##VIDEO ID:H9K2oj1PYpU## e e e e e e e e e e e e good evening and welcome to the January 7th 2024 Albridge Township council meeting please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance please remain standing for a moment of silence I pledge alance and a United States of America stand indivisible with liy and justice for all as customary in this chamber stand for a moment of silence to remember those who are fighting our freedoms here and abroad for those who have our First Responders and for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice this evening Dr Greenberg Bell I would also like to do a moment of silence yes we lost a very dear friend this past week filmer govern filmer govern was on the um parking utility he was very active in town he was on the Historical Society also and he will be missed by many he was very sad yes and all those who perished in in New Orleans please a moment of silence our prayer Mr pasky um I would like to have a moment of silence also oh sure absolutely tonight we remember Phil teranova Phil was integral in starting the Oldbridge Township before and after program in 1989 he also was an alridge school teacher simultaneously running the program until until he retired in 2004 the program was a model of how a Township could run a before and after program with each site located in the public school that the children attended during the school day Mr turova sadly passed away on December 13th at the age of 81 please join me in a moment of silence as we remember Phil and his contributions to a vital program for our students and their children a moment of silence please thank you okay next Mr pasetti our prayer dear Lord bless thy servants in the ministry of public affairs who serve you in this chamber give us quiet minds and hearts that may hear your voice help us to know when to speak when to be silent give us the strength to oppose the wrong and uphold the right and Grant that we have a good conscience and Soul at peace with thee and with one another amen amen thank you please be seated this meeting is being held in conformance with the open public meetings act notice has been given to the official newspapers of the township on December 16 2024 and is posted in public places next open public meet meeting of the township Council will be determined after the resolution approving our uh 2025 Council meeting dates are addressed roll call councilman auli present councilwoman dearo here councilman D here councilman Desai is absent councilman Garcia do councilman Murphy here councilman Pas gidy here Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell presid and council president soar yes here thank you good evening everyone welcome to the meeting uh we'll begin with uh mayor mayoral appointments please mayor Walker I'll begin with the appointments to the cultureal Arts Evelyn Rosario term three-year term 11 2025 to 1231 2027 Angela kuzo culture arts three-year term 1 2025 to 12:31 2027 the environmental commission Glenn danuna threeyear term 1125 to 1231 2027 Neil Greenspan 11 2025 to 1231 2027 the historical commission Richard pelli 3-year term 1125 to 1231 2027 Linda McGovern threeyear term 11225 to 1231 2027 and then the planning board Gary heapin He's the mayor's design from 1 2025 to 1231 2025 Casey lenning Class 2 member one-year term 1 2025 to 1231 2025 Tina Milla 4year term 1125 to 1231 2028 Edward Ferrera 2-year term 1125 to 12312 26 next is the shade tree commission Dina tamoo 5 years 11225 to 1231 2029 Willian hobman 5year term 1125 to 1231 2029 and then I have the appointments with Council consent now so for the library board for the unexpire term Gina tamoo I have a 5-year term 1124 to 1231 2028 I need that a council consent Gina tamoo is an unexpired um term she's filling the seat so from 11224 to 1231 2028 the mayor's recommendation is for Miss Gina tamoo and I just need a motion from Council to approve the mayor's recommendation second by second roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes next I have the Redevelopment agency Nancy Sheen and Weber 5year term Class B commissioner 11225 to 1231 2029 I guess we'll do them individually yes do I have a motion move second roll call councilman aluli yes councilwoman dearo obain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasti yes Council Vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes next Anthony Constantino Class B commissioner 5year term 1 2025 to 1231 2029 move it second Mr esy okay roll call councilman asul yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes next Redevelopment agency Class B commissioner Andrew lefonte 5-year term 111 2025 to 1231 2029 move it second move by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mr pasky roll call councilman asou yes councilwoman dearo obain councilman dama yes councilman gar upstein upstein councilman Murphy yes councilman pasky yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes thank you now Recreation she um mayor did you have the student appointment for the recreation board yes I do that's I do okay so that's next that one also I'll do that right now okay thank you Rachel Rena he's she's the high associate High School member onee ter term 1125 to 1231 2025 that was just the mayor's appoint yes no we don't need to Mo okay so that's who she has Rena correct yes okay and that concludes it okay next will be appointments by the council resolution appointing the Township Clerk Katherine Hutchinson as tax assessment officer move it and the dates are it's uh one year 1 2025 through 1231 202 okay do I have a motion mov it second okay moved by Dr Greenberg belli second by Mr um dep dep roll call councilman asset yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman D yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and Council president soar yes resolution appointing the Chief Financial Officer D swaboda mov it as public agency compliance officer pursuant to njac 17 colon 27- 3.3 for the year 2025 move it second okay moved by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mr pasky roll call councilman assetou councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes resolution appointing the assistant tax collector Amanda Howell as tax search officer for the year 2025 move it second moved by Dr Greenberg belly second by Mr paskin roll call councilman asset yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes that's eight yeses Okay resolution appointing Township planner Venus Sant as Municipal housing liaz on for the year 2025 okay for the year 2025 move it do I have a second second okay move by Dr Greenberg Bell second by Mr Garcia roll call councilman assetou yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes and council president soar yes eight yeses okay next is ethics Standards Board I need a nomination for board member I'll nominate Gunz Dian and the as a board member and the term is five years appointment is 1 2025 expiration 1231 2029 second okay we only need you just need you only need a with this you just need one person to make it the year the motion any other nominations for that specific term zoning hearing none uh roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes eight yeses okay I now have another appointment to the ethics board and this would be 5 Years also January 1st 2025 through 1231 2029 nominate Robin Novo okay roll call please councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dep yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes council president soar yes I just want to make a note that that board is comprised of different uh backgrounds in different parties so that there is a balance there and it's not just a one-sided type of a board it has to be there has to be a balance there okay thank you all right next is resolution appointing Council representatives and members to the open space committee nominee Mary soar council president Mary soar okay roll call please that uh that's also for a one-year term yes onee term right 1 11225 1231 2025 councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes and council president soar yes eight yes resolution appointing another open space council member and the term is the same it's it's a one-year term 1 2025 1231 2025 I'd like to nominate Jilla Caro I would um I nominate any other nominations i' nominate Anita Greenberg so now when I read through your name just let me know who you uh wish to cast your vote for councilman auli Anita Greenberg councilwoman dearo uh Jill dearo councilman dama Dr Bell councilman Garcia Dr Bell councilman Murphy Dr belly councilman Pas giddy Dr Anita Greenberg Bell Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell I'll vote for myself vote for yourself president so Dr Greenberg B please seven yeses for Dr Anita Greenberg B okay now do you have on here do you have one for a a member of the board open space the member okay we have one open space for a member open non counil and that term is the the three-year term 11 2025 to 1231 2027 do I have a an person that wants to nominate I nominate Neil Greenspan okay anyone else any other nominations roll call please councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dep yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes seven yeses one exstension resolution appointing a council representative to the planning board and that's the same it's the one year correct it doesn't have it on here okay so that's a onee one 20252 31 202 I nominate councilman Eric depa any other nominations hearing none roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dep yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president president soar yes eight yeses okay uh next is the recreation here Council Recreation committee for the council right start with the council right so resolution appointing Council representative and members to the recreation board it'll be Council Representatives first do I have a nomination I nominate councilman Darren auli any other nominations I nominate councilman one SE time just for this one seat right one at a time so he's anyone else nominating for this particular seat okay roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belly yes and council president soar yes seven yeses one exstension okay we have three council members to appoint to this board so we've appointed one for one seat now we have a second seat available I nominate councilman Eric dama anyone else for this nominated for this seat any other nominations okay hearing none roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes eight yeses okay now there's a third seat available for council member on the recreation board do we have someone someone want to nominate Council Garcia I'm sorry councilman Garcia okay okay any other nominations for that seat hearing none roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes council president soar yes eight yeses next will be members volunteer members for the recreation board and the first one is a term that's two years it's January 1st 2025 through December 3 31st 2026 do I have a nomination yes I nominate Ralph Gallow anyone else I'm sorry that's okay we do one at a time yes one at a time okay hearing none roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes seven yeses one exstension okay now next is Committee Member and the again a two-year term 1 2025 through 1231 2026 do I have a nomination Vincent Forester okay is there anyone else nominated for this seat hearing none roll call councilman asul yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yeah councilman pascetti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes eight yeses okay next is a committee seat same term two years is there anyone that wants to nominate I nominate Lord lalum okay anyone else for this seat okay hearing none uh roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes and council president soar yes seven yeses one exstension okay another Committee Member for the recreation committee Laura alberty anyone else hearing none roll call councilman Uli yes councilman de councilwoman dearo abin councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belly yes and council president soar yes seven yeses one exstension okay another