WEBVTT

METADATA
Video-Count: 1
Video-1: youtube.com/watch?v=BhaBp6o4bF8

NOTE
MEETING SECTIONS:

Part 1 (Video ID: BhaBp6o4bF8):
- 00:00:00: Call to Order, Closed Session Authorization, Roll Call
- 00:01:40: Pledge of Allegiance and Shared Service Discussion Begins
- 00:02:35: Bergen Pock Shared Service: Benefits and Financials
- 00:08:54: Paramis Municipal Court Shared Service Financial Benefits
- 00:13:48: Referendums and Shared Service Legal Clarification
- 00:15:13: Public Comment Opens for Shared Service Agreements
- 00:16:32: Steve: Senior Dispatcher, Issues with Bergen County
- 00:19:01: Jennifer: Cancer Treatment, Health Insurance Concerns
- 00:21:25: Pete Donatello: Emergency Management, Local Knowledge
- 00:25:47: Brian Galina: Police Officer Thank You and Sadness
- 00:27:11: Matthew Mooney: Public Input and Referendum Concerns
- 00:30:04: Teresa Okano: Questions Taxpayer Override and Police
- 00:31:59: Jessica Anderson: Single Mom, Relies on Dispatchers
- 00:33:37: Thomas Hall: Maywood Resident, 911 Shared Service
- 00:35:03: Jim Gallagher: Longtime Resident, Honors Dispatchers
- 00:36:25: Bonnie Benedict: Mother's Concerns, Drowning Accident
- 00:38:25: Nicole Dominguez: Dispatcher, EMT, Stress, Baby Needs
- 00:42:49: Rochel Park Police Chief: Local Knowledge is Key
- 00:44:16: Patricia: Court Staff Treatment and Loss of Connection
- 00:45:44: Rasmatru: Community Safety and Personal Finances
- 00:47:21: 911 Caller: Appreciates Rapid Response for Life
- 00:50:27: Police Captain: Acknowledging Residents by Name
- 00:51:12: Michelle Galina: Sadness, Alternatives, Shared Pamas
- 01:00:00: Michelle Galina: Cont., Familial Relationship With Officers
- 01:00:21: Lieutenant Bermudas: Concern, Accountability and Liability
- 01:01:12: Rosemary Harris: Granddaughter's Seizures and Response
- 01:02:15: Luji Ward: Protocol Double Borough Administrator Salary
- 01:03:48: Mike Nihi: Appalled, Professionals and Dispatch is Soul
- 01:06:02: Adrian Lra Hall: Maywood Response Problem, Nephew's Job
- 01:08:26: Officer BS: Sense of Community Recommendation Please
- 01:09:56: Public Comment Closed, County Pox is not Unsafe
- 01:12:51: Legal and Transparency Explanation About Referendum
- 01:16:06: Shared Service Agreements Vote, Budget Presentation Begins
- 01:23:27: 2026 Budget Presentation Introduction from CFO Riotano
- 01:24:52: Township Tax Evaluation and Revaluation for 2026
- 01:28:23: Anticipated Revenues, Reduction Tax Burden, Local Revenue
- 01:31:21: Appropriations Discussion and Further Reductions
- 01:35:34: Average Home Increase Tax Revaluation Explanations
- 01:40:12: Cap Comparison With Budget Municipalities and Municipal Levy
- 01:45:18: Budget Public Hearing Opens Questions Surplus Figures
- 01:50:05: Land Values with Payment In Lieu of Taxes
- 01:51:32: Question Why Was Evaluation Not Started Earlier?
- 01:52:26: Question, With Library Equal to 911 Where are Cuts?
- 01:54:32: Disclosing Concerns and Questions From 2021 Flooding
- 01:56:15: Governing Body and Taxes No Choice What Library Gets
- 01:57:06: What Budgeting is Done for Flood Plane Management?
- 01:58:45: Several Resolutions Regarding the 2026 Budget
- 02:01:42: Public Comments Open Request Resolution Parole Review
- 02:04:07: Thank You For Listening in Previous Meeting and Support
- 02:05:40: Complaint or Harrassment Town Ordinance and Town Permits


Part: 1

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Right. Right. Call to order. Good evening everyone. The date is May 13, 2026. The time is 6:00. I'd like to call this work session meeting of the Rochio Park Township Committee to order. Pursuant to the open public meeting act, notice of the May

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13, 2026 meeting was published on the township website on January 7th in the burning record in Herald News on January 11th and in the hour town on January 22nd. Notice the close session meeting was published on May 8th. Copies of all notices are on file with the township clerk and have been made available to the public. Roll call, please.

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>> Here >> thank you so much. At this time, we'll move into close session. Resolution 26-139 authorized the township committee to enter close session pursuant to the discuss matters involving legal issues, litigation, potential litigation, contract negotiations, uh attorney client privilege, and personnel matters.

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Items to be discussed in close session include shared service burden peace, shared service parameis municipal courts as well as personnel matters involving the following. Employee misconduct and disciplinary matters. Employee performance and policy compliance matters. Potential personnel actions involving its subordination or non-compliance. Workplace conduct and

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employee relations. Legal, contractual, and pension related personnel matters. Personnel disciplinary legal matters related to the alleged mishandling municipal funds with the administrator/ Kerk's office from 2020 through 2024, including potential liability and investigative review. May I have a motion to enter close session? >> Motion. >> Do you have a second?

