again, it's a double whammy.
We have been able to keep spending pretty level, which I think is pretty remarkable,
but the question is, are we dipping into surplus?
And one of the things that I always wanted to see, it is one of my failures over these past four years,
is that as we go along to hear the manager saying, okay, if the year ends based on
my projections, if the year ends now, surplus will be up a million, down a million,
down 500,000, and unless we start, unless this new council starts actively managing
that surplus number, we really don't know where we are.
And you're right, Mr. Deputy Mayor, that in previous years, and Councilman Counselor
said this before, you know, we've heard these dire projections that if we go down,
that the sky is going to collapse, and it hasn't.
So why can't we go down lower?
The question is, we are eating into surplus, and we either need to make changes in
what we spend, not what we budget, what we spend, or, you know, we're going to keep
on dipping into that surplus.
And I, you know, the question is, what, what spending items can we, can we dip into?
You know, are we going to cut over time?
We've used a lot of it as the manager has indicated.
Are we going to put money back in?
I would love, I would love to tell our tree, shade tree advisory board members that we're putting that money back in because it really is a shame that we're not doing it.
It's a, you know, we really can't capitalize that, but you can capitalize trees, even though they do last more than three years, but again, we should find mechanisms to do that, but should it be done in the budget, and that's a question of how to do that.
I would love to eliminate things, again, for four years, we've spoken about council paid health care. I would love to eliminate that.
We've discussed and I would have been happy to make it on April 24th when there was still a prayer maybe that it would be here on July 1st to eliminate council pay salaries.
Maybe now is the time to take that back.
Those are things that would be real reductions in spending and we have to ask ourselves are we willing to do that?
Where is our surplus target now and what changes are we willing to make?
because if we don't make changes tonight, if we don't have a budget in place that could be passed on June 19th, we're passing on 1.99% budget because it will be the only thing that we will have as an option.
If you don't have a budget that's in state format that can be put in for adoption, we can't possibly pass it.
I just want to add, I mean, I agree with a lot of what Councilman Sones said.
My only concern is this issue of Council managing the surplus and what the target should
be.
I would be very concerned about that.
I think that Council has professionals here.
We usually have a CFO to manage that process of surplus.
I think our surplus target should be zero.
So, our target should be to get off of surplus.
When I first started here, we were using $3 million a year of surplus.
Surplus is our savings.
Now we're using 4.7, 4.8.
Last year, we used 5.7, we're going the wrong way.
We should be trying to get ourselves off of using surplus.
I'm just going to quote Councilman Castell, you're using the wrong pronoun.
It's not ours, it's the taxpayers, so by using it now, which we precollected for,
I believe that's the term that the Councilman Castell used, by precollecting for it.
Now we want to return it back as a payment towards that levy that we're now reducing because of the surplus.
So I understand we want to keep something, but we have other venues available if you're
In case we need money, now I'm not saying we're going to have to zero, but I think we're still at a healthy number, especially with all our additional new one offs coming in, the three and a 30, 40 houses under construction, I have on Bay 1500, I thought they submitted it, but they should be submitting it soon, and of course we have our hotel coming online in August and our 127 unit building coming online, hopefully the next few weeks, so I'm very comfortable with this, but we should use all of these things we have coming online,
or the things we should use to get us into a better financial solution.
But no, absolutely, zero percent next year, and sockaway surplus.
You know, looking at some rough back in African myth, we're heading to a very,
very good position in TNIC, and the only reason to, you know, what Councilman
Sonlay out there, one of the really reasons we're only here right now at this
number, is because that missed with Avalon 1500 that we thought were coming in
last year, and we had that, that number, we'd be at 1.4 at a most, if not zero,
So I think we're doing, I think we're doing really good, and I also think, and
I made this comment earlier on, on social media, if we have to go to our taxpayers
after three years of zero and say, I need $67 after four, and by the fourth year,
I need $67, I'm proud of that number.
And I think you should be as well.
Sotomayor, you should be 100%.
So, you know, I'll make it $101, so I think the average tax bill of $15,000, that comes
out to about 110 after four years, also fine with that.
No, no, no, I'm saying I'm saying we're we're the three to number average assessed value I think come up with a number
I'm sure there's a formula for it, but again, again, make that an
The average bill of $15,000, and it's $100,000. What are we going to do tonight? Do we have suggested cuts?
So I do wait till next meeting to do the suggested cuts.
We can't. Okay.
But I did want to just a quick question from our attorney because we're budgeting about a quarter million dollars for negotiations.
And I know that we've been doing negotiations, but I'd kind of like to have a forecast of what negotiations are going to put us at that number of a quarter million dollars.
We really can't tell.
We're budgeting a total amount for legal of a million twenty.
No, no.
Okay, so that's the question I really wanted to ask, but I was going to piecemeal it.
But since you brought the big number, we sent, you know, we took measures years ago,
a couple of years ago, to try to curtail our legal budget, but it doesn't seem to be curtailing.
I think it's curtailing.
I think we use last year we spent something like 980 or something like that.
I mean, for a town of this size, we have a million, 20, and we only have $40,000 left in legal, I mean, to me, that's cutting it very, very close.
My question was just, we've been in closed session and even in open session talking about some of the negotiations that we are expecting to incur, you know,
expenses for, it was my understanding at this point, particularly based on what we're
building out, or what we're being charged $175,000 an hour, that we were really, really
close.
I'm just asking what negotiations are in the pipeline that are going to get us to that
quarter-million-dollar number that we've allocated specifically and explicitly in our budget
for negotiations.
I'd have to say what the attorney had talked about that if we were to come up with a target
number.
What other contracts are we negotiating with them asking?
I know that we are pretty close to ending police negotiation contract for the police department.
Do we have fire, do we have-
Yes, we have police, fire, and DPW?
Yeah, DPW, right, and file.
Okay.
And as we've been having these conversations and discussing these, we've exhausted very few hours in these negotiations.
So I'm trying to understand how we get to the quarter million dollar number.
If we're only meeting with these unions and these groups for, you know, two hours at most years.
Right, that is, so the quarter million dollar number is just a number we break out on.
Labor expenses for legal work period when it comes to labor, okay?
Okay, the whole million-twenty is really one budget of money that we're using for various items.
Even some settlements come out of the million-twenty as well, so no, no, okay.
Here's my, this is very specific to me.
We have a million-twenty for legal.
We have in our budget allocated a quarter million dollars for negotiations.
We arrived at that number somehow.
So when we, and the reason I asked this question, and the reason it's so important to me is because when we decide that we want to tell our rank and file that we're going to hold them to a certain percentage, and then that $250,000 that we budgeted for negotiations can exceed the amount that they're asking for for, you know, one provision or another.
I'd like to know what negotiations we're budgeting for, because it would seem
odd to spend more on negotiations than to spend what they're asking for.
So my question very specifically is, if we're spending the $1,000,000 negotiations,
what negotiations are we anticipating that are going to cost us a $1,000,000?
I'm going to address that because Dr. Probe, Deputy Mayor Probe, before you jump in if I could just address Councilman Castell's question.
It's not, it's probably misnamed negotiations, that's a holdover from years before I was here.
It really should be designated as labor council, not negotiations because that number is inclusive of negotiations,
disciplinary matters, agreements as consultations, workers compensation.
There's a whole list of items that go into that budget item.
All right, so I guess the question is, let's just wrap it this up and see if we're
as consensus here.
Well, I just got one follow-up because I've got to go, just on labor, because Mr.
Schedini used to be our labor counsel, so if that's our labor number, how does that
number compare to our previous labor contract?
I believe the budgeted number is the same number, but we definitely have spent less last year.
The calculation was close to $100,000 less on labor than we spent in the year before our firm became labor counsel.
Okay.
Okay, I have a question.
Yes, Deputy Mayor.
I'm a maintenance person.
It bothers me to go upstairs and have the wall covered with a four by eight foot piece
of plywood, unbothered by going down the hallway and having the door blocked to downstairs
with a board, unbothered going down to the ramp and having a sixty foot crack in the wall,
unbothered by looking at the windows around the base of the building when they're held
up by 4x8s or 2x4s if you pull those out the wall falls down. We're so focused on not
spending any money that we're adding to a possibility of having to spend more money.
So my question is, how do we get a capital discussion where we can maintain the facilities
is that we have, I'm not even talking about DPW, that's a separate issue. But the facilities
here is mold downstairs, that's not satisfactory to me. This building is in bad shape. The
rotors center roof has been needed to be repaired for a long time and people who had to use
their umbrellas when one of the rainstorms recently we cannot run the township and not spend
money. So I want to know where are we with the capital for things that we need to do and
I know we spend some money on roads because that's politically popular. But we need to spend
some money on some other things so that nobody gets hit in the head by a falling ceiling
And, and, and, and walls come in down.
Councilor Smith.
Anybody can answer that they like?
There are no houses at 382, 295 because we round to the nearest 100.
But there are two houses, and I can give the exact addresses that are exactly at 382, 300.
The majority of houses, there are 76, 86 houses out of about 11,000 that are below that number.
Again, because we have, that's 382, 295 is the average value.
the more houses far above that number than far below that number.
Going back, and again, this is just an essence to reiterate what the Councilman
Schwartz was indicating, by following Schwartz 600,000 in revenue from permits,
we were Schwartz 600,000.
We also decreased surplus by 600,000, and we would have used 80% of that of 480.
That's a million 80.
That is almost exactly two points on the rate.
It is that shortfall that basically is why we're here.
I would like to see if we can have some further suggestions, but I don't think we're going
to resolve this.
What I'd like to suggest is that we do have some additional meetings of the Budget Subcommittee
that we do sit down with the manager that perhaps we can come up with an alternative budget
other than the 1.99, and again, I already see that you're looking at the clock and let's
Let's hear what the residents have to say.
Let's see if anyone wants to run down what we should add in or take out, again, if we have any other discussion and then open good and welfare and take the soft line.
I just wanted to add one point is that, especially in terms of revenue, why it's important to look at this more than just one year because of the fact that that one year difference that Mr.
to councilman's own just mentioned, I think we were to look at this even out of five year analysis,
especially over these next few years where we're anticipating new income which we haven't in the past received.
I think that would help us in terms of moving forward.
I was, we look at this instead of just year over year.
I just wanted to make that comment.
And also to second councilman's own, if the subcommittee would be interested,
but I also want to appreciate and appreciate the manager for at least demonstrating
where we went from the three point initially, down to the one nine nine, and thank you very much for just, you know, sharpening the pencil and looking at opportunities for additional savings, but I also want to reiterate Dr. Pruitt's point of in terms of capital and infrastructure, we really can't afford to short change our residents and create hazardous conditions.
Okay. Okay. Just, once I can count some of the first.
So first.
He's just very quickly, I agree 100 percent.
I also want to emphasize that, again, the manager didn't start at 3.41.
What he started with was closer to 6.
Again, I think we were all benefit from seeing what was changed in that from going
6 to 3.41.