nomination for the recreation committee same term 2 years 1 2025 1231 2026 I nominate car ston okay anyone else for the seat hearing none roll call councilman aset yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy stain councilman pasky yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes council president soar yes six yeses two extensions we have another Recreation seat available do we have any nominations Sam Ferraro okay anyone else hearing none roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pas skiddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes and council president soar yes eight yeses okay we have another Recreation committee seat do I have a nomination for that one Tony um tan Tony tanelli okay T it's two years same thing two years 1 2025 1231 2026 anybody else hearing none councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo obain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy what was the name Tony tanelli abstain councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes council president soar yes seven yeses or six yeses two extensions okay next is a seat again Recreation 11225 1231 2026 nominate Frank Santoro anyone else hearing none councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasetti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes council president soar yes seven yeses one abstention okay this is the last seat for the recreation again it's the same term 2 years 11225 1231 2026 nominate Nick B anyone else hearing none councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasky yes Council Vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes council president soar yes eight yeses okay next is a appointing members to the r rent stabilization board um there is a tenant position which is three years 11225 1231 2027 I'll nominate Glenda page anyone else for this position hearing none councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes seven yeses one abstention next is an alternate tenant rent stabilization board 3 years 11225 1231 202 7 nominate Ellen Stover anyone else hearing none councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo abstained councilman dep yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yeah councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soar yes seven yeses one exstension next is rent stabilization l land lord a 3-year term 1 2025 1231 2027 I nominate Gina T anyone else for this position hearing none councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasidi yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg B yes council president soar yes seven yeses one exstension Zoning Board of adjustments a member it's a 4-year position 11225 1231 2028 like to nominate James suan anyone else for this position hearing none councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo obain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasti no no uh Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes and council president soar yes six yeses one abion and one no Zoning Board of adjustments member fouryear term 11225 1231 2028 I can't believe I'm saying 2028 oh God I'd like to like to nominate Dolores Gomez anyone else for this position hearing none councilman asset yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes council president soar yes seven yeses one exstension okay Class A Member of the governing body Reg development agency one year 1 2025 1231 2025 I nominate Kevin Garcia anyone else no councilman garc hearing none roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo abstain councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes and council president soar yes uh seven yeses one exstension okay so this will complete the appointment of members to different boards thank you very much next will be our bill list Mr Garcia Mr Garcia let me find it here oh yeah okay thank you uh Bill list as of December 31st 2024 accounts payable December 31 2024 $756,000 3 payroll December 20 2024 1,232 54375 payroll overtime December 20 2024 8,864 59 and that completes my report thank you thank you very much much Mr Garcia um Anna RBA can we have a breakdown of the overtime please sure there were no major Optics in our last payroll the amount is on the higher side due to the end of the year comp time payouts the sworn police overtime for this payr payroll was $74,800 the duck grants $1,538 38 the duct etto $ 57,58 63 for a total of $1 15,773 which was 196 men and women hours we currently have three officers on light duty and two injured on duty thank you okay thank you very much do I have a motion to approve the the list second okay moved by Mr pasky second by Mr auli roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas giddy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes and council president soart yes eight yeses next will be report of the Township Clerk I have no report mayor okay report of the township attorney nothing report Madam president and our administrative report Anna yes thank you I have a short report for you this evening first of all happy New Year everybody number one Christmas tree collection Christmas tree collection begins this week in all Wards weather permitting the Department of Public Works will continue to pick up through January 24th for more information please email Public Works obd.com number two orridge High School varsity hockey captures the community club for the first time four years ago oit High School hockey program started a friendly Community Cup game with minalin minalin they played in other tournaments that went on during the holiday break but then with the recommendation of our recre ation department they asked the overit high school hockey team if they wanted to create the community cup to coincide with one of the biggest Community blood drives in New Jersey the Jessica lenro Community blood drive that runs twice a year in orridge man alipin has won the last three games this year the game was tied 1-1 after regulation in overtime and went to a shootout where strong goal tending by Logan Schroeder and goals by Nick Gallow Max gelik and Kenny