Glen Ridge students run the council meeting as budget CAP ordinance, floodplain rules and plastic bag resolution move forward

Glen Ridge's student government took over the February 24 council meeting as part of an annual civics exercise, with student officials standing in for the Mayor and Council on nearly every agenda item before the actual Council formally affirmed all of the students' actions in Resolution 50-20 at the close of the meeting. On the substantive business side, the Council gave final adoption to Ordinance No. 1727, which allows the Borough to exceed state municipal budget cap limits and establishes a CAP bank for 2020, and to Ordinance No. 1728, amending the Borough's floodplain management regulations under Chapter 15.28. Both ordinances went through public hearings at which no residents spoke.

The Council also introduced two personnel ordinances on first reading: Ordinance No. 1729, setting titles and maximum salaries for PBA Local 58-represented police employees, and Ordinance No. 1730, doing the same for non-union Borough employees. Councilor Brown's Community Affairs Committee brought forward Resolution 48-20, formally supporting a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags and urging the Legislature and Governor Murphy to pass pending bag-ban legislation (S864/A1978); the resolution directs copies to the Governor and the Borough's state legislators.

Committee reports covered a range of other items: Public Safety Chair Moriarty reviewed 2019 crime and ambulance statistics (173 serious crimes investigated, 1,802 911 calls, no fatal crashes among 200-plus accidents); Public Works Chair Link reported ongoing construction of a new DPW salt storage shed and continuing phase 2 of the Borough's lead water-line remediation project; Parks and Recreation announced a new Rachio smart irrigation system for Carteret and Hurrell Fields; and Planning and Development Chair Stievator gave an update on the Master Plan reexamination, noting that over 330 residents had participated in a public survey generating more than 900 comments. The Council also approved a slate of annual community events (Memorial Day Parade, Ashenfelter 8K, Arts and Eco Fair, and others) as insured volunteer activities, and accepted a League of Women Voters of the Montclair Area centennial proclamation presented by Loretta Simon.

What to watch

• Planning Board to review an updated Master Plan Reexamination draft at its March 18 meeting, incorporating resident survey feedback
• Ordinance No. 1729 (PBA Local 58 titles/salaries) and Ordinance No. 1730 (non-union titles/salaries) go to public hearing and possible final adoption at a future meeting