The 3.41 was what was first presented to us, that this was not the first budget that he
started with, but I think we would benefit from seeing that as well.
I just want to add, Dr. Pruitt raised some questions about capital.
We have a 2018 capital budget that we need to, council needs to approve or authorize spending for those capital projects.
That needs to be done like yesterday.
One of the items in there is the road ascent of roof.
So, if I was to bring counsel the capital ordinance on June 19th, and counsel introduced
it on June 19th, then the next meeting, at least 10 days has to go by, then counsel
can adopt it, then 20 days have to go by, the Estoppel period, then it becomes law.
So you're talking about August for the capital ordinances to be in place where we could spend on them.
If we don't get that in place, we're not going to be able to fix the roof on the road of Santa, and we're going to go through another year.
Does anyone on council have any objection to councilman's son's suggestion that they meet once again and see if they can sharpen?
Are we good? Everyone's a yes?
Yes, but I do have one request and I want to, I want to end this term in the same way I started it and that like for the budget subcommittee to also meet with our legal team to look at that budget as well.
Because last year we budgeted a quarter million dollars for labor and we spent 14,000, right?
We budgeted 1,000,000, 20,000 and we spent 936.
I just want to better understand where we're allocating certain dollars and since when it comes to our legal bills.
Because one of the very first things that we did, if not the first thing that we did after being elected before being sworn in was sat with legal.
Because that number was hovering around a million and we expanded the retainer agreement and we did all these different things.
But now we have, we're talking about large expenditures that we want to cut.
If we budgeted a quarter million for labor negotiations last year in labor council,
and we spent 14,000, and when I go back and I look at 2017 was 20,
2050, 2016 was 300,000, 2014, or 2015 was 200,000, and then 2014 was 300.
There are fluctuations there that mean that we're either not.
All right, so I think you can't cut from there.
I'm going to end this part because we're going to start good amount for in seven minutes.
I just want to go into the one-inch line quickly, and that's it.
But would I just say that one's on tiny thing?
Tiny, like to go along with the budget subcommittee.
Is it okay if we come back with the capital items that need to, to, to, to, to me,
to be able to go, I'm going to go to the bank and come back with as long as it's a zero.
I mean, you know, and again, my only question is, again, I would love to
I'm happy to go into details on any budget line, again, with Councilman Castle, but if any other council member has any suggestion, what we should be looking into, absolutely, would be my right.
I think it's okay.
I'll find next another guy, Mayber.
I have to go to Bill Muffler in seven minutes.
All right, one inch water line.
I saw the report as everyone knows from seeing my frustration.
This is the first time in 20 years that I've gotten so many complaints about this one inch water line.
I understand that the law might have been changed a few years ago, but still this bulk of the complaints have been in the last few months.
So what I would like to request is that I'm not going to try to fight City Hall on this.
I would like to say that especially when someone's not building a house, when they're adding a toilet, and it throws them over,
it adds a sink and it throws them over, that they're given the ability to sign a waiver that will be
They stored with the fire department so that when they sell their house, that waiver is presented
with the fire certificate that they're given.
But this way, it is known to whoever buys it, that this is what the story is with,
that the waiver was signed, and whoever's living there will know that they, you know,
absolve the township of any responsibility.
That is my request.
Yes, jump on.
Well, no, no.
Okay, me on the same thing that when a new person buys a house, they're not responsible for a one-inch war line either.
The answer is the new person may or may not buy the house because the old person who's selling it has to give them a fire certificate
and the certificate stating that they signed a waiver that it's not a one-inch line.
I don't know. I'm trying to understand it. You're giving a waiver for not having a one-inch line to the people who live in the house.
Correct. And that waiver will be placed in a permanent place with the fire department.
Are you saying you give a...
The next set of people also? If the next set of people choose to buy the house, knowing that this waiver has been signed, then yes, it's on them. But the bottom line is that the counter is not now no longer responsible, no longer liable, a waiver has been signed, and buyer beware for the next person so that it's not, oh, I didn't know about it, because they're regiven it when they get the fire certificate. Can we get the way in on that? Mr. Manager.
I mean, I understand your frustration and concern about this issue but unfortunately it's state law and the construction official would not be able to issue a certificate of occupancy if he does not follow the state law.
I mean, I don't know of any way that you can get around estates.
Somehow out of 70 towns in Bergen County, we are the glaring example in Suez of the ones who enforce the state law.
And I'm sure there's, or maybe I'm not looking for anyone not to enforce the law, but
I'm saying is that we have gone a waiver that were protected as a town.
And the homeowner decides if they want to run two sinks, two dishwashers, three bathrooms,
an outside garden hose in their grass sprinkles all at the same time.
Mr. Epidemiara, I fully support your change.
I understand the manager's concerns, and can we ask now that the attorney is fully
caffeinated, that we get him working on this and see if there are any avenues that are available
as options to-
And the other thing can add, if other municipalities aren't bound by this could be also
inquired with other municipalities, how they're getting around it, if we're the only
ones that are holding the law, there's going to be some, perhaps, some other option.
Well, I mean, our construction official is check what anger would, is check what hack and
sack, and they're enforcing the law.
If I can just comment on that, I just want to let you know the way all contractors talk is what
they, I mean, they speak to you in TNIC.
TNIC is, is the worst, no, I don't take jobs in TNIC, it's still a worse town.
Now, then you go to Bergerfield, the Bergerfield is awful.
I don't want to work in Bergerfield for the worst.
And I've caught the same guy saying it, like, it's just, that's what they all say a lot of that's why.
So, just so I can make sure I'm fully understanding this argument.
So, let's say you have a, and just sort of take the public as well.
So let's say I've got a master bathroom, and it has one basin with one sink.
And my wife and I say, you know what, you need yours, I need mine, and we expand it.
And then we find out that we need this one-inch water pipe, and that one-inch water pipe adds $16,000 in cost.
This one basin that we've decided to add is going to inflate the cost by thousands of dollars.
That's exactly what's happening. You can decide that you don't want the basin.
But my question, and I think this kind of dovetails what the Deputy Mayor is asking is,
If I simply decide that the minuscule decrease in water pressure is going to occur
by having those two faucet on at the same time is something I can live with.
Broshes their teeth with their spouse.
That's your little thing.
Let's take real life.
No, I don't think it is that, actually, if you read it, it's complicated.
It involves user groups, and it involves the total number of fixtures and the types
of fixtures.
It involves the type of service delivery pipe.
If you have a copper pipe versus that plastic answer question, is it the equation?
If you look at the amount numbers, that could possibly throw you over.
So what you're suggesting is a change that would allow them to sign a waiver that's
that they are okay with the reduction in water pressure,
so they don't incur that additional thousands of them.
And what the argument's going to be, well,
we have a responsibility to the next homeowner
to alert them to make sure that it's done right
that we respect, yes, and the next homeowner will be alerted,
and they may lose the deal.
Listen, I may lose the sale of my house
because the next person sees that I signed a waiver,
and then they say, you know what, I don't want to buy the house.
Or I may have to take the $10,000 decrease on my house
to the next buyer, so that they can increase the line, you know, because that's,
but that's my option.
But couldn't we just draw the rational conclusion?
And there's high-priced lawyer in the room.
And their house, they wouldn't be able to get a legal opinion on whether Elie Katz could write
legislation or not.
Well, again, just get counsel and castle.
I was exact, I could have been exactly in that vote.
I convert, we're in the process of converting a half-bath to a full-bath.
And that calculation could have turned out that it just put us over the edge because if
If we run all of our showers simultaneously and all of our sinks and flush all of our toilets and
wash all of our dishes and run the washing machine, we might not have enough capacity.
Now, I think the suggestion makes sense.
If it put me over and I said, look, I understand that I might not be able to have that capacity.
I'm willing to live with that and I will let the next buyer know that there may not be adequate water pressure and water capacity.
I think that's appropriate. I understand the manager's concerns, and I think that's why I think
asking the attorney, so I know to investigate it as well.
I'll come back with the next meeting.
You want to come back with it will be billed under negotiation.
All right. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we've come to the best part of the council meeting.
This is a good and welfare proportion. First of all, can I get a motion from the council
to move to welfare?
Second.
All in favor?
Aye.
Okay, there's an opportunity for any residents to come, state your name, you have three minutes.
If Council responds to you, it's not going to be till after everybody speaks.
If you do not get the response that you want at tonight, don't worry.
All of our emails and phone numbers are on the website, as well as you can take the manager of the clerk's card.
Or maybe Doug has cards, he can give them out tonight also.
All right, so I now open up a good and welfare, come on up.
Good evening, I'm Sandy Silverberg-Teneck, a quick court of appreciation to all those who ran for council this year, congratulations to the winners, and many thanks to Jason and Allen for their service you have made a difference.
I'm here tonight in the capacity of President of the Friends of the Library with an invitation to all of you and to the entire township of Teneck to attend a brief celebration this coming Sunday June 4th.
at 1 p.m. in the library honoring the service of Elizabeth
Sure, longtime member and president of the Friends.
Last Thursday, I attended the meeting
about the Garden of Human Understanding.
It was striking that this important project did not include
any input from the Friends, who, while the community
waits perhaps years for the project to be realized,
already served the community in precisely
Nicely, the spirit of the proposed monuments.
The Friends was formed almost 40 years ago by a few folks in some bibliophiles house,
and now it is a federally recognized 501c3 charity of close to 500 members and sponsors.
The purpose of the Friends is to promote and enhance the offerings of the library, which we
all acknowledge is the jewel in the crown of Tineck.
As the mission of libraries evolves into cultural and intellectual centers, serving diverse populations by providing service that only begin with books, the friends raise money to expand this evolution.
One of the highlights of the years are annual book DVD and CD sale. Sadly, I did not see any of you there.
The money's raised allow us to sponsor activities such as monthly concerts, films, and discussions
from the four corners of the earth in every language, museum passes, internet access to
learning and testing software, children's programs, reading programs, yoga, and a TNAC
merchant share program among other initiatives.
Our annual membership drive in the fall completes our fundraising cycle.
How many members of the council are friends of the library?
How many members of the library board of trustees are friends?
How many members of the monuments committee are friends?
I can tell you, but I don't want to embarrass some of you tonight.
We should all be supporting each other.
We are natural allies.
The friends give back to the library without putting any strain on the town budget.
The friends is an all-volunteer organization funded exclusively by donation.
But we need your support.
Help us increase our visibility.
We hope that you will recognize the friends contribution to the library and to the intersectional
communities we serve, by joining the friends and by attending and promoting our events where everybody wins.
I look forward to seeing you when you drop by the library with your chat.
Thank you, Sandy.
And here is your personal invitation.
Give it to our clerk.
To our-
I'll give it to Doug.
Our personal invitation to our event.
And thank you.
Sandy, thanks for all the great work you and your entire committee does for our library.
Yes?
Yes.
I'll get you next, ma'am.
Good evening.
Council.
