[0:55] Is
[1:43] We didn't talk
[2:59] How are you?
[5:01] Is that
[5:09] twice?
[5:40] Yeah.
[5:44] Adequate notice of this meeting is
[5:46] required by the open public meetings act
[5:48] was provided through the posting,
[5:50] mailing and filing of the annual notice
[5:52] of regularly scheduled meetings of the
[5:53] town council on December 10th, 2025. The
[5:56] notice was on that date posted on the
[5:58] bulletin board of the municipal building
[6:00] provided to the Westfield leader and the
[6:01] star ledger and filed with the clerk of
[6:03] the town of Westfield. Miss Lowshi, may
[6:05] I have a roll call?
[6:06] >> Mayor Burman
[6:07] >> here. Council members Gilman
[6:09] >> here. Tom McGall
[6:10] >> here. Per
[6:11] >> here. Keeper
[6:13] >> Saunders
[6:14] >> here.
[6:14] >> Atlar
[6:15] >> here.
[6:16] >> Armentoto
[6:16] >> here.
[6:17] >> Victor Ramen
[6:20] >> please rise for the invocation which
[6:22] will be given by Councilman Saunders and
[6:23] then remain standing for the salute to
[6:25] the flag.
[6:28] >> We gather to make decisions for our
[6:29] community. We may may we use only our
[6:32] best skills in judgment, keeping
[6:33] ourselves impartial and neutral as we
[6:35] consider the merits and pitfalls of each
[6:37] matter that is placed before us and
[6:38] always act in accordance with what is
[6:40] best for our community and our fellow
[6:41] citizens.
[6:44] » I aliance to the flag of the United
[6:47] States of America and to the stands one
[6:52] nation
[6:54] indivisible with liberty and justice for
[6:57] all.
[7:01] Mr. Gai,
[7:02] >> thank you. Uh I just had a quick uh
[7:04] comment for tonight, mayor. Um to advise
[7:06] the council and the community. Um the
[7:09] this week, probably as early as
[7:10] tomorrow, likely um we will be posting
[7:13] on our website the read it properly
[7:15] because it's a long title, but the
[7:17] Tamacquas Park design plan community
[7:19] engagement summary report. It's a
[7:21] mouthful just to remind you and the
[7:22] public. So last year we started the
[7:24] Tomakquis uh park design plan with a
[7:26] consultant Dresnner Robin. We started
[7:29] with steering committee uh community
[7:31] engagement with various stakeholder
[7:33] groups uh public meetings in this room
[7:36] in the community community room uh more
[7:38] state uh steering committee meetings. So
[7:40] what Dresd and Robin we've asked them to
[7:41] do is put together a summary of the
[7:43] public engagement report everything
[7:44] they've learned through the process from
[7:46] the the public from the stakeholder
[7:48] groups uh from the steering committee
[7:51] and put that in a report which will be
[7:52] posted on our website this week. Uh and
[7:55] then basically we'll get feedback from
[7:56] the public after that and then the next
[7:58] steps in the process are to continue
[8:00] with this and then that those uh the
[8:03] feedback they receive will now inform
[8:05] them uh to begin putting together a
[8:07] concept or concepts for the council to
[8:09] look at uh and ultimately the steering
[8:11] committee to make recommendations with
[8:12] the recreation commission together to
[8:14] start looking at what concepts are
[8:16] appropriate uh what the public feedback
[8:18] is and ultimately what will be the first
[8:20] phase to be implemented in Toacquis
[8:22] Park. still a while to go, but I wanted
[8:24] to make sure the public knew that was
[8:25] happening this week. The council have
[8:26] it. It's a very comprehensive, very
[8:28] detailed report. So, I think that it's a really good job your Robin did
[8:32] and then that'll lead to the next steps
[8:34] of the process. So, thank you.
[8:35] >> Thank you, Jim.
