New Council Starts 2012 Term

The newest members of the Borough Council pledged to make decisions for the good of Paramus on Saturday.

Maria Elena Bellinger and Joseph Lagana officially became council members Saturday at the annual reorganization meeting in .

"Paramus is second-to-none in terms of services and taxes and we must all do whatever we can to maintain that," Bellinger said.

Lagana echoed those thoughts and said he hoped to work together with the other member of the council toward the betterment of the Borough.

"If something is good for Paramus and it betters the town, I will consider it," he said.

Bellinger and Lagana ended the 6-0 Republican super-majority on the Council, defeating incumbents Cathy Bentz and Maureen O'Brien in November.

Mayor Richard LaBarbiera asked the now-split council to put party labels aside.

"I encourage everyone to check their labels at the door and join the 'P' Party, 'P' for Paramus," he said.

The remaining Republicans showed they were still in the majority, however, voting down three of LaBarbiera's appointments to Borough commissions.

The majority rejected the appointments of Tony Feorenzo as a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Mario Sicari and Rob Thompson as members of the Golf Commission, and Denis Niland as a member of the Library Board.

The votes followed party lines, though Tom LoCicero, a newcomer himself, having replaced Alan Brundage on the Council, abstained from the vote on Feorenzo.