Mr. Broughton, I just came to stay this evening to say thank you to the clerk's office for
your assistance, for your level of professionalism, and for your efficiency.
And I just want to say thank you for all that you do.
And on behalf of the community, I say thank you, and we appreciate you.
Thank you very much.
Yes,
if you can come to the mic, just state your name.
The Shoddy Experiment, T-neck.
You got that?
Yeah.
So I recently went to...
Can you just raise a mic?
I'm sorry.
The rotors.
And my daughter was in dance class.
There's no dance class for her now.
So I thought maybe her and a group of her,
three-year-old friends, maybe five,
could use the theater.
And it's $80 for two hours each time.
And I think that's kind of outrageous because when I haven't a party or a charge and anything and I feel that we should be able to use it
even if we have to go into the rotors center and sign up each maybe Wednesday after school.
So I'm asking for a review on those fees so that kids can enjoy the partner and not just the one section that we're kind of stuck to at the school and that's like the playground area.
So that's on here.
Thank you very much, and we'll respond after we close the program.
Oh yeah, and I'd like to know who to get in contact with, like personal.
You can take the manager's card.
Thank you.
Perfect.
Yes, sir.
And you'll go next.
Let me just come up.
I would have to, I have to.
I'm sorry.
Oh Richardson of TNIC.
Can you hear me alright?
Yes, Mr. Richardson.
My timing couldn't be better.
I can see that right now.
I'm here as the Chair of the Social Services Advisory Board that our recent meeting came
to our attention that there is a need at the rotissette for a social worker.
Apparently, there used to be one there a full time and there no longer is.
I did send an email out for distribution to all of you.
It was short notice.
You may not have gotten it, I don't know.
But the question is whether there's, whether this request can be considered since the budget is still not yet frozen,
but it's pretty darn close to being frozen.
I hear it.
Thank you, Mr. Richardson.
All right, come on up.
I'm ma'am, you'll be next, okay?
The one with the beautiful yellow shirt.
That's not me.
Art Vatsky, Teneck.
I wanted to talk about a potentially serious problem.
It's been more than 10 years.
It's a came forward to talk about this.
It has to do with the CSX line.
At the beginning of July, it will be five years.
It's the terrible disaster at McGantic,
Black McGantic in Quebec, Canada,
and which 47 people were incinerated.
And I've been looking at pictures
and I've been in contact with people who went through that experience.
TNEC can do more to prepare for this possible, regrettable event.
All the towns along the CSX line in Bergen County should do the same.
So what I'd like to ask, I don't want to burden our council and our town extra.
I would like to have a
drill and evacuation drill to see how citizens and police could work together to get people out of the neighborhoods adjacent to the rail line.
You know there's a half mile radius evacuation zone. I'm in the zone. I think a lot of you are in the zone.
So it would be a good exercise, it won't require a lot of money, but as an option of TNAF not doing it,
can we ask the county executive to get all the towns together and work this through?
They're just as likely to have a problem as we are.
I'll send you some material on it at a future date.
Regarding the road center, which I will begin to use more frequently, it's regrettable
that we talk about leaks in the roof and then replacing the roof.
Engineers should have been looking at that building, I guess.
That was built when I first moved to town. Its life was over. It should have been looked at in anticipation of this problem. So it could have been in this. And we've seen this over. I don't remember the exact things, but TNAC doesn't anticipate buildings falling into this repair, including this one. I thought the money for this old building was included in the budget for the extended TNAC municipal
We are, you know, we're running around on, we have a car on milk crates here.
We need to anticipate maintenance problems because, of course, more, as Dr. Prue
would say, of course, more to wait until it's too late to
get the repairs.
The perfect timing, yes, ma'am.
How are we going to go next?
I'm
Ellen Schwartz, I'm a member of the GeneXe A. Tree Advisory Board, and I speak as a member of the board.
There is no way that I can adequately express my disappointment and yes,
discussed with your decision to cut money, the promise money from the budget for tree planting and maintenance.
You already know how much trees add to the beauty and house value of the community.
their importance in flood and climate control and the role they play in the overall health
of the citizens of our community and yet you have chosen to ignore all of these facts.
Perhaps even more egregious is the cut of tree maintenance from the budget.
This directly impacts on the safety of our residents.
If the trees are not maintained and there is little or no budget for pruning people are
placed at a terrible risk. This week, I happened to have been in Turhun Park, a huge bow from a tree
fell just inches from the children's playground. A very, very heavy branch. Are you prepared to offer
condolences to a family of a child killed by a branch falling on them? How much is a human life
forth to you. I could offer many, many, many examples as I am in the parks of trees that
need pruning and are very dangerous to all of our citizens. We are losing our gorgeous
London plain trees because they are covered with ivy which stops the trees from photosynthesizing
and leads to the death of the tree, a totally avoidable situation if a proper tree maintenance program was in place.
The beautiful canopy these trees provide takes years and years, and with your short-sighted
counterproductive lack of leadership, these trees will absolutely be lost to our community.
I say shame on you.
Thank you, Mr. Schwartz, and thank you for your hard work as well.
And I think you heard tonight that Council was looking to find the funds in a different
area, different form of funding.
How are rows, I'm sorry, I can't have back on for dialogue.
Janice, I have good news for you.
Tonight, you get the coveted Alex Rushing last speaker role.
All right, go ahead.
Good evening, how it rows.
I'm not speaking as a member of the Board of Education, but as a resident of TNEC.
And I'm a little confused, maybe I haven't been paying enough attention these last couple
of years.
I think I'm here all the time, and I think I do listen, but what ever happened to the
statement I used to hear of, let's get this budget done in the fall, in the late fall,
and get all of this done, and be ahead of the game.
And here we are today at the very tail end of May discussing budget.
And it sounds as if it's going into June as well.
I can't believe anyone's happy with this, and I don't understand how it can happen year
year after year on such a delayed basis debt. If you're bad to pay down option, how much
money does it cost the township in additional cost incurred for that debt as a consequence
over how many years, as soon as you have a couple of thousand a year and extra twenty thousand
a year, there's a cost to delaying, and I don't know if that's the best situation. A half-year
salary $75,000? Well, if you're not funding that salary for a half year, are you going
to be utilizing over time to fill the responsibilities that that position would have covered? Or is
it really something we don't need to do because that position isn't necessary in the first
place? I would think if it's necessary, we have to cover it. And what's the expense?
I can't
agree more with Henry with Henry Pruitt as saying regarding infrastructure and use. We all
I don't know that on a house, if you don't maintain it, it costs more to replace it.
The best example I can think of is a capola of the township, where it deteriorated over
decades so badly that it had to replace with a piece of plastic, unfortunately.
I mean, that's just, what poor maintenance practice and how do we get around doing that?
I mean, it just, something has to be done, and it's within your capability, you're the
council.
get something done.
CSX, I hate to say this, but you know when it comes to a catastrophic
situation, I think this evacuation drills is nonsense. You don't need evacuation. You
need rescue. And that's what we should be thinking about because when something happens,
that gas is all around immediately. The problem with, there's a fireball that's around
You're not escaping that, but you have to respond and react to it, and that's what my concern is.
Last storm we had in this test, we do a three maintenance.
Across the street, limb fell down.
We lost our electricity for several hours.
It hit the exact spot where my wife parked her car.
Thank goodness she parked it on a driveway in anticipation of his storm, just so that street cleaning of the test area could be done.
And let me give a plug to everyone here, including the audience.
We have a newly formed TNIC historic society.
It is a fledgling organization.
They had a discussion, I had a board meeting for the board of ed that I couldn't attend,
about the streets of TNIC that I understand what's very important.
Thank you.
And I urge all of you to join.
Thank you very much.
A short number.
Yes.
And then Louis, you'll go after.
And then by show of hands, anyone else?
Okay.
We'll go to Dr. Coffler, and then we'll have Janice go to your good.
Nancy Cochran, Shay, to advisory board member.
I'm here to speak about the cut in the tree budget.
And mainly our concern is not just planting the trees, replanting trees, but the maintenance of it.
And once again, that tree planting line seems to be one of the first areas where you go and you cut.
And this has happened year after year after year.
But I'm also here to speak about the fact that we weren't even aware of what was going
on and part of our problem is we have not had an active council liaison person for probably
the last 15 years.
And that's really unacceptable.
There is so much that we want to do as a board but we don't know what's going on.
I sit here at meeting sometimes and I'll stay to the end and I hear committee reports
liaison reports, and there's never anything for the Shatri Advice report.
We feel like we're just being, we're there just to serve to be a tree city, U.S.A. to
do your Arbor Day celebration and things of that nature.
So we're hoping with the reorganization that you, that becomes, you know, July 1st, that
we will finally get somebody who is interested in it and who can keep us up to date as to what's
going on, what can we do, what we can't do.
We have a lot of good ideas here.
and we have people who really want to do a lot,
we don't even know when our terms end.
We haven't been able to get that information.
We've asked for that.
And you know, we have people that want my term ends.
I'm not going to continue, but I don't know when that is.
Maybe it's this year, maybe it's next year.
So I hope that you realize that we really want to be
an active advisory board, but we also need your help to do this.
And on May 16th, we had our burden.
This is a good example of our disappointment in our council members.
Everyone received an invitation to it, nobody responded, nobody RSVP, yes, no, whatever.
So we had nobody from council, no mayor representation at the ceremony.
Yes, it was pouring rain, but we can live with that.
We can trees need the water to grow, so we were really upset about that.
And that was just something else that made us very frustrated.
And we hope that this will change in the future.
I have pictures from Arbor Day, if anybody's interested.
I'll give it to Doug.
In seeing what you missed.
And we hope that going forward, that we can work together,
so that we could do better ways of helping you look for the grants,
looking for things like that to help the budget process.
I don't want to see my taxes go up.
But we still need our trees, you know, despite what some of you think yet is.
So hopefully July 1st we have a liaison that will come to our meetings.
Thank you.
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication.
And by the way, dedicated volunteers like you, your term doesn't end or you're on forever.
I feel like I've been on for that so I have been 23 years.
Lillian,
and by the way, we didn't cut.
We re-aligned, we're reviewing.
Good
evening, Liliana Lewis, Tina.
I'm just here to invite the entire community
to our Juneteenth celebration,
which will be June 16th at Overpec Park,
from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If you're not familiar with Juneteenth,
it's the celebration from the enslavement
that took place in this country for 400 years
where the enslave, the Africans were in bondage.
So as a kin to the revolution of war,
would you like for, would you celebrate that?
So we celebrate June 10th and just being celebrated now all across the nation.
And this year, we are honoring all our African-American soldiers in Bergen County.
So if anyone out there listening audience is African-American soldier as a veteran or
currently serving, we are honoring you on June 16th.
And you can contact me and I'll give my email address which is Lillian Lewis
is 740 at gmail.com.
We want all the African-American veterans
and currently serving soldiers.
Overpacked park.
OK, if you live in Tina, can go straight down Tina's road.
