A potential shift in engineering contracts dominated the meeting, with council members expressing dissatisfaction over current engineering firm, Suburban’s, handling of city projects. Council members Kathy Canestrino and Leonardo Battaglia suggested that any new non-sewer work should be offered to other firms. They argued that Suburban has demonstrated a lack of staff and continuous delays in project completion. The council agreed to continue this conversation, which could lead to significant changes in how the city’s engineering projects are managed.

Meanwhile, updates on local park projects were provided by Chris Wheaton, the city’s engineer. These included advancements in the Carver Park and Johnson Park projects, the latter of which involves a new greenhouse. The resolution for the Johnson Park greenhouse project assigns Coler Engineering to design and detail the site.

The council also discussed changes to the city’s ordinance regarding property tax deductions for disabled veterans. The new ordinance outlines a process for qualifying disabled veterans to claim exemption from property tax under New Jersey law. It also limits refunds to the year in which the exemption was claimed. This change was requested following recommendations from the city’s tax assessor.

Another topic was amendments to the city’s ordinance concerning Johnson Park and the community garden. The amendment includes a residency requirement for the community garden and the creation of a new chapter 75 solely for the community garden for procedural purposes.