[8:36] >> Uh, good evening everyone and welcome to
[8:38] the first regular meeting of the town
[8:40] council for 2026. Thanks to everyone who
[8:42] is joining tonight, both here in person
[8:45] and via liveream on the town's YouTube
[8:47] channel. As always, the replay of this
[8:48] meeting will be available afterwards on
[8:50] Facebook, YouTube, TV36, and public
[8:53] comment will be accepted in person only.
[8:56] We have a fairly short agenda this
[8:57] evening, and I'll just make a few brief
[8:59] remarks before we begin. First and
[9:01] foremost, I'd like to address the recent
[9:03] increase in car thefts in certain areas
[9:05] of town over the last 6 weeks, which has
[9:07] included both thefts of cars and
[9:08] driveways and less frequently,
[9:10] residential burglaries to obtain keys to
[9:12] steal high-end vehicles. I want to be
[9:15] very clear. We are taking the situation
[9:17] seriously and we are treating it these
[9:19] incidences with the urgency they
[9:21] deserve. I'd like to thank Michael Ring
[9:23] for his comments at the January 6th
[9:25] organizational meeting and also for
[9:26] speaking in tonight's 7:30 conference
[9:28] session. I've spoken to several
[9:30] residents about their experiences and
[9:31] concerns and have been kept fully
[9:33] apprised of all activity by Chief
[9:35] Baloro. I acknowledge the fear and anger
[9:38] that some of our residents are feeling.
[9:40] For those who have been directly
[9:41] impacted, I am truly sorry for what
[9:43] you've experienced. On a local level,
[9:46] please be assured that the Westfield
[9:47] Police Department is working
[9:48] aggressively to address this issue,
[9:50] which is impacting many towns across the
[9:52] region. We are grateful for the work of
[9:55] the Westfield PD and making two recent
[9:56] arrests. One related to the incident on
[9:59] Senica and one on Coolage. I'm going to
[10:02] ask administrator town administrator Jim
[10:04] Gildet to speak in more detail about the
[10:06] department's ongoing efforts to combat
[10:07] this problem.
[10:09] >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, and as you said,
[10:11] we talked a little about this in the um,
[10:14] conference session before the meeting
[10:15] and we also had a public safety
[10:16] committee meeting tonight uh, where the
[10:18] committee obviously talked a lot about
[10:19] this with Chief Baloro, professional
[10:21] staff and uh, what we're doing. Um, so
[10:24] just a couple things to remind the
[10:25] council and the public about um, you
[10:28] know, a couple things. First, uh, the
[10:30] police department is continues to be and
[10:32] is at high highest level of staffing. So
[10:34] resources are adequate um, and actually
[10:38] in abundance with the police department.
[10:39] Um and uh I want to thank Chief Balora
[10:42] and the entire police department staff
[10:43] because this is a constant issue. This
[10:46] is a top priority of the department. Uh
[10:48] has been and will continue to be going
[10:50] forward. Um you know, property crime,
[10:52] which is I've lived in town since 1979.
[10:54] My house where my parents still live
[10:56] today was broken into uh in 1985. I
[11:00] still remember it. So these are not
[11:02] things you forget lightly. This is a
[11:04] violation of your personal space. And so
[11:06] we understand that. Um, but we have
[11:08] highest levels of staffing, highest
[11:10] levels of resources given to the police
[11:12] department. It's important for the
[11:12] public to know that we also have
[11:14] invested in technology, which we've
[11:16] talked about some time. It just bears
[11:17] repeating a little bit. Um, we have
[11:20] license plate readers. Um, it sounds
[11:22] simple, but we have 25 license plate
[11:24] readers. We are the uh, I guess the
[11:27] third largest license plate reader um,
[11:29] town in the county behind Elizabeth and
[11:31] Lyndon or Rawway, excuse me. Um, and we
[11:34] have 25 and they're positioned at
[11:36] different parts of town. Why is that
[11:38] important? License plate readers will
[11:40] pick up license plates of cars that are
[11:43] stolen and alert the police immediately
[11:45] of when cars are in the town. And
[11:46] because of where our license plate
[11:48] readers are located, the police can help
[11:49] triangulate where those cars are. And
[11:51] our goal is to intercept them, drive
[11:53] them out, or apprehend them when
[11:55] possible and obviously prevent the crime
[11:57] that's about to take place possibly. Um,
[12:00] we've actually had some things. We've
[12:01] had these 25 uh breeders, license plate
[12:04] readers for some time, but we're moving
[12:05] them around now to be more in strategic
[12:07] locations. So, for example, someone
[12:09] coming in on Central Avenue, passing
[12:11] down Central into like Virginia Street
[12:12] area, we'll pass one there and then we
[12:15] can if they don't hit another one for
[12:17] the street, we know they're in a certain
[12:18] neighborhood. The police can go out and
[12:19] fan out and get that thing. So, we've
[12:21] been successful uh these have really
[12:23] helped us be successful not only in
[12:25] helping to prevent the actual thefts or
[12:27] crimes, but also sometimes the attempts.