And you make that left way, it says overpacked park.
All right, you'll see tents.
You'll see musaments for the children.
We have historical tents, giving a lot of history.
And it's going to be an excellent program.
We always have excellent program.
And then at 6 p.m. from 6 to 8, we have jazz under the stars.
So you can come out in a joy and even if your time is over,
or for your Sabbath, I don't know when it ends,
but if it ends, we have from 6 to 8 jazz under the stars.
Okay, so everyone is invited.
We have a great time every year.
So let's see all of you.
Sounds like a great event.
Thank you for letting us know.
If you can send us a flyer also, that'd be great.
Dr. Toffler and then Mickey, you'll, I think Mickey,
you get clean up tonight.
Let's see, get that coveted position, it doesn't look like.
Barbara Laytoffler, TNEC, good evening, despite every candidate signing a pledge to uphold fair campaign practices
and to repudiate those who do not, some candidates in the 2018 TNEC municipal campaign, as they have
have in the past resorted to lies to deceive the voters,
to slander, libel, and to cause harm to other candidates
and to town residents.
Since issues of religion have been tossed into this toxic mix,
I wish to use my time here to quote from religious leaders
about truth.
The first set of comments that I will read are adapted from a new, really quite new effort
called Reclaiming Jesus, a confession of faith in a time of crisis.
And the second set, from a book, The Jewish Religion, A Companion, Truth and Lies in the
Jewish Tradition by Rabbi Lewis Jacobs, from the first set.
It is our duty as leaders to speak truth in humility and love, but when politics undermine
our theology, we must examine those politics.
We believe that truth is morally central to our lives.
Therefore we reject the lies that have invaded our political and civil lives.
The normalization of lying presents a profound moral danger to the fabric of society.
We reject any move toward autocratic political leadership and authoritarian rule with which,
with the lies that support them, threaten democracy and the common good.
these next comments come from the chapter truth and lies in the Jewish tradition
by Rabbi Jacobs deceiving others is strictly forbidden quote the holy one
blessed be he hates a person which says one thing with his mouth and another within
in his heart." There are other matters which
All under the heading of falsehood. For example, when a man praises himself for having virtues, he does not really possess. It sometimes happens that a man may persuade his friend into believing that he has spoken well of him or done him a good turn when, in fact, he's done nothing of the kind. In this connection, our rabbis teach that it is forbidden to mislead others.
Even when nothing iniquitous is involved, they shall not have a deceitful tongue in
their mouths, but all their words should be truthful.
Other liars have their eyes on future benefits and tell lies and orders to pay their
name.
No, I will finish.
I'm sorry, Dr. Hopper.
Is the seal of the Court on Blessed Be Be Be Be?
And finally, from the original reclaiming Jesus, we believe we are one body and we reject the silence of those who know the sins and thus allow them to endure.
Thank you, Dr. Kaufland.
Thank you. All right, Mickey, come on up, close us up, close us down with the batting cleanup.
You get to bring the batter's home, or the, I don't know, a sports person, so someone has to help me with that one.
Bring the runners home.
Thank you, Shiland Teneck.
Just in case there's no more council meetings before the installation.
I would just really like to thank Councilman Sone and Councilman Castle for the last four years
that they put their time and energy into helping Teneck.
I've worked many hours with Councilman Sone.
I'm on a few boards, but he's on all of them, I believe.
And he's worked so hard, I think he puts tremendous time and energy and making TNIC into
a better town.
And I'm very proud to be working with him.
And I know that Jason, you also put in your time, but I wasn't with you that much.
So, I just want to say that I will be sorry when you leave and I'm happy to be sitting here
and then to many council meetings and just looking up at you and seeing how hard you
work for this town, both of you, and that's all I have to say tonight.
Thank you, Mickey.
Well said.
Motion to close.
Good and well, fair.
Second.
Roll call.
All favor?
Aye.
Are you opposed?
Motion is carried.
All right.
Councilman Schwartz.
I'll be opening more.
I'll be opening now.
I'll make it quick.
Mr. Rose, in the last three years, we've been successful in passing the budgets because there are zero.
So when we get down to zero, we pass it.
As much as I understand your frustration with the delay in the budget, it's only because we're deliberating,
trying to get to that best number.
You know, we could easily said 3.41 was a manager's proposal.
Heck, Englewood did seven in change.
We could have had this done months ago, but we're really taking the time to make sure
that we get to the best possible number.
There really isn't a prize for racing to the first.
Englewood proposed it again months ago.
I'll go through December 31st so I can get this to the best number possible.
So that's really the consideration for everyone's dollars.
Thank you.
Councillor Kassel, it's your night.
A couple of things.
One, I thank you, Ms. Lewis, for the announcement about, as it relates to June 10th, I hope that the full complement of council will be there.
As it relates to Arbor Day, I was so sad that I missed Arbor Day this year.
I was at the one previous to this year, and I'm so sorry I couldn't be there, but I'm even more sad to hear that no one was there.
So, there is a liaison.
Can I have my time back?
Sorry.
We were just looking for the pictures.
John, I get that time back.
Yeah, that's positive.
All right.
I know that you do have a liaison, if I'm correct, it is Mayor Medidine.
Well, I'm sorry, I can't have back on board.
But your message is heard loud and clear.
I'm sorry, I couldn't be there myself this year.
As it relates to, Tina can do more to prevent tragedies as it relates to CSX.
Mr. Vatsky, we can, we can stop putting residential buildings next to the tracks.
And that was something that we attempted, at least the minority that was tried to attempt to do, but, you know, that's not a fight that we want.
And we have less control over CSX than we'd like to have if any at all.
But it is a fight that I'm confident that Council will continue to fight.
But I think one of the places that we can start is not putting additional
residences near the tracks so that we're not creating a potential harm.
Lastly, and this was something that was not brought up, well actually before I get to that,
breakage from retired employees.
Just this year alone, we have discussed hiring new employees because other employees were retiring.
And I'd like to make sure that the breakage from those retired employees is
This factored into this year's budget, if it hasn't already been, because I know that we were budgeting four people who were retiring.
But since we have agreed to hire people at, you know, a fraction of the salary that we make those calculations in the budget.
And lastly, he wasn't brought up, but at 227 T-neck road, there's a new construction that's going up.
And I would be remiss if I didn't say this.
I've gone through the construction sites of all of our developments, particularly the ones where there are parking structures below.
And they all have these massively wide columns that are holding up the building.
And every day I drive by what the structure and the columns look like stilts.
And my nine year old said, daddy, that when they build that, isn't going to topple over it out by nine year old,
it's after the buttons, not an engineer.
Is it possible that we can just get someone to 227 to inspect that?
Because those columns that are holding up this structure that is going to be condos are so
So much narrower than all the other developments, and I just want to make sure that that isn't something that a, you know, good stiff
wind comes by and doesn't topple it over onto the residents of Ohio.
So we can just get an inspection of that site. Peace of mind, please.
Thank you.
Mr. Reconnaissance, question about that comment?
Yeah.
You're nine-year-old that made that question a future engineer.
Where did she go to school?
I said she is not an engineer.
Sorry, where did she go to school?
Uh-huh.
She goes to the Tina community charter school.
Where is that located?
Unfortunately, it's right next to the tracks.
Where did you put forth a motion to expand the enrollment there?
I definitely did.
Right on the tracks.
No, expand the enrollment of the school.
All right,
so please go ahead.
I wasn't sure where the Trotters Councilman's on.
Adversarial, always.
You get the next one, Councilman's on.
If there is anybody here who's ever traveled on an airplane, you know you go through
a instruction, a series of safety instructions, or you're told that in the event
of loss of cabin pressure, take the mask, put it over your mouth and know.
There was an explosive decompression on flight southwest 1380 a few months ago and there was a photograph where almost none of the people had that mask over their nose, they had it over their mouth.
Every single person who has ever been on an airplane has heard that safety drill.
No one in this township has ever gone through a CSX safety drill.
No one has any idea what to do.
Even the people who have read the book would have no idea what to do.
I don't think that in the event of an emergency that we're going to have all of our emergency
services personnel going from door to door to door to door, telling people that they
should evacuate or where they should go.
The least we should do is to make sure that residents know what to do in case of emergency.
Mr. Rose, where I do agree with you, I don't know that it's even possible to start working
on a budget in October, November, December, but when we came on board in 2014, we were presented
did in July with the process of introducing the budget.
You can, meaningfully, craft a budget when half the year is over.
I've asked for, we're supposed to get monthly budget reports.
We're supposed to get quarterly budget reports.
I still haven't seen those.
I don't know where we are.
Should Council be managing surplus?
Maybe, maybe not.
But we don't have any idea where we are.
Are we overspending?
Are we underspending?
Is income higher than expected or lower expected?
I don't know.
And I don't know how I can responsibly craft a budget without having that information.
In terms of a capital budget, we asked you, as a member of the planning board, to go
through that capital budget and to provide us with advice and guidance.
I think it would help us tremendously to have that input and to be able to see, are we
meaning our capital budget needs because we don't have those resources we need?
One of the things that I was proud of stuff that I did on council was to inadvertently,
in March 2016, walk into a meeting with the Shatree Advisory Board, and see the board
sitting there in consternation, not knowing what to do.
We lost a tremendous number of trees in those preceding years, and I said, my advice,
advocate on behalf, come to a budget meeting, make a specific request, let's keep it in this budget,
let's not have it whipsaw from year to year to year, because then it becomes hard to put it back in.
$50,000 is nowhere near enough to maintain our trees.
It covers probably maybe five, maybe 10% of what should be spent.
And the average tree will grow and fall about a dozen times before we maintain it.
We're nowhere near enough.
Maybe we can get some money from open space, but I think that that should be put back in.
Ms. Silverberg, I have been perhaps, I've lapsed as a member of the Friends of the Library,
but I have been a consistent friend.
I've been a consistent supporter.
I appreciate all the work that's being done, I hope, and I wish that you pushed us a little bit harder and
shamed us into becoming friends of the library, other than I have pretty much two rules for my wife, never, ever, ever again run for council, and you've already bought too many books.
So I don't know if there is any particular order in either of those.
Dr. Toffler, I will certainly be addressing your issues a little bit later.
Thank you, Councilman.
And we're all friends, by the way, just sometimes we don't call each other.
It's not painful.
You know, all right, got some member rice.
Thank you so much, and I was happy to see you guys on Cedar Lane on Monday so that I was happy to see that you guys were
out there active in the community and hopefully other residents so I will continue to participate.
That being my first job, I will always be a friend of the library but I need to make sure I become more active.
I want to know if there's anything we can do to address the woman's question about the amphitheater
I guess hopefully maybe we didn't get her, I don't know if she took your card or anything
way in place.
Okay, great.
Just in terms of it, it's not in use, if there's anything we can do to address her concerns.
I thought that Mr. Vasky's idea would be a great, in terms of collaborating with other
communities, in terms of doing some type of drill, I think that that would be, you know, a
great exercise just to ensure that everyone is at least available to the information.