doctors in four rounds led to a win and brother the community cup to Oldbridge yay we [Applause] have Oldbridge is Now 51 and two and first place in the greater middle sex Conference standings Jessica lra was a long long life resident of Oldbridge who passed away on December 29 2014 she was a teacher at chirat elementary school and a cheerleading coach at sulk Middle School her family and friends began running blood drives in 2015 to honor her memory and help those in need this community cup is another way to honor Jessica's Legacy and we are excited to have the cup back in Oldbridge congratulations to the Oldbridge High School varsity hockey team keep up season Wonder but a nice thing very [Applause] welome okay thank you very much do does anyone have a question or a comment for Anna no okay seeing no hands I'll take a motion to approve her administrative report second okay move by Dr Greenberg belli second by Mr pasky okay roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasidi yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belli yes and council president soar yes eight yeses next will be the consent agenda I would like to get a motion in second and then we'll bring it back for people if they want separation okay move by Dr Greenberg belli second by Mr assetou councilman assetou any items for separation no thank you councilwoman DEA any items for separation no thank you councilman dama yes c16 and c27 c16 c27 yes councilman let it I don't all right C1 c16 and c27 all right and c27 councilman Garcia I have none thank you councilman Murphy no thank you councilman pasetti C9 C9 Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell no thank you and council president soar no I'm good thank you okay so now we're going to take a um vote balance balance of the consent agenda with the removal of C9 c16 and c27 roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belly yes and council president soart yes eight yeses next will be C9 Mr pesky yeah I separated this because uh I wanted a little more information on um what exactly these folks do for us because um from my recollection the last um seven or so years it's been under $40,000 and now it's at $70,000 so I'd like to know what they're doing someone give me a brief well sure Nicole would you mind coming up really quick please as you know they assist with our affordable housing and we had quite a bit of round this year this past year people applying for you know um all different types I believe all the different Renovations and all those things so Nicole can speak more on that as she's the one that works closely with them good evening happy New Year Mrs Shapiro um so Anna was saying um cgp andh is our affordable housing administrative agents um they assist us when developments come in and are constructed and then there's an affordable component 20% of usually the units in an apartment building or in a residential development are for affordable so they help us and assist us to work with the developers to ensure that there's deed restrictions on those uh units as well as the housing for sale and they guide us in that direction they also work with us on our um Home Improvement program So currently um we offer assistance for uh residential homeowners for up to 25,000 that's Case by case um it's usually about 20 it's capped at 20 and then there's a special needs waiver that goes to 25,000 they do everything Soup To Nuts review the applications then they um see if the buyer qualifies they have to income qualify for the Home Improvement program then they walk the homeowners through what improvements they need in their homes and then they see if that qualifies for the Home Improvement program and then they go out to a contractor that's qualified with the township to perform the work and then with that they award the project to that contractor they take it all the way down to filing um the the lean on the property so that at the end if the homeowner was to sell the property orridge Township then gets paid back for that um assistance their fee actually comes out of the affordable uh trust fund that we gather and that money is from the developers so if the developer chooses not to build the affordable units they pay into the trust fund that money then funds um cgp's I I don't recall them being 40,000 I I I could have sworn for the last few years they were around 70,000 and that's because we had instituted back the affordable assistant program for the housing Improvement program and that's why their fee is a little bit higher it's Case by case each case is probably capped their fee is capped at about five 5K and I assure you it's a lot of work okay thank you I'm satisfied that's a good program yeah I'd like to move it really really is people should take more advantage of it if they qualify because it really is something that is good to offer everyone who has you know an affordability issue and needs to do repairs on their home right thank you Nicole thank you do I have a motion yes I moved it second yeah oh I'm sorry somebody else have a question no Tony moved it okay oh that's right exactly AB Mur okay roll call councilman asul yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasid yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belly yes and council president soar yes eight yeses okay next to c16 Mr dama yes um so the reason I separated this I would like to move this to the next meeting and table it to the next meeting if possible because the healthc care has been a a pain in everybody's side in in all um aspects the RF P's when I was looking at them they're 40 some odd pages long I could not get through them I want to make sure that we understand what we're doing so um is okay that we can table this for next week for the next meeting on the 28th you can if if I move it Council Ops uh thank you John that they do not want to proceed uh at this time they can move the table and then for the next meeting um we can put it back on table Yeah I think there was 138 pages of RFP for only three vendors and getting through that is doesn't hinder anyone's life uh health