[12:29] and our goal is to push them out of our
[12:31] boundaries. Um, crime like this does not
[12:34] know municipal boundaries. It will
[12:36] happens everywhere. It's happening all
[12:37] the towns around us. We're no exception
[12:38] and at 85 um it's been happening for
[12:42] decades and will not stop.
[12:43] Unfortunately, we have a lot of things
[12:44] in this town people want. Um, but our
[12:46] police department does a phenomenal job
[12:48] pushing the crime out of the town. In
[12:51] addition to that, just technology wise,
[12:52] we also have um an officer on staff and
[12:55] a few we have drones that we use. So
[12:57] when officers are out on patrols, extra
[12:59] patrols, they do use drones. That helps
[13:01] us obviously aerally see what's going
[13:03] on. It helps us actually um uh locate
[13:05] these vehicles where he puts them out.
[13:07] Last thing just to mention about this,
[13:09] um I think Mr. Ring had, you know,
[13:11] comments last meeting. Um I want to
[13:13] continue that conversation. And so one
[13:14] of the comments he brought up was could
[13:16] we have additional patrols or additional
[13:18] supplemented staff at different times?
[13:20] And I want to let the public know we do
[13:21] that. Um so for example in the cooler
[13:24] street area uh where we knew there was
[13:26] being targeted there for a while you
[13:28] might not have seen us there and that's
[13:29] by design. uh police department has
[13:32] undercover patrols um that happen in
[13:35] areas that are targeted and sometimes
[13:36] it's coolage it's two years ago it was
[13:38] Hillside Avenue it can be anywhere in
[13:41] town and we actually will have have
[13:43] supplemental patrols overnight
[13:45] undercover uh and we found that that
[13:47] works but even when we're doing that one
[13:49] of the lights were on coolage undercover
[13:51] we had an incident on Senica different
[13:53] side of town so it's never perfectly
[13:55] predicted where this is going to happen
[13:56] but we do do that we will continue to do
[13:59] that uh as long as we continue to be
[14:01] successful and some of those undercover
[14:02] patrols have yielded what mayor mayor
[14:04] Burman actually said before um sorry
[14:07] still getting used to it um mayor Burman
[14:09] said before of arrests place we had an
[14:11] arrest connected to that we had an
[14:13] arrest for coolage and they're working
[14:14] on other possible arrests going forward
[14:16] so our staff and police department is
[14:18] doing a phenomenal job but this is a
[14:19] constant problem it's county statewide
[14:23] uh and Union County is unique in the
[14:25] sense that we are very close to
[14:27] Elizabeth to uh other towns that are
[14:29] close to the ports of Newark. So, the
[14:31] towns in the periphery of that are ones
[14:33] that are targets, but it's easy to get
[14:34] cars out to the porch, shipped out, and
[14:36] so forth. So, um again, I just, you
[14:38] know, thank you, mayor, for letting me
[14:39] say a few words about that and the
[14:40] police department, but we have some
[14:41] things that are happening. We do take
[14:42] this very seriously. It's a top priority
[14:44] at all times, and we will continue to do
[14:46] those things. Thank you.
