Protest To Support Nutley Rescue Squad Postponed

NUTLEY, NJ — A “peaceful protest” in support of the Nutley Volunteer Emergency & Rescue Squad (NVERS) on Tuesday has been postponed, the squad reported.

A rally had been planned for 6 p.m. at the Nutley Town Hall parking lot in advance of the Board of Commissioners meeting.

The commissioners were considering a resolution that would dissolve the squad amid a dispute over financial records. The ordinance was scheduled for a second reading and public hearing on Aug. 18. Read the full text here.

• See related article: Nutley May Dissolve First Aid Squad; Clash Over Records Heats Up

The squad posted a statement about the situation on Monday:

“Last week, the NVERS board voted to share all the documents that Commissioner Alphonse Petracco has publicly demanded. This afternoon, NVERS delivered these redacted files, which included bank statements, payroll records, business meeting records and notes and a roster of employee/volunteer names to Commissioner Petracco, through the Nutley Township attorney. We have taken this action as a good faith effort to demonstrate that we have nothing to hide and with the understanding that Commissioner Petracco will, in turn, table his resolution to dissolve NVERS.”

The squad continued:

“Further, as part of this ongoing negotiations, NVERS has asked for a sit-down meeting with Commissioner Petracco and other township leaders in order to develop a productive path for both parties to move forward. We hope and expect that our decision to comply with the commissioner’s demands will be the first, important step to an eventual resolution of this ongoing situation. NVERS looks forward to continuing to serve the greater Nutley community for at least another 67 years.”

On Tuesday evening, the NVERS posted the following message via social media:

“Important – we are off the agenda for tonight … Tabled for two weeks … We ask everyone to please postpone the peaceful protest.”

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