I know that it's on our website.
I know it's in our Township Guide that we get.
I reviewed it, and if God forbid anything happened, I wouldn't really know what to do myself, so I appreciate that.
I appreciate the trade trees mention of, you know, trying to look for grants and other opportunities because perhaps that would be a way to meet that gap.
And also, we did discuss at some point in time having a better relationship with not just the shade tree but other advisory boards so that we do have, that they are given better direction as well as the
fact that we have indeed ensure that there is liaison to each of the advisory boards and
to ensure that they don't feel that their labor is in vain, but they are indeed being heard
and given direction, specific direction from us as a council.
Ms. Lewis, thank you very much for mentioning June 10th, the celebration, and I did be
seeing flyers.
I know you guys were out in the community giving out flyers yesterday, so thanks for that.
But Mr. Doppler has mentioned, I think that's one of agenda fair housing.
I'm sorry, fair campaign practices.
I think that's everyone, thanks.
Dr. Pruitt, that'd be mayor.
Before we're still using money that hasn't been allocated for 2018, Mr. Manager.
Would you have somebody look at that tree on the green?
There's a great big tree that needs to be trimmed before branches begin to fall down,
so let's look at that as a priority.
I understand that the other trees are needed, but since we play on the green,
let's make sure that that one does become a nightmare.
I'm disappointed in the election process tonight.
I think that we have a lot of things in our town that we are very proud of,
But the last many elections, we could not represent the township.
We are not representing the township that we try to be in the election process.
All kinds of wild things happen.
And we ought to be embarrassed about it enough to cut it out.
The objective of the election, I believe, is for candidate to tell everybody how great
they are.
And why they should elect that person, not to criticize other people.
I hope that soon, with the next election or so, we figure out how to cut out that misbehavior.
It's childish and it's also destructive, and I'm very embarrassed by it.
Thank you, Dr. Brewer.
Okay, committee reports, anyway, committee reports.
No? Council listed items. A affordable housing page on website. Councilman Schwartz.
Yes, I'm just, I'm just coming about from our affordable housing seminar, which was great.
I'll be working with the clerk just to kind of general idea of how we can upload information
on our upcoming projects.
Your objection? We're good?
No, I just wanted to add to that.
Yes, Councilman.
Thank you very much to Dean, who's here, and I think it was well attended by the community.
And I appreciate Mark mentioning that because clearly by the attendance, residents are very
interested in knowing more about it, and I had asked Dean if we could put the presentation on the website, I think that that would be very, very helpful to the community.
Perfect. Preservation of Route 4 Greenbell, Councilman Sone.
Mr. Attorney, you can, we, we, your first day as a township attorney, we passed Resolution 162-017, we passed another resolution.
It's one of the things that I would love to see addressed before, before I leave office, it's one of the things that I think that there is strong community.
Any consensus that we should be doing? I have had an opportunity to take a look through the closed session minutes. We've taken no action, no formal action by resolution, by motion to undermine or subvert or overturn the terms of those resolutions other than in the limited context of whatever litigation may be related to all vision. What steps are we going to be taking place to ensure that we are putting the appropriate properties on the recreation
open space inventory, what steps are going to be taken to ensure that the room for
green belt is protected in keeping with both of those resolutions which dictate both to
you and to the manager to take action towards that goal.
As we've said at multiple meetings because of the threat of litigation that's out there
right now by all vision and the potential negotiations that are going on between all vision
or that have happened already, and are continuing to happen between all patient and the township to try to resolve the situation, it's not, it's my counsel, it's been my guidance that we should not take action on those resolutions until such time as you heard me say at more than one meeting that we should not do that until it's resolved because I don't want to do anything that would injure our opportunity to resolve that potential litigation
That's out there.
You have indicated that you felt that a township ordinance was as good or better than any of
the alternatives proposed in there.
Have you moved forward in crafting an ordinance for the township to protect the move forward
rainbow?
We have not submitted it to the council yet.
No.
Have we moved forward with it?
We have drafted an ordinance.
We have not submitted it to the council yet.
Okay, next steps to prevent continuing violation of the fair campaign practice
pledge and hold perpetrators responsible.
Councilman Sullivan.
I really would be hard pressed to either add to Dr. Toffler the statements that you made the issue of the slander,
the efforts to trash people, the efforts to destroy people.
I really couldn't add to the statements that Dr. Pruitt made, you know, this has to end, it's enough.
I still owe, and I'm still apologizing to my wife for putting her through this process, and again what she's had to endure.
Either I or people that I know have reached out to all the individuals who have been involved.
And none of whom feel any sense that there was something wrong.
I spoke with one member who's sitting up here who rang for a election who said he
thought it was justified because of who was running for office.
Someone signed a fair campaign pledge saying that he felt that he was entitled to retaliate
if there was anything against him.
I still haven't seen what's appropriate.
Someone spoke to one of the folks who's not here this evening who said if you think that's bad,
I have even more trash that I could have or might still dish out.
I have reached out to the chairs of the advisory board and community relations.
I will be working with those chairs to come up with a resolution for the June 19th meeting.
And I invite any council member who's interested, Dr. Pruitt, if you'd like to join me to work with them,
to draft a resolution, Councilman Romney Rice, anyone else would like to join me?
I'd like to move ahead with them and to be able, on June 19th, to be able to put in,
to put forth yet another resolution that says, let's put an end to this.
I think that we lose what we lose is not only our innocence.
It's not only, we're not just harming the truth, and I wish that was merely the only problem that we had.
We're losing huge numbers of people who say, I'm not running for office.
I think I could serve, but I would not endure that, I would not put myself, I would not put my family through that.
And I think that we only harm ourselves as a township if we don't put this to an end, once and for all.
I don't know that a resolution is going to stop it, but again, I think it puts us on the record.
It puts those who have been involved on the record are saying, are we going to stop this, are we not going to?
Yes, Councilmember Rice, and then I'll get.
Say thank you to Alan for bringing that issue up, putting it on the agenda and also for Dr. Toffler's statement.
And I think to the point that Alan mentioned that, you know, that we have so many qualified,
capable, such a rich wealth of human capital in our community that would not dare to engage simply
because of the negative campaigning.
And I think that that is a travesty and a loss to us of active community members by that demonstration.
Having just gone through that process, I know that I spoke to many of my colleagues on a number of occasions about trying to make sure that we kept it positive.
I know that that was my mission, I know I did repudiate and have conversations to try to keep it positive.
I know that it's challenging to do so, but I think that it speaks to the fact that the caliber of people that running that there's so many good qualities and so much positive energy that could be used.
to the betterment of this community, that it's not necessary to stoop to the levels I believe that some of us did.
Because there's so many positive things to focus on, and I know that that's something that we tried I did with my campaign.
And I just think that again, Alan Stone's point that it doesn't set a good precedent, you know, moving forward.
It causes us to have less engaged community.
I think the voter turnout was an indication of the fact that so many people are disengaged,
because they don't like what they see.
And I think that there's so much more that we could be doing to engage our community by being held accountable to the facts, stick to the issues, and not the personalities and tear apart the personalities.
And I would just like to personally express my, in my sorrow, to what Mr.
Sohn endured, Chuck Powers endured.
And I know that it was back and forth, some things that Ellie endured in terms of, you know, just back and forth
mudsling that was so unnecessary and not addressing the facts.
I saw pages of campaign literature dedicated to other people, instead of spending that money
touting the positives, it was used to degrade another candidate.
And I did see that on both sides, I still have those pieces of literature.
So I'm just speaking to the fact that if everyone could stick to the issues, I think we
would all be better served.
Thank you, Council Member Rice.
And by the way, there was a piece about me negative how to great picture of me.
I was very impressed with the author of that.
So, unfortunately, it was anonymous.
Councilman Castle.
So I just on this issue, every day I send out a motivational quote in it.
I think that the one I sent out this morning is a bit of an opportunity.
It says, on good teams, coaches hold players accountable.
On great teams, players hold players accountable.
However, the reality is that you can't hold another player accountable
if you haven't held yourself accountable first.
I think that's relevant because everyone has a degree of accountability
for their own actions to speak the truth, to have truthful actions.
And I really, I watched this campaign from the sideline
and I saw some really despicable things.
And it was shameful, it really, really was.
The concern I have as it relates to moving forward is, you know,
in holding individuals accountable, there's no ordinance that requires someone to sign the campaign pledge.
There's also no consequence if you violate the pledge, and I don't even think that you could, you know,
force someone to sign something as it relates to running for publicly elected office,
that would infringe upon their right to do so otherwise, because I don't think that the
municipality would have that power, and maybe they do, but I don't think they would.
But if we endorse a resolution, it is merely a feel good resolution.
As I said, the classic bag resolution was a feel good resolution.
It doesn't really do anything.
It just makes us feel good for passing it.
Then it becomes one more thing that doesn't actually solve the problem.
It just makes us all feel good as if we've taken a step in the right direction.
when people were just going to turn their backs on it anyway.
I think Dr. Toffler for coming up, because what she reminded me of were two other quotes.
One is that by Martin Luther King, the Ark of the Morrow University's long, and it
has been towards justice, and for those who have spoken so negatively and so deplorable about
others, there's a force called Karma, there's another force called Prayer, and both seem to
work, maybe not in the timing that we want them, but they do work.
And the other thing is this, it's won by President Obama.
And he said that people make big elections about small issues.
And I saw a lot of small issues being hurled back and forth in this election.
Personal, petty, small issues, and some of the much larger issues didn't get the air time that they should have.
So, if maybe people aren't talking about the big issues because they don't have big issues to stand behind and the people who are sitting on anonymous messages don't have anything to stand upon.
So, I think that the change really has to come from the candidates and I think that we need to recruit younger, older, middle-aged,
Just individuals who want to change and somehow find the way to insulate them from the negativity and maybe that is
You know putting a cap on the amount of money that you could spend on can I don't know what it is
But whatever it is, this has got to change because this this really fractured and polarized some people in the community and
I'm sorry to see something in nastiness. I am thankful to have watched this from the sidelines, but
We can do much better than that
Okay, subcommittee for prosecutor and clerk interviews, including council elect.
This is by Deputy Mayor Lee Whitecats.
We have a swearing in July second, and that that opportunity we want to swear in our prosecutors.
In addition, we started looking for a new clerk.
What I would like to request is we have a subcommittee for the prosecutor from the past,
which I believe was myself, the mayor, and Deputy Mayor Pruitt.
I would like to ask the council to continue that subcommittee, and if we need a formal vote.
And to also do the clerk interviews as well, but since we have the opportunity to have the
We can invite both the lex to participate since ultimately it's going to be their vote as well.
But this way we can have, this way A, we can go through the process properly.
And B, we can, at the right time, swear in the prosecutor and so is any objection to myself,
Deputy Mayor Pruitt and the mayor, the mayor, Mohamed.
