[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.

Tuesday, January 13, 2026 Town of Westfield Council Meeting

Transcript