insurance if we table it no because they're the there are consultant right and then being on the state health benefits plan makes it a little bit easier because we're not going out to shop so that's when you know in Risk Management they play a larger part but being that we're on safe health benefits makes a little bit easier no that's important continuation of benefits is crucial so as long as we know that then something so are you making a motion I will motion to T second by councilman Murphy roll call councilman auli yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasidi no uh Council vice president Dr Greenberg B yes and council president soar yes so we had um seven yeses to table to the January 28th meeting and one no okay and make it very clear to everyone that this does not change their health care in any way so nothing is going to change or anything of that nature I just want to make sure everybody knows that okay all right thank you all right everybody said next is c27 Mr dama yes I um I separated just um to abstain so if no one has any I will um I'll move it okay move by Mr dama second by Mr auli okay roll call councilman acet yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dep is abstaining councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman pasti yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell yes council president soart yes seven yeses one abstention okay next will be public comment on any subject matter for a maximum period of 3 minutes is there anyone in the public this evening who wishes to come up and be heard okay the public comment portion of our meeting is to allow the public to bring to the council's attention their concerns or comments this section is open for any topic or items in the consent agenda in accordance with njsa 10 col 4-2a and the Oldbridge rules of council the council asked the public to limit their time their comments to three minutes or less only one member member of the public shall approach to speak to council at a time the council will respect the Public's Time by refraining from any comment until the speaker has finished with their a lotted time should be further noted that the public comment portion of your meeting is not structured as a question and answer session if a member of the public has questions they seek answers to an appointment can be made with the corresponding Department's office during regular business hours Township Clerk will regulate the time during the comment portion of your meeting um are we still doing the not giving name or are we I don't have no problem giving my name are you in the portal I am but I can give my name I won't give my address that's all okay okay Mark roli retired law enforcement I'm here to comment upon the outrageous Bill sponsored by Alex awii of about the cola the fact that he called it historical was insulting that you need 10 years to receive a cola coming from a part-time employee coming from individuals who celebrated chapter 78 but give themselves a raise part-time employee and he's going to tell people who did 25 plus years he or she can't have a cola until they're at least 10 years out there's all kinds of other constraints it's historically insulting you have men and women who sacrificed everything and put their lives on a line on a daily basis and in the blink of an eye chapter 78 took everything away I hear conversations about health insurance we all see the rise in the outrageous fees of health insurance we're in a state where there's toll toll increases yearly gas tax I can go on and on and I talk about this because Alex awii represents orbridge the man is beyond incompetent okay I'm here tonight because most retirees don't have a platform to speak upon let's face it once you retire most unions don't represent you you're pretty much out there representing yourself so I'm here to speak for those who can't speak for themselves the fact of the matter is swii should never get support again this is nothing more than a political stunt with wasted bill after Bill that he put up looking for a sound bite when you read the bill it's it's just it's so insulting to anyone who paid into the system for those who don't realize it we make the highest pension payments in the state and probably in America and we're getting nothing for it I mean myself I'm going on almost 10 years ret but it's not about me it's about everybody everybody who paid into the system we have guys out 20 30 years who retired counting on Cola and to have a guy who represents this town to sponsor a bill who's a part-time employee who conveniently gave himself a nice increase as the state legislature did this is the state of New Jersey who has tens of millions of dollars to finance their Sanctuary State programs and you had members of council here who support it we've had protests outside this building to fund the police an anti- police protest sponsored by the local Democrat Party so I am not going to tolerate Public Safety crosses party lines okay Kevin's a retired cop you have family that was on a job we have people on a job here who have family who are retired I can't tell you how many people are struggling and when this guy SII shows up looking for support he should be turned away okay Public Safety has been under attack since day one chapter 78 contracts have been gutted that's the new way now to defund the police that's how they sneak it in they gut contracts to where you can't recruit anyone and that's going on throughout the state regardless of where it's at we see in major cities and to have people disrespected I'm sorry that's your time Mr R I'm sorry thank you very much is there anyone else that wishes to come up this evening and be heard no okay seeing No Hands then I will close the public portion Council comments okay next is council member comments councilman auli yes first I want to say Happy New Year to everybody in 2025 and I want to say thank you um I'm very excited to officially serve my first term as an elected official here in Oldbridge and I have to share something with everybody real quick the people in this country and