Yes.
I would actually, I'd like to sit on that subcommittee for the prosecutor since the prosecutor is going to be named on July 1st.
I'd very much like to sit on that subcommittee.
There's a little piece of information right now.
We have three prosecutors functioned somehow to cover that particular activity.
So it's not a prosecutor.
We have had three prosecutors that have functioned fairly well.
I'm not sure we're clear about that.
So let me explain why I'd like to tell in the committee.
And I want to be really, really frank about this.
We had three, but we started out with four.
Our fourth is now the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
And that was a prosecutor that was never utilized.
So it is – it was absolutely absurd to me to have – to have heard a conversation
that ensued between the now deputy assistant secretary of state and the reason why she
was not added to the rotation.
And the reason I want to sit in on that subcommittee is because I'd like to have an opportunity
to discuss with the lead prosecutor who makes the schedule why we had such a valuable asset
that in someone who was also a former administrative law judge who was never utilized in her time
in serving for T-nec.
Because that in and of itself, Deputy Mayor Dr. Pruitt in my opinion was a travesty.
And having had the exit interview with the now Deputy Assistant Secretary of State who
worked for T-nec and was never utilized, I think that we need to get to the bottom of that
because there are some messages that were sent in that particular individual never being utilized.
That might reverberate for years to come.
So I'm going to say, and I know it's Jason Castle Knight, I'm okay with myself, Councilman Castle and
Deputy Mayor Pruitt, and adding the two elects as well as long as, as long as my colleagues that are going
to continue are okay with that concept, if it's just a matter of trying to get clarification,
maybe that's not the meeting, but maybe it is the meeting, you know, to the, you can-
Well, no, no. The ultimately the ones that are going to vote in the new prosecutors,
they're just going to be have to be a recommendation from the subcommittee,
and obviously you're going to have to go to the full council.
So is council okay with myself?
Deputy Mayor Pruitt, Councilman Castle, and inviting the two elects for both the interviews.
Once again, it's just the interviews.
It's just interviews and not even no formal election, no formal action, so I have no problem with this.
Okay, so can I get a formal vote?
And since they're not elected, it's not a quorum issue.
Can I get a formal vote on that Mr. Clerk?
I'll make a motion.
I'll ask a second.
Okay, so who's going to be the motion?
Councilman Castle.
It's his night.
Second is yourself?
Death in your cat?
Yes.
Okay.
Rule call, Councilman Castle.
Yes.
Councilwoman Ramirez. Yes. Councilman Schwartz. Yes. Councilman Tau. Yes.
Yes, definitely remember it.
Yes.
Definitely the cats.
Yes.
Ocean pass.
Okay. Yes. We don't have work now. So now, now we have the subcommittee in place. Now, the next 45 days, we're going to be aggressive. Or maybe it's 30 something days. Be aggressive to try to focus on both of these items. Unveiling a mayor. Can I just say one thing? When it comes to the prosecutor, it was two main prosecutors and others potentially rotating when they
They were not available.
It was never meant to be three or any, it was two main prosecutors and others rotating
fully in when they were absent.
So, thank you.
That's clear.
Okay.
Unveiling of Maryland, is that P. Parker photo and council chambers?
This is different from what we did earlier, which is a plaque in the library, which I gave the plaque
information to the clerk.
Okay.
Okay, so this is a council member, Romney Rice.
Yes.
Thank you, Mayor.
Deputy Mayor, I wanted to say thank you to Issa for his diligence and hard work in making sure that we were able to obtain a picture that was approved by the family, and that we will be able to post and unveil that picture at our next meeting, 619, and really excited to be able to mention that I remember my the first night I took office here or the first time seating.
the council chambers from this purview and noticing the absence of Lizette's picture at that time.
So I'm really happy that we'll be able to do that at our next meeting on the 19th.
And hopefully, I know that we discussed this that we could invite the family and then just give notice to the community
to have that as a commemorative night. Thanks.
Okay, excellent.
I have
a copy if you want.
Mr. Madden, there's a copy if you want.
You could just give me that. That would be good.
Thank you.
Just a couple items.
I prepared some flyers for council.
We've been having serious issues and receiving a lot of complaints about grass cutting,
especially in the parks. Today I went to with DPW and visited Amman Park. The grass was probably
eight inches high. Someone had went out with their lawn mower and cut themselves, cut a path.
It's really difficult. It's been very challenging for DPW staff to keep up with the grass cutting
and to hire seasonal workers.
We used to have over, we used to have about 30
seasonals and we have the funding for about 30
seasonals and we, I think we only have about eight.
We only have about eight.
So in order to get the grass cuts on the parks
are usable, we're going to have to expand
and try to go a different round, try to get some younger kids
out there to help cut lawn and help cut grass.
Counseling castles, nine-year-old, are intact and grass cutter.
As long as there are 18 years old, I just want to get that early.
Do you have to have a flyer?
Oh, I got the flyer.
If you could circulate the flyer, and I'll try to promote it as well, but I'll circulate the flyer.
Can you email us?
Yes.
We can email.
We looked into the high school, is that informative to us?
We're going to, we just did it today, and we just came up with this today, so we'll be
contacted, Mr. Williams.
What else do we got on the list, Mr. Manager?
So we have that, that's going out.
The other item I have is items that came from May 15th meeting, traffic calming on
Garrison Avenue, right now we're doing a study on Garrison Avenue to determine what the extent of the issue, if there actually is a speeding problem there.
So working on that issue, the issue of the dog park and the owner of the company that comes to visit with 20 dogs.
And so I'm working with the attorney on that to come up with some sort of way to
possibly license the use of the park when working on that issue.
Can I imagine, can I add something to that?
Okay, I have the opportunity to visit the park recently on two occasions and met Bob.
I met Bobby and the residents there actually took my dog there to the park.
And he really does have a great operation.
And he knows a lot about dogs, and first upon hearing about it,
it sounded awfully strange, so I went to investigate myself,
and it really is an improvement and an asset.
So I hope that we can find some measure to include him.
The residents really love him, and it seems like the dogs do too.
Yeah, I agree.
It's a real asset to the park.
It's almost like the kids going swimming, swimming,
or bringing a professional life card.
And that's what's being done here.
You've got residents, dogs, bringing this professional to oversee and to help.
So I think the attorney and the manager came up with that one just now.
So you've got the attorney and the manager working on a resolution and we're going to try to speak to Bobby.
Maybe we even want to think about maybe widening that door walk a little bit.
So we have some discussion.
That by step, I don't think it's, I don't think it would be expensive to do with that.
If I may, that when I went and there were about 20, 25 dogs there, there is a lot of room in there.
Also, they tend to use the larger area and leave the smaller area closer to the parking lot unused.
Again, I think it is a benefit, but I think let's, you know, let's go, let's go, we have working right before we're done.
I'm sorry, I can't attend, I'm sorry.
Can we just let the manager finish the work?
Also, we're working on, I'm working with the attorney on a resolution for the FDU alliance,
so that they're able to become an official township organization where they
We'd be covered on our insurance when they offer programs at F.D.U.
There was an issue about the signs on Maple Street and the DPW looking at that.
Thank you.
The budget action summary is on the website.
We canceled the workshop meeting and we put the presentation for affordable housing, the PowerPoint that's on the website.
Thank you.
Perfect.
But we're very good.
Something to ask.
Yeah.
I'm going to add an item that we had a councilman castles leaving.
Enjoy the rest of your councilman castles tonight.
If you get pulled over, somebody's in a tiniq.
Just let them know it's councilman castles tonight tonight.
I have someone complained about a store on C-Lane.
The story is kind of, it has an open window with nothing showing and pallets for material
to be brought in left outside the store.
And I inquired as to what it was that was going on inside the store and they told me
that was a a a a a you an appliance store. It's got you know wash machines. It's got
a wash I mean refrigerators and stoves and so I went and I spoke to them yesterday and
I spoke to them again today. And since you don't have a compliance officer. I want to
install Mr. Cats is the local appliance officer to check on them the next couple of days and
make sure they move the pallets off the front of the bill.
Did you see a client's officer or a kind of client's officer?
So Mr. Manager, can you just have the department send a letter?
I will have to tell you, I really like their sign in the window.
But I went there today, very decorative.
But they do, but it is a nice sign.
So I went there today.
I met with one of the workers inside.
They really have nice appliances too, really nice stuff.
So I met with, I met with them, I talked to them about the palace in front and he said he'd have them out of there by tomorrow, so we'll follow up to make sure that we addressed that because I too was there at Cedar Lane, you know, yesterday it was a major
great event thanks to all involved and promoting that but I thought it was a hazard, you know, in the fact that that's a liability for the township and hopefully tomorrow they will be removed.
And I think it was some other concerns about signage and other things when we're talking about trying to attract our businesses.
And I know that our senator and resident made a complaint in butter to our attention.
That we want to make sure that we are ensuring, especially if they're new to the community,
that they're in compliance and upholding the standard that we would expect for
a store on a seat of lane in any other business district.
All right, and let me just have one last thing to my report, the loose watch room.
I'm having a plaque designed.
Could we see the proof of council friends?
Yes.
Okay.
So once I get that done and council approves it, you know, we'll get the water to plaque,
water on a real nice plaque, and then we'll schedule that date once I get that done.
We're good.
Okay.
Public hearing and adoption of ordinances.
What do we see?
There's a public hearing on Burden County Open Space Recreation Flood Plant Protection
Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust for a municipal parking improvement program
for resurfacing of tennis courts at Hawthorne Park.
So this is a public hearing and it's in connection with resolution number.
So do I have to open up this?
Yes, that's me on public, is resolution number 88-2018.
Okay, this is the public here on what he said, if anyone wishes to comment, please raise your hand.
Wait to recognize Dr. Powers.
It
is a good idea to get the Hawthorne courts finally, finally addressed that they've been waiting for a very long time.
And the fact that we're putting forth such a sort of small piddly piece of request from the county,
That entire capability has been quadrupled in the last year and the amount of money to
be available through green acres for a wide range of things we should know because we
got $750,000 for the sportsplex.
It's crazy for this township to be sending as much money to the county and to the state
as we are and getting back, I believe, something like about a 10th of what it is that we
said. Something has to be done for the township to figure out how to get access to what
it should be getting just on a fair, fair basis, not just not taking to count anything else
about the demographics of this town. It's obviously we should go ahead and do it. It's
so light and it's so tiny we've got to do better.
Thank you, Dr. Powers.
Hearing is now closed.
Do we take a roll call on this?
Mr. Deputy Mayor, just to elaborate on that.
Do we do a roll call before we, do we?
No, it's part of the concept of that.
Yeah.
Okay, fine.
Good.
A Congressman Gottheimer speaks about mooture states, states that are, you know, we send money
to the federal government, they get money back and we get nothing in return.
Dr. Powers is right.
We, the county passed its own open space trust fund, which quite loopled from a quarter
of a cent to match the same one cent that we collect for our open space trust fund.