[14:48] >> Thank you, Jim. Uh and thank you to the
[14:49] police department for their ongoing
[14:51] diligence. Um as we all know, the
[14:53] legislative component of this issue, as
[14:55] we just discussed in conference, is
[14:56] equally important. I've already reached
[14:58] out to our two newly elected assembly
[15:00] members, Andrew Mccertie and Vincent
[15:02] Carney about the urgency uh for state
[15:04] level action, which I will also be
[15:06] communicating to Governor Elect Cheryl's
[15:08] office. Our officers will continue to
[15:10] work diligently to investigate, make
[15:12] these arrests, and secure our community.
[15:14] And as Jim mentioned, uh, the public
[15:16] safety, transportation, and parking
[15:18] committee of the town council, chaired
[15:19] by councilwoman Gilman, and joined by
[15:21] council members Adoir, Dmagal, and
[15:23] Saunders met this evening, uh, for an
[15:25] hour and a half, uh, for the first time
[15:26] this year, and we'll continue to make
[15:27] this issue a top priority for our
[15:29] community. Um, so moving on to upcoming
[15:32] events over the next two weeks. The MLK
[15:35] Association of Westfield will host its
[15:36] annual commemoration events on Monday,
[15:39] [clears throat] January 19th, in honor
[15:41] of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The march
[15:43] will begin at 12:15 at the MLK monument
[15:46] at the South Avenue circle with the
[15:48] interfaith service to follow at 1:00 at
[15:50] the First Congregational Church of
[15:52] Westfield on uh Elmer Street. I look
[15:54] forward to joining members of our
[15:56] community to gather and honor this
[15:58] meaningful day. And also don't miss the
[16:00] 4th annual Build Westfield in Lego event
[16:02] to be held on January 24th. Our special
[16:05] America 250 edition will include
[16:07] national landmarks like Independence
[16:08] Hall and Mount Vernon along with over 50
[16:10] beloved local buildings. Please register
[16:13] through the civic wreck and join your
[16:14] neighbors as well as General Washington
[16:16] as we kick off the nation's 250th in
[16:18] this fun familyfriendly afternoon. Uh
[16:21] many thanks to the historic preservation
[16:23] commission uh of the recreation
[16:24] department for bringing this unique uh
[16:26] event to Westfield. Tonight's agenda is
[16:28] very straightforward. I would like to
[16:30] briefly highlight two ordinances on
[16:31] first reading as they pertain to
[16:33] recently settled labor negotiations with
[16:36] uh for town employees. The first relates
[16:38] to the Communication Workers of America,
[16:40] the CWA local 1040, which represents
[16:43] approximately 35 town employees who work
[16:45] in various support CA capacities
[16:48] effective January 1 of this year through
[16:50] December 31st, 2029. The second relates
[16:53] to the firemen's mutual bene benevolent
[16:55] association, the FMBA branch 30 that
[16:57] includes 38 employees from the Westfield
[17:00] Fire Department effective January 1 this
[17:02] year through December 31st of 2030. Both
[17:05] ordinances implement the salary ranges
[17:08] and guides for various employees in the
[17:10] bargaining unit for the term of the
[17:12] respective contract. Once the ordinance
[17:14] is adopted in a few weeks, it will be
[17:16] followed by a resolution outlining the
[17:18] specific salaries for each employee
[17:20] effective for 2026 and that will be
[17:22] retroactive to January 1st, 2026. Let's
[17:25] begin tonight's agenda.
[17:29] May I have a motion to accept the
[17:31] following appointment uh for the
[17:33] recreation commission Andrew Bronin as
[17:35] chair uh term expiring December 31,
[17:39] 2026.
[17:40] >> So moved
[17:41] >> by Councilwoman Gilman. Second
[17:43] >> second.
[17:44] >> Seconded by Councilman Armento. Any
[17:45] discussion?
[17:48] All in favor?
[17:49] >> Yes.
