Board of Trustees Approves Budget, Promotes Police Officer

A recap of Monday’s Board of Trustees Special Meeting

Announcements

• will begin this Wednesday, June 29 from 2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., in the Sloan Street parking lot, near First Street and will run every Wednesday until October.
• Free Electronic Drop-Off Day – Saturday, September 17; 8:00 a.m. to noon, Public Works Garage at 300 Walton Avenue.  Two proofs of residency are required.
• Final Container Day – Saturday, September 24th; 8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Public Works Garage at
  300 Walton Avenue.  Two proofs of residency are required.  No commercial vehicles allowed.
• Fall Arts Classes at the Baird – The Baird Community Center is gearing up for fall arts classes. Visit the Baird’s website at thebaird.org for frequent updates on scheduling and registration for
  new classes as well as old favorites.
• .  Following that session, the Board of Trustees may meet in a special meeting, should there be official action that needs to be taken.

Presentations

• Adam Loehner, Director of Community Relations for Seton Hall University, gave a presentation on the latest happenings on campus.  Among the topics discussed was the return of Seton Hall athletics for this school year and University Weekend on September 30 – October 2.  In addition, Loehner announced that Seton Hall would be honored on October 18 by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association with the Excellence in Public Service Award.  The Seton Hall Division of Volunteer Efforts racked up over 1,600 hours of community service last year.

Promotion of Police Sergeant

• Resolution 2011-238 passed 5-0 (Trustee Janine Bauer was absent).  This resolution promoted Brian McGuire to the position of Police Sergeant in the Township of South Orange Village Public Safety/Police Force.  There will be a swearing in ceremony at the next BOT meeting.

Amendment to the Approved (Introduced) Budget and Adoption of the 2011 Municipal Budget

• Village Administrator John Gross explained the 2011 Municipal Budget.
• In the public forum, two residents spoke on the budget.  One resident discussed the lack of support for downtown South Orange with the removal of a business recruiter.  Another resident felt that the terms of SOPAC’s mortgage should be revised and that the town should use the surplus of the budget to lower the tax increase.

Ordinances

• Ordinance 2011-11 was read for a first reading.  This ordinance was tabled on July 11’s Board of Trustees meeting.  It was defeated 2-3 with Trustees Michael Goldberg, Mark Rosner and Nancy Gould voting nay.  The ordinance amends Section 92-163B(1)(a) of the Code of the Township of South Orange Village to delete the requirement that only one political campaign sign be permitted in residential districts and repealing Section 92-162B(9)(c)[4] of the Code of the Township of South Orange Village which requires a notice of intention to display political signs and requiring the payment of a fee of $25. 
  
  The ordinance was deemed unconstitutional by Village Counsel Steven Rother as it impedes the rights of free speech. Village President Alex Torpey made it clear that the Village would not be enforcing any ordinances that violate the constitution of the United States of America.
  
  “This is to repeal a piece of our code that is unconstitutional,” said Torpey.  “As the Chief Executive Officer of the Township of South Orange Village, I want to make clear that under my administration, there is not going to be enforcement of unconstitutional ordinances.  I think we need to do this, we need to pass this.  I don’t understand why we’re not passing this.  It’s to repeal an unconstitutional piece of our code.  People should not be concerned that the Village will be enforcing and unconstitutional piece of our code.”
  
  The ordinance will now go back to the legal committee and trustees were advised to e-mail Village Counsel Rother with their concerns.

• Ordinance 2011-13 was tabled until a future Board of Trustees meeting.  This ordinance amends all sections of the Code of the Township of South Orange Village establishing fees. The ordinance increases those fees, supersedes all previous resolutions that set the fees and creates a single schedule for all fees.
• Ordinance 2011-17 was tabled until a future Board of Trustees meeting.  This ordinance amends Ordinance #09-13 providing for the compensation of all non-contractual and all supervisory personnel.

Public Forum

• A resident spoke of his appreciation towards the town for their work during Hurricane Irene and the September 11 ceremonies.  He also asked the town to look into noise violations on various parts of South Orange Avenue.
• A resident questioned whether the Village discussed the outsourcing of code enforcement.  The board explained that it had.

Consent Agenda

• 24 resolutions were passed on the consent agenda. 
• One resolution, 2011-237, was removed from the consent agenda so that it could be voted on by roll call vote.  This resolution authorized the settlement of a grievance with the South Orange Policeman’s Benevolent Association, Local No. 12.  The resolution passed 4-1 with Trustee Michael Goldberg being the lone nay vote. 

Village President Appointment

• With the announced departure of Village Administrator John Gross, who also served as Office of Emergency Management (OEM) coordinator, Village President Alex Torpey appointed himself as the new OEM coordinator. 

Conference Agenda

Trustee Howard Levison updated the board on the Finance and Information Technology Committee

• Levison announced that the code enforcement is moving forward quickly.

Trustee Mark Rosner updated the board on the Planning and Zoning Committee

• Rosner announced that the Parking Authority redid the landscaping on SOPAC circle.
• Parking Authority director Mark Hartwyk announced that the Taylor Place lot has new meters and has numbered spots.  In addition, Hartwyk announced a new promotional brochure for the Parking Authority.

Trustee Nancy Gould updated the board on the Recreation and Cultural Affairs Committee

• Gould discussed the possibility of the pool opening earlier next year and the possibility of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for improvements to the recreational facilities.
• An event for the Susan G. Komen foundation will be held on October 1 at Flood’s Hill.  The event will feature 500 men and women wearing bras for a photo shoot.  The foundation raises money for breast cancer research.
• Trustee Deborah Davis Ford mentioned that the South Orange Blues Festival is being held on Sunday, September 18, 2011.  The event will be held on Cherry Lane in West Orange.

Trustee Deborah Davis Ford updated the board on the Legal and Personnel Committee

• Davis Ford discussed the search committee for a new Village Administrator.  The committee is in discussions with an outside firm to help select an interim Village Administrator and the committee is working on a job description for the position. 
• In addition, a committee has been formed within the Legal and Personnel Committee to look at the overall organization of the Village and to see if there is any restructuring that needs to be done.  The first meeting will be on October 29.

Sal Renda, Village Engineer, updated the board on Village Infrastructure and Maintenance

• Among the items discussed was an estimate for improvements to the Taylor Place parking lot, an extension of the curb and sidewalk program, a consultant has been working on the relocation of Village Hall personnel during the renovation of the building and the double yellow lines are going to be repainted down Sloan Street.

Trustee Michael Goldberg updated the board on the Public Safety Committee

• Trustee Goldberg announced that the next Public Safety Committee meeting will be on Thursday, September 15.

Village President Alex Torpey gave the Village President’s Report

• President Torpey gave an update on the search committee designed to find a new Village Administrator.  At the end of the process, Torpey will present candidates of his choosing for ‘advice and consent’ with the Board of Trustees. 

Trustee Michael Goldberg gave an update on the Special Improvement Advisory Committee

• Goldberg announced that the committee has continued to meet and also that a straw poll was taken at the last meeting to see if they were leaning towards advising a Special Improvement District.  The straw poll was in favor.

All Board of Trustees meetings can be viewed on the South Orange Village website here.