We contribute $500,000 a year.
We get back a fraction of that, as Dr. Powell said, and I've seen the same numbers.
We get back about ten cents on the dollar.
If there are any county employees here, we should be yelling and screaming at them saying,
And why aren't you making sure that we get our fair share of county aid?
And we should be lobbying on our behalf.
We should be pushing to ensure that we get that open space money.
And one of the things that we are systematically short-changed on is acquiring open space.
Not just its recreation where we get a tiny, everybody gets a little bit.
It's open space, because we're not acquiring open space.
Because it's places like Franklin Lakes and Alpine and
who knows what, that have lots of open land to acquire.
We don't have that, we're not using that, we don't have historic sites, we're not getting historic money.
We need to be lobbying far, far far more effectively to make sure that we are seeing a fair share return on our tax dollars and
what goes into the county that we get it back.
I just want to address what was said at the mic, we don't just put in one item, okay.
We put in three items, they called us back and told us choose one of the three items that you would, you know, like to potentially receive an award on.
So they know how much they have to divide amongst the municipalities and we prioritize the projects and that's the one that we submitted.
But we initially submitted more than that and we always do, we always try to submit as much as we can.
But there's, I guess there's a formula they used to split up the money between everyone in our region.
Public area and adoption on order says.
ordinance
number 12-2018 and ordinance amending section 36-11.2 of the Vision 1 of Article 2 of Chapter 36 entitled Traffic of a touch of code deleting restricted on street parking spaces for handicapped from 315 Beach Street and ordinance 13-2018 and ordinance amending appendix 4
Section 2-24, Article 3 of Chapter 2, the code of the township of Tineck to provide for the mandatory direct deposit of net pay for all employees of the township of Tineck and its board, commissions, bureaus, departments, or other public agencies thereof.
Can we ask and we discuss this, can we ask the manager to explain because 132018 I think people are very, very confused by this.
122018 is an ordinance that adds handicap 13.
I'm going to say both, so we have an mandate in elaborate.
122018 is the ordinance adds handicap restrictive parking along a portion of beach street.
place away.
Where's that one spot?
Oh, you know what?
My scripts has ads, but Dileets.
Ordnance 132018 is an ordinance that amends appendix to Section 224.3 of Chapter 2 of
the Township Code to provide for mandatory direct deposit of net pay for all employees
of the Township of Tnec, which will mean that the Tnec taxpayers will save how much money
count.
That's about 30,000, but I'm sorry, about 30,000.
30,000 for a direct deposit.
Okay, do I have to open the hearing?
Yes, here is now open and which comment please raise your hand.
We recognize most close clearing.
Do I have a second?
Second.
On a favor?
Okay.
Motion on the adoption of ordinances 12 and 13?
Yes.
Second.
Yeah.
Councillor Omanami-Rais?
Yes.
Councillor Schorch?
Yes.
Councillor Ossohn?
Yes.
Definitely approve it?
Yeah.
Definitely merit counts.
Yes.
Orances are adopted.
Okay.
Can I have someone move the consent agenda?
There's a motion to move the consent agenda in the bill amount of.
The bill is the amount of $5,662,335 and 39 cents.
So moved.
Second.
Mr. Clerk, may I pull the minutes and resolution is 85, 2018, 87.
And I'm just going to ask for an explanation of 107, but I'll pull that as well.
I was just going to ask.
I was going to ask for a further elaboration of 286 as well, just for which one?
86, 2018.
Just explanation, because I think it's something great in terms of shifts.
The services will pass everything, vote on everything else.
I think it should be, just discuss it.
I mentioned
motion 8407, with the exception of 85, 86, 87, and 107.
And as you had mentioned, Deputy Mayor Katz, the resolution to confirm the start and date,
start time and date of the organization meeting is listed as resolution 104.
I think we know what the choreography isn't what this is going to mean, but again, just to explain for the benefit of the public.
There's only 104 as well.
Yes.
Okay.
One other quick council member.
Exponation 106.
Pulling 106 as well.
Okay.
So we have the motion in a second with the exception of 85, 86, 87, 104, 106, and 107.
roll call. Okay. Council, I'm your ice. Yes. Council, whose words? Yes. Council, I'm sorry. I know on the bill list. Yes, I'm everything else.
Let me approve it. Yes.
Let me recap. I'm saying on the bill list and I'm saying on 91 to 102 and 105 and 106. I want to six people. Okay. Well, I'll be
of standing on that one week.
Everything else passes?
Okay, next.
Councilmember Sohn, you did 85?
Yeah, well, again, just going to ask the manager again.
Mr. Manager, Deputy Mayor, I know that this is a concern,
but whether we do want to fill or not for these positions,
an issue, the issue was raised.
Mr. Rose spoke about, you know, if we haven't filled it,
should we fill it, maybe we don't need to fill it?
Or as we discussed at the last minute,
if it was your circumstances.
Whether it's right or wrong, you guys are about to go to in more intense negotiations and conversations
regarding the budget.
Why?
Well, correct, although, for example, I think, you know, a circumstance that Mr.
Rose described that we might be hiring someone that keeps us from using over time that saves us money
as I think we argued with the police officer we hired, where there was significant breakage.
It might be justified to do with now, even without the budget, but I do think it is appropriate.
The first item on 85 is technical assistant.
We have a technical assistant who's resigning to take another position close to this.
This is building department, this is building department.
So we have, we normally would have three technical assistants, this will bring us down to two.
And these are very, very important positions in processing of paperwork, scheduling, inspections,
and that's a position that you have to fill in order for building the department to run appropriately.
Is there savings with hiring a new person over what the old person made?
It should be a savings.
The other person who's resigning their final salary, where you'll be about 55,000,
The salary range for the new person begins at $41, so it's all determined by that person's experience.
But you've got to have those positions. We don't really have two.
Okay, Councillor Neill, are you?
Oh, did you want the last one?
Yeah, the second one is the police officer.
We have a police officer who's resigning and the person's moving to another state.
And his salary at resignation is 1.13 and the new salary will be 33, 4.46, that'll be significant.
Also, we should fill this position because of the time it's going to take to get another officer in place.
Is okay if we get some more explanations and then we'll do votes on all of them at the same time.
Is that okay, council?
86, 86,
the shared services agreement, Tina Kingwood Hackensack, is a piece of
swathware that's used to program their gear for receiving oxygen.
I forgot the name of it, I can't.
Scott Pax, to program that, there's Scott Pax, the TNAC is going to serve as the lead agency, they're going to purchase it, we're going to purchase it, and then the other towns are going to reimburse a portion of that, and we'll all get to use the software, because they use the same work with it.
7. My question, Mr. Manager, is, you know, can I see what it is, but is this an increase
a decrease? What will the, what will the impact be on the township role in this two years?
I believe that the disposal costs are about the same. I don't have the exact number.
I didn't, I just didn't, I don't remember what the number is exactly on the amount
of disposal, of course, but the impact should be the same locations that will be going
to travel to, you know, trucks will be traveling to to dispose of the material.
So there's not going to be any material impact.
Councillor Minnish Horace and the volunteer firefighter.
Yes, well, I'm sorry.
I'm back to the BCU, sorry.
I can't wait.
We thought you were giving up some insight on this.
I'm sure you would just, you're sure you could, you just say that you're talking about me, see you in the way.
Craig, sorry, 87.
That's what I want to talk about.
The B.C.A., is it, do we have options here, are there other, anything, I mean, why would we discuss it as options?
I'm not going to have, no, we don't really have options.
We don't really have.
So whatever price they say, we just say bring it, right?
Yeah, this is not the day.
Yeah, I mean, I don't think we have a, you know, a tremendous amount of stuff that would
dealing with, I mean, we're not the town that is, you know, doing trash disposal for the whole town, you know, empty and garbage cans.
How much are we talking about?
That's my question.
I don't remember this specific budget number, but it's not a significant amount of money.
But you'll get it.
I have to just circulate that.
Shocking my budget for here.
Okay.
1-0-4-201-8.
So I'm happy to say it looks like I get another day in office, but Mr. Attorney, if you could just explain for the benefit of the public what the choreography is and why it's shifted from the first to the second and how this is going to work.
Well, there are, there were a number of religious issues with the, we're talking about the reorganization meeting.
So the reorganization meeting, which by statute is supposed to be on July 1st,
It falls on a Sunday.
It's my understanding from certain members of the council
and some incoming members, that's a fast day for them.
Other members, it's a religious day, observant's day.
And in order to in order to effectuate the statute,
all the council members who were,
do we elect it, it will be sworn in,
will sign the Roth of Office cards on the first,
so they will formally take office on the first,
but the reorganization meeting will take place on the second.
There are any number of statues out there
that say with a number of cases,
they say that when something falls on a Sunday
or a holiday that you're allowed to move to the next day,
and there's no detriment to the township
by moving the meeting to the first.
I think actually it's a benefit
because it's gonna allow probably more members
of the public to be present because of the non-religious conflicts and other conflicts
that will occur on that Sunday.
So I don't get an extra day in office.
No, okay.
So it's 630.
106-201-8, Mr. Mandra, can you, it just, I think I'll tell him the right thing.
Yeah, I just asked the question.
I'm like, care, one needs a liquor license, but I just want to know what that would refer to.
No, when it was inward manner, when it was inward manner, there was a liquor license.
This was called a pocket license.
So they own the license, they just don't use it, but it has to be renewed otherwise otherwise.
I mean, it's an incredibly valuable asset that they have.
I think they do use it actually for seniors during the holidays season.
Oh, oh, correct.
But it's not on a regular basis, they're not.
It allows the premises to sell license to serve you.
You know, alcohol and glass are open containers.
But they're not like a wine depot or anything like that.
I'll instruct my care health care provider, send me there, that's what you're saying.
Okay, 107-2018, Mr. Manager.
Honours, is there a particular question?
We just have one item, we just have to explain what that one item is for the amended budget.
You've got to give me a second, I guess, sorry.
It's a page of $137, an edition of $150,000 to self-insurance.
Is this workers' count?
Yes.
Okay.
You can explain it again.
So there is, when I checked with the manager today and the accountant, there was a little bit
of an overage and this fund it's made for paying a claim for self-insurance purposes.
And this money needs to be put into the temporary budget to get us back out of the red and into
the black and give us a little bit of cushion and the event that claims to be paid before the
budget's adopted.
whenever that may be, hopefully on June 19th and you know that should resolve the matter.
This is an underage.
This is an underage in the right not overage.
Yes.
Okay.
It is, we usually budget around $800,000 to pay those claims and we've been you know
putting money in there slowly and we just want to make sure not only to bring up that
amount in the account, we want to make sure there's enough in that account to plan
and he claims that that may come up as well.
Leave your also like 60,000 in the red right now.
Last check, so.
Okay, roll call in 104, 106, 107, 85, 86, and 87.
I think there's also minutes and councilments on that.
If we leave the minutes separately.
Okay.