[17:50] >> Opposed? The motion is carried. May I
[17:53] have a motion to approve the minutes
[17:55] from the town council conference
[17:56] executive and regular meetings of
[17:59] December 9th, 2025 and the town council
[18:02] reorganization meeting of January 6th,
[18:04] 2026.
[18:07] >> Move moved by uh Councilman Dagala.
[18:09] Second
[18:10] >> second.
[18:10] >> Seconded by Councilman Saunders. Any
[18:12] discussion? All in favor?
[18:15] >> Yes. Opposed? The motion is carried. Uh
[18:18] now it's time for open discussion by
[18:20] citizens. Anyone may come up to the
[18:22] microphone and speak to the council on
[18:24] any subject on which this council has
[18:26] jurisdiction. Please state your name and
[18:28] address for the record and limit your
[18:30] comments to five minutes.
[18:42] Mayor, council. Uh, good evening. My
[18:45] name is Sean Keegan Foley and I am a
[18:47] former councilman and operate a mental
[18:49] health practice here in uh Westfield. Um
[18:52] I am currently visiting municipalities
[18:54] across Union County as part of a
[18:56] regional effort to address algorithmic
[18:59] rent pricing by building support through
[19:01] municipal resolutions. I have shared a
[19:03] resolution with the full governing body
[19:05] through the town clerk earlier this
[19:06] week. This resolution is about affirming
[19:09] that housing markets be fair,
[19:11] transparent, and competitive. I hope you
[19:13] all have a chance to review the
[19:15] resolution at some point and consider
[19:17] supporting it on the record. Thank you
[19:19] for your time.
[19:24] Thank you, Sean.
[19:26] We have received that communication and
[19:28] we'll take a look at that.
[19:30] Any others?
[19:34] Hearing none, I close this portion of
[19:35] the meeting and move to bills and
[19:37] claims. Councilman Pcker.
[19:40] >> Thank you, Mayor. I'd like to move bills
[19:42] and claims in the amount of 1,260,446.
[19:48] » May I have a second?
[19:49] >> Second.
[19:50] >> Seconded by Councilwoman Adoir. Any
[19:52] discussion?
[19:53] All in favor?
[19:54] >> Yes.
[19:55] Opposed? The motion is carried. Uh,
[19:59] next on the agenda is reports of
[20:01] standing committees, beginning with the
[20:02] finance policy committee, Councilman
[20:04] Pcker. Thank you, [clears throat] Mayor.
[20:06] I have 11 resolutions I would like to
[20:07] move as a package. Number one,
[20:09] resolution authorizing the chief
[20:11] financial ad officer to draw warrant for
[20:13] dog licenses for December 2025. Number
[20:16] two, resolution authorizing the chief
[20:17] financial officer to draw a warrant to
[20:19] treasur state of New Jersey for 2025
[20:21] fourth quarter marriage civil marriage
[20:24] and civil union license fees. Number
[20:26] three, resolution authorizing the chief
[20:28] financial officer to refund street
[20:29] opening cash bond. Number four,
[20:32] resolution authorizing the chief
[20:33] financial officer to refund dumpster
[20:35] security payment. Number five,
[20:37] resolution authorizing the chief
[20:38] financial officer to refund recreation
[20:40] department fees. Number six, resolution
[20:42] authorizing the chief financial officer
[20:44] to draw a warrant for board of
[20:45] adjustment escrow monies. Number seven,
[20:48] resolution authorizing the chief
[20:49] financial officer to prepare warrants
[20:51] for postage payment in connection with
[20:52] tax assessment notices. Number eight,
[20:55] authorizing the chief financial officer
[20:56] to draw warrant for fourth quarter
[20:58] construction official state permit fees.
[21:00] Number nine, resolution to appoint
[21:02] building and mechanical inspector.
