Council Elects Law as President, Reappoints Attorney at Annual Reorganization

At its annual reorganization meeting on January 3, 2023, Glen Ridge's Mayor and Borough Council elected Councilor Richard Law to serve as Council President for the year, on a motion by Councilor Ann Marie Morrow. Councilors Peter Hughes and Richard Law were sworn in for new terms via oath of office at the start of the meeting. Councilors Deborah Mans and David Lefkovits were absent for the entire meeting; the four councilors present -- Hughes, Law, Rebecca Meyer, and Morrow -- voted unanimously on every item.

The council reappointed John Malyska and the firm Meyner & Landis as borough attorney for 2023, adopted the council's bylaws, and approved a temporary budget appropriation of roughly $4.07 million for the Current Fund to cover borough expenses until the full 2023 budget is adopted, along with smaller temporary appropriations for the water and pool utilities.

The council also confirmed the mayor's appointments to a long list of borough boards, committees, and commissions for the year, including reappointing Nicholas Colello, Robert Deacon, Joaquin Stearns, Christine Yewaisis, Peter Korian, Geoffrey Darby, Ginny Moriarty, Greg Lane, and Jeffrey Link to the Historic Preservation Commission -- the same slate that would go on to review renovation applications throughout the year. Other appointees included members of the Board of Adjustment, Planning Board, Board of Health, Library Board of Trustees, and Shade Tree Commission, among others; none of the appointments drew discussion or dissent.

The council also set its 2023 meeting schedule and adopted its holiday calendar for borough employees. One resolution carries boilerplate language, held over from prior years, stating that meetings "shall be held via conference call, when necessary" for public-health reasons -- language dating to the pandemic that the council did not discuss and does not reflect any active pandemic response.