in these towns have spoken they have voted and the two most important things that they want safe and prosperous Town and Country that's the most important thing I know you would all agree so as an elect as elected officials on this de there's two jobs it's for the people the will of the people and we're elected to serve the people there was a saying from Abraham Lincoln many years ago and I I just figured it would work in 2025 and should always work democracy is a rule of the people for the people and by the people it means that democracy is a form of government in which the rulers are elected by the people the citizens of the country and the towns elect the government to rule the country and the elected government work for the welfare of the people I can guarantee you something that's our job and we will do that very eloquently because we answer to the taxpayers and the taxpayers have spoken and what they want most is safety and a prosperous New Year and with this beautiful police department and I see them all here and the community that we have and we're extremely fiscally responsible I'm very excited to serve in this town and the administ ation that's standing right there thank you for all you have done for this town because the number one thing that we must do don't get it twisted is we work for the people period full stop I thank you and everybody really have a wonderful new year thank you councilwoman Dar Caro hi thank you um first of all as the only Democrat up here I can say that I am completely for um cost of living um adjustments so um I know that there was reference to Democrats defunding the police so I just want to stand here and say not not this Democrat um I also want to say I see we have our our law enforcement um people here today um I appreciate you guys and again you know as a Democrat you know I support you guys wholeheartedly and um you know I wish you all the best I hope that um we work to increase our uh our staffing I hope that we work to increase our our wages for our officers um and uh you know I know that you guys are here today to um to just represent yourselves and uh I just want you to know that I do support you guys um H other than that I just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and um you know let's have a great 2025 thank you councilman dep thank you just want to wish everyone um a happy and healthy 2025 into our offices you know please be safe through this year and um thank you all for your service thank you councilman Garcia I yes good evening everybody and happy New Year to everyone like Mark said speaker earlier I uh I as well support Cola I haven't gotten raised in 10 years so I I know what he's talking about I was unaware of that bill I certainly wouldn't support it uh but with that we we up here support the police guarantee we support the police we support all the residents in orage like councilman Tuli said earlier we do what's right for everybody we try to do what's right for everybody it may not seem like it but we try to do the best we can with what we have so just keep in mind guys we are on your side we will try for you every body in town we try to help everybody as best we can and we're here for the residents that's really what it comes down to so thank you again and by all means have you Happy New Year and all that fun stuff thank you councilman Murphy uh yes I just like to wish every very Merry Christmas and happy New Year what I don't understand there's usually seven or eight people here I don't know what the crowd is here for I see mua I see the cops and I appreciate both of you but if you just came here to wish me a merry Christmas and a happy New Year I appreciate appreciate it what okay thank you anyway councilman pasky and happy New Year everyone uh thank you all for coming um like it's been said you know we absolutely support you guys um you know I personally pray for you for your safety You Know It uh you know when I see uh those photographs of um you know people plowing into police cruisers you know it's uh it's a miracle no one got hurt um so I I really appreciate you we all appreciate you for what you do go out there and protect us and the residents um we really do appreciate what you do and we don't take it lightly so thank you Council vice president Dr Greenberg Bell first of all it's good to see everyone starting off The Good the Year everyone together so I'm glad you're here so I can wish you each one of you personally a Happy New Year hope you're blessed with good health and good times and um Fortune good fortune and uh we are all on the same team and we all want to work together with for what's best for the town many blessings to you Council vice president soar thank you all for being here tonight and again Happy New Year to everyone and I'm very I'm very happy in the current new Administration in your in your department I think that was a very big plus and a positive and I think that's a start in a good direction so I'm hoping that this year we can work together and support each other and come up with some very good initiatives that are good for you and also good for the residents so I'm just really happy about this new Administration and I think under that lead leadership we are going to have a lot of good things happen and that's a positive and I'm just really hope we can continue on in a positive direction I support everyone does we support the mayor we support the police chief we want to have a very good positive relationship so hopefully we'll see you again and uh again happy New Year and a healthy New Year to everyone have a great evening and thank you for being here and thank you for telling letting us know how you feel have a good night can I have a motion to adjourn moved by Dr Greenberg Bell second by councilman auli roll call councilman asul yes councilwoman dearo yes councilman dama yes councilman Garcia yes councilman Murphy yes councilman Pas gidy yes Council vice president Dr Greenberg belly yes council president soar yes thank you and good night to everyone have a safe trip homeour date 26 next meeting January 28th 2025 e e e