All right, so motion with Ellie, the mayor, council.
I'll second.
Second, council, council.
Councilman, on your rights?
Yes.
Councilman Schwartz?
Yes.
Councilman, so.
Yes.
Do you approve it?
Yep.
Yes, with an abstention on 106-201-8.
Okay, move the minutes.
The minutes, so let's say the missing move, just for discussion.
The January 11th minutes is the only meeting that is on for the entire 2018 that is on the website.
And again, we haven't even approved that yet.
So we've also had meetings on January 19th, 30th, February 13th, 15th, 22nd, 27th, March 1st, 18th, 13th, April 10th, and May 15th already.
That's 11 meetings where we don't have minutes.
For those of budget meetings where we don't know what we agreed upon and what we discussed or what happened there.
And there were seven closed sessions where we are in danger.
Again, the open session, I'll be able to see what those minutes are, and I'll be able to tell you in July or August, you know what, you know, Mr. Abbasi, you made a mistake.
But there's a significant likelihood that if we don't get those closed session minutes before the next meeting, that I will not have an opportunity to councilman castle not have an opportunity to review those minutes and confirm their accuracy.
And I think that there is a real
I mean, it's not just that the ten days is not just, you know, let's whip a number out of the hat. It really is important that we should be walking into, you know, meeting X and having the minutes from meeting X minus one. And I know, you know, I raised the issue. Do you have the resources, you know, is this, you know, we are not getting catching up and that we're not approving them. We just don't seem to have the minutes. And I just want to express my concern about this issue.
For my benefit and for the benefit of all those in the public who actually look forward to reading the minutes of our meetings sure
So there are three sets of closed session minutes. I've gotten approved by the attorney. They'll be circulated tomorrow and then we put on the next
Next
Meeting for the 19th I was going to circulate them on Thursday, but because there's a holiday you don't have three days to curate so I figured let's just get them out this week
And those cover, I believe it's the March meeting, the April meeting and the last meeting of May.
So you'd be caught up essentially by the next meeting on closed session.
For open session, we are endeavoring, you know, as fast as we can to get those going.
We have election next Tuesday, we have 308 opres, that's 308 opres.
When we were caught up with the minutes back in September of 2016, we had four opres.
So, you know, it waxes and it wanes, and we're doing our level best.
Can I just add something to that?
The reason he said is behind the reason that the minutes are late, the reason items aren't on the website and things like that, we don't have the staff.
I mean, it is so glaring, some of the things that are being complained about, we just don't have to say he cannot do 308 operas and sit in the room for eight hours or six.
We have four-hour meetings, four-five-hour meetings.
He has to watch the entire meeting and do the minutes.
That's one of his most important responsibilities
that to me, he shouldn't delegate, he should do it.
So if he's tied up in the room doing that,
there's not enough staff to do the opus.
He needs more people.
And the only way for him to get more people is more money
so that we could hire those people.
Well, if we want a website that's robust and has all the information on that website
for the public to see that we need to dedicate someone to that and say that that's important
and we have to fund it and hire somebody if we think that that's very important, that's
what's occurring here.
We're talking about the parks, the grass isn't being cut, the number of complaints we're
receiving.
It's because we don't have enough people to cut the grass.
Those are the issues that we're facing.
Councilman Schwartz, do you have a motion to do that?
We always have the video available, so I think we're fine.
I think I'll survive.
We also know that if we get caught up on the minutes next week,
you can have 150 more opus followed by noon tomorrow.
So this over game's not going to go.
If you got an issue, you want to know what happened to me
and watch on the video because you're not going to get caught
up these minutes. There are forces that are working against you, so if you think you're
going to get, you can get 48 more hours in a day, they're just going to file more
opus. Okay, and about 99.99% of every opa that's filed is absolutely meaningless,
and no action has ever been taken in the six, in the six years, almost of the day
that I've been up here. I think about four times something was used to say, look what
I found. I found thousands of opaers in six years. So, you know, you're doing a great
It's a great job, and Mr. Manager, as it relates to the progress, the township
residents will want to see that zero.
We had some progress issues that were cut, they were behind because of the rain.
They're doing a great job, everyone's doing a great job.
I understand we can throw money at this problem and just hire out the wazoo, but I think
we're doing a great job.
But I just, let me just say one last thing.
Let me just extend the meeting to 1110, any questions?
I'll make a motion to extend the meeting to 1110.
So all of this does not obviate ESA's responsibility as the clerk to respond to the
opus. Even if we believe their frivolous, nothing's been done, he still has a
responsibility and he's falling short in that responsibility because he didn't
have the staff to do it.
He's in a race for it.
Don't you see, this is a trial, I will, I will stop responding to all of them.
You don't want to hear that, but I'm going to stop responding to all of them.
I have two of them in there said, I'll respond to all of them.
No, no, I agree with what you said, but he still has a legal responsibility.
We're not able to just say, let me, let me, let me have a moment.
I think that what can happen is Mr. Issa could create a template with the
components that we have in every meeting and as he's sitting there filling
the template in the meeting and be done at the end of the meeting without
having to go through all this nonsense.
I think there's a possibility of doing that if you get really creative.
When you fill in the template, we had ordnance number 2000, whatever it is,
5.4 or 5.3.
And move on, because we try to do too good a job, and it's impossible.
If you want to watch the meeting, somebody can give you a tape, you can go watch it.
But as far as the minutes are concerned, I think that there's a way to do it that doesn't overwhelm anybody.
If you sit there and fill in the answers to the question and move on to the next thing at the end of the meeting, you're done.
Or just call Doug. He'll jump into the seat and take care of business.
You should have seen what he did while you were out.
I mean, I don't know if we've been recording for the last three hours, but he did a great job improvising.
Council is so quick as to go with.
Yeah, very good.
Just so with with lawn mowing, we have in the budget, as the manager said, enough to fill 30 positions.
We have been able to fill them, but we do have the resources built into the budget.
Section 231, which covers the duties of the clerk.
A, the first item in there says that you have a responsibility to prepare minutes.
And these minutes are required to be prepared detailed written minutes and made them available
to the council within 10 business days.
Now, there is a catch-all penalty with, I think, it's $500 per day per incident.
I don't know that we use it too often.
So there is an obligation to produce those minutes.
And I think the one question I have, again, to the manager's issue is, I dig raise
that issue.
I said, Mr. Clerk, if this is the new normal, if you are getting the same number of open
requests and you're not catching up on those minutes, do you have the resources you need?
You do not have the resources you need to be able to do this.
And I think the question that I have at this point is, is, again, if you need that,
you know, this is the time to ask for it, because my concern is that we're going to keep
on falling further and further and further behind.
The only consolation is that meetings are front-loaded in the first half of the year.
There are a lot fewer, you have a, hopefully, a quiet summer, and then you have fewer
meetings in the second half of the year, but, you know, again, will you be able to catch
up? And that's my question, and that's my concern.
And I'm not doing this because this is a gotcha.
I just think this is something that we should have, that we should be able, every meeting that a new council
walks in and says, ah, the meeting, the minutes from the previous session are up there for review and
discussion. And you know, what happened? You know, and it's not a question. Wait a second.
Is that what happened in January? Did we do that? Did we discuss that? Did we miss something?
And I hope that we can catch up with this. And this is not a gotcha. This is what we should be doing.
And there's a reason for it, and I hope that we can resolve the session going forward.
And I thank you, and I thank you again.
I didn't know that there were progress on that, and I look forward to seeing this resolved.
For all call.
I need a motion to second.
Motion.
Second.
Dr. Prue, are you going to second the minutes?
Absolutely.
Yep.
We got.
Okay.
Councilwoman Ramirez.
Yes.
Councilman Schwartz.
Yes.
Councilman Salton.
No.
Definitely approve it.
Yeah, that may recount.
No.
Minute pass.
Okay.
Next, we have introduction of ordinances.
Yes.
These are all ordinances that the public might have seen before.
They were all passed.
But because of a technical glitch of some sort,
we have to reintroduce and just finalize the process as it goes to the planning board,
then as it goes to the county, then as it comes back to us.
So, so ordinance 14-2018 formerly and still ordinance 25-2017 and ordinance amending section 33-28 of Article 5 of chapter 33 of the code of the touch of a tineck, respecting driveway width within the RS residential single family attached district ordinance 15-2018, also known as ordinance 26-2017 and ordinance amending section 33-24 of Article 5 of chapter 33 of the code of the touch with tineck, respecting side yard paving within the
in the R.S. residential single-family tax district,
ordained 16-2018, also ordained 27-2017,
an ordinance amending section 33-24 of Article 5
of Chapter 33 of the Code of Tantra and Tena,
respecting accessory temporary tents
within the R.S. residential single-family tax district,
and ordained 17-2018, also known as ordained 33-2017,
an ordinance to amend the provisions of subsection C5E.6
of Section 33-18 of Article 3 of Chapter 33 of the Code attached to Petitek,
the leading of the uniformity requirement for business science.
Could I just get an explanation of this technical difficulties and what this,
and what is the status, I mean, were they passed or the effect of what is used to be?
Well, they were all passed, but in order to make sure that it's 100% bulletproof,
we want to make sure that it goes to the planning board and goes to the county and
And then comes back to us, and there was one or two of them that might not have had
that process completed.
So, therefore, we're putting them all forward again, introduce them and adopt them
on that.
So, for example, there, I've seen applications in front of the Board of Adjustment
that refer to some of these ordinances, or they are they in effect, they are live,
they are live, this is suspenders in the belt, they've passed, and they're valid,
It's like anything else, if they're live, they've been working under the premise
that they're live, but if they're challenged, like I said, you know, that's what's
why it makes something bulletproof.
They want to make sure that every single INT with dotted and crossed is spendered and
belted and whatever it is.
But that is the process here.
Mr. Attorney, you had that, that meets your arrest standard.
Sorry, the process has, that the Americans indicated had some flaws in it in terms of
the post passage by the Mayor's Council.
Nothing at the Mayor's Council did that was done improperly.
There was nothing that was done at this level that was done improperly.
It was when after any ordinances passed related to a zoning change,
it's supposed to go to the planning board and the county deputy mayor has indicated for approval.
And then come back after the re-first reading for adoption here.
This is built in suspenders is a good term.
It's more, it's almost like a ratification of sorts, if they're challenged, they're going to be challenged and will be, you know, the planning board will deal with that at the time that that happens.
You know, this is, this needs to be done for these ordinances to be enforceable in my opinion.
All right.
Rule call.
Motion.
I'll make the motion.
All right.
Why cats?
Did it be Mayor Pruitt's second?
Councilman Arminaris?
Yes.
Councilman Schwartz?
Yes.
Councilman Sone?
Yes.
Deputy Mayor Pruitt?
Yes.
Deputy Mayor Katz?
Yes.
Orders are doing to introduce.
All right.
I just want to thank the TNIC police for being here and taking watching over us and thank Doug for coming.
I hope you're ever going to come back motion to adjourn