[21:04] Number 10, resolution authorizing an
[21:05] affordability assistance grant pursuant
[21:07] to the town of Westfield's affordable
[21:09] assistance program for a tenant in an
[21:10] affordable housing unit at 440 North
[21:12] Avenue East, apartment 1A. 11,
[21:16] resolution authorizing an affordability
[21:18] assistant grant pursuant to the town of
[21:19] Westfield's affordability assistance
[21:21] program for a tenant of an affordable
[21:22] housing unit at 3101 Echolane, Unit
[21:25] 3101.
[21:27] >> May I have a second?
[21:29] >> Second.
[21:29] >> Seconded by Councilman Daggala. All in
[21:31] favor?
[21:32] >> Yes.
[21:33] opposed.
[21:34] The motion is carried.
[21:37] >> Next, I would like to move general
[21:38] ordinance number 2026-01
[21:41] on first reading, an ordinance to amend
[21:43] the code of the town of Westfield,
[21:45] chapter 2, administration, article 2,
[21:47] town officers and employees, division 3,
[21:50] personnel positions and salary schedule
[21:52] sec2-12.28
[21:55] schedule.
[21:56] >> May I have a second?
[21:58] >> Second.
[21:58] >> Seconded by Councilman Saunders. Any
[22:00] discussion?
[22:02] Please call the role.
[22:03] >> Council members Gilman,
[22:04] >> yes.
[22:05] >> Domin,
[22:05] >> yes.
[22:06] >> Pecker,
[22:07] >> yes.
[22:07] >> Saunders,
[22:08] >> yes.
[22:09] >> Armentoto,
[22:10] >> yes.
[22:10] >> Mayor Burman,
[22:11] >> yes. This motion is carried.
[22:13] >> I would also like to move general
[22:14] ordinance number 2026-02
[22:17] on first reading, an ordinance to amend
[22:18] the general ordinance number 2022-16
[22:22] entitled an ordinance fixing the
[22:24] salaries of certain employees of the
[22:25] police and fire departments in the town
[22:27] of Westfield and various amendments
[22:28] there, too.
[22:30] >> May I have a second? Second.
[22:32] >> Second.
[22:32] by Councilman Armentoto. Uh, any
[22:35] discussion?
[22:36] >> Please call the role.
[22:38] >> Council member Gilman.
[22:39] >> Yes.
[22:39] >> Domo.
[22:40] >> Yes.
[22:40] >> Tucker.
[22:41] >> Yes.
[22:42] >> Saunders.
[22:42] >> Yes.
[22:44] >> Armentoto.
[22:45] >> Yes.
[22:45] >> Mayor Burman.
[22:46] >> Yes. The motion has carried.
[22:49] Next is public safety, transportation,
[22:51] and parking committee. Councilwoman
[22:52] Gilman.
[22:53] >> Thank you, mayor. I have two resolutions
[22:55] I would like to move as a package. One,
[22:58] resolution to appoint fire official.
[23:00] Two, resolution to appoint special law
[23:02] enforcement officers.
[23:04] >> May I have a second?
[23:05] >> Second.
[23:06] Councilwoman Adoir. Any
[23:08] discussion?
[23:10] >> All in favor?
[23:12] >> Yes.
[23:12] >> Opposed? The motion is carried. Uh, last
[23:16] is the public works committee.
[23:18] Councilwoman Adoir.
[23:19] >> Thank you, mayor. I would like to move a
[23:21] resolution authorizing an award of
[23:23] contract for the disposal the disposal
[23:26] of recyclable material.
[23:27] >> May I have a second?
[23:29] >> Second. Seconded by Councilwoman Gilman.
[23:31] Any discussion?
[23:33] All in favor?
[23:35] >> Yes.
[23:35] Uh opposed. The motion is carried.
[23:39] >> May I have a motion to adjurnn? So
[23:41] moved.
[23:44] >> Motion by Councilman Saunders. Second.
[23:47] >> Second.
[23:47] by Councilwoman Adoir.
[23:50] >> All in favor?
[23:51] >> Yes.
[23:52] >> Opposed.
[23:54] >> The motion is carried. The meeting is
[23:56] adjourned. Thank you every Thank you
[23:58] everyone for coming.