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>> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Thank you so much. We are now going to enter close session. We will return in approximately 60 minutes. >> All right. Can I get a motion to come out of close session? >> Motion. >> Can I get a second? >> Second.

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>> All in favor? >> Any oppose? >> All right. Please rise and join us for the pledge of allegiance and remain standing for a moment of silence. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

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republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please remain standing for a moment of silence. >> Thank you. All right, we're going to begin with discussion on shared service Bergen

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Pock. So tonight's discussion focuses on the proposed transition of Rochelle Parks dispatch operations to the Burn County Public Safety Operations Center and Mawa, which is on the agenda this evening. Under the shared service agreement, police, fire, EMS, dispatch, 911 call answering and emergency

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communication services would transition through the county system while Rochel Park's local emergency response services remain in place. The goal of this agreement is maintaining emergency services while addressing rising long-term operational costs facing municipalities like Rochelle Park. What

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we're experiencing here. But this proposal is not just about saving money. It also improves emergency communications through larger staffing support, upgrade technology, built-in backup systems, and a regional dispatch center designed to handle major incidents and emergencies. It also

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reduces reliance on police officers having to assist with dispatch coverage during staffing shortages, allowing officers to remain focused on patrol and emergency response in the field. As municipal costs continue rising, we must evaluate ways to maintain services while

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improving long-term affordability and financial stability for the taxpayers and shared services. And this agreement is a part of that effort. So, let's talk about the agreement. Rochelle Park Police and Fire Department and our emergency services would continue responding to emergencies locally

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exactly as they do today. Local response plans remain in effect. Surveillance cameras remain monitored through the county system and existing non-emergency police phone number remains active. And one of the concerns raised during this process was whether camera monitoring capabilities could remain in place. The

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answer is yes, and that language is included in the agreement being considered tonight. Calls would continue being answered as Rochelle Park and dispatch operations would continue following Rochelle Park procedures and response plans. The agreement also guarantees county employment for current Rochelle Park dispatch personnel with

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competitive salaries and benefits and that was another important issue discussed throughout this process and that language is also included in the agreement before the governing body tonight. >> Anybody excuse me, excuse me, I'm it's not for public comment. So during the last

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discussion, we said we wanted to fully review and analyze the financials associated with Rochelle Park's current dispatch operations. And that's exactly what we did with the assistance of our township CFO. And as you can see, the costs go beyond just salaries and include overtime, healthcare, pension

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costs, and annual costs associated with keeping dispatch operations in house. The projected total cost to municipality for 26 is approximately 414,000 with those costs projected to increase more and more each year. And I know some people looked at the introduced budget and saw a smaller number, but when we

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look at costs, it's not just salaries and wages. It's the whole picture. And at the same time, Bern County offers a shared service model projected to reduce these long-term operational costs significantly while still maintaining quality services. So this slide actually compares the projected long-term costs of keeping

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dispatch in-house versus transitioning to the burn county shared service model. These figures are annualized projections used for long-term comparison purposes. But when sitting with our CFO, we realized that savings was were was more significant than we actually originally thought. Using an 8% annual increase in

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operating costs as recommended by the CFO, Rochelle Park's current in-house dispatch model is projected to cost approximately $5.9 million over the next 10 years. And under the Bergen County Shared Service model, the projected cost over that same period is approximately $2.6 million. And that's a projected

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savings of more than $3.3 million, including more than $200,000 in savings in next year's budget alone, and more than $500,000 annually by 2035. And the agreement being voted on tonight is a 10-year agreement with annual increases

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capped at 2.75%. So even 10 years from now, Rochio Park is projected to be paying less for the county shared service than it costs to operate dispatch in house today. And throughout this process, there were claims that startup costs would approach $600,000. The quote shared with the

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police department reflects approximately $240,000 in radio transition costs for equipment already approaching a normal replacement cycle regardless of the dispatch model along with approximately 64,000 in one-time startup transition costs and

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about $25,000 for pagers for our active police department. So, this transition cost would be uh $350,000 or less per the CFO. And those radio costs can be financed over 10 to uh 5 to 10 years uh just like any future radio replacement

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project that the township would face in the near future. And even those transition costs are projected also to be covered through operational savings in approximately a year and a half. And also with the shared service group, we will never have to replace the radio site system, which replacing costs can

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be anywhere from 500,000 to $1 million. The 8% projection also does not factor in additional health care cost increases, which could make the long-term savings even greater than the projected $3.3 million. This proposal is ultimately about

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affordability, reliability, and building a stronger long-term emergency communication system while maintaining quality services residents rely on every day. Response, emergency response remains local. Surveillance cameras remain monitored and current dispatch personnel are guaranteed. County

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dispatch employment under the agreement being voted on tonight. And as costs continue rising year after year, shared services are one of the most effective ways municipalities like Rochelle Park can continue maintaining services while improving long-term financial sustainability for the taxpayers. There

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are only a few realistic options municipalities like ours uh are facing right now. significant tax increases, reductions in staffing and services, or responsible shared services. They help control long-term costs while

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maintaining the services residents rely on. And that's what this shared service agreement achieves. Anything from the township committee before I move on? Nope. So, another shared service that we have on the agenda tonight is the shared service with Pamis courts. So, we're

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going to move into that now. So this agreement creates a shared service model between Rochelle Park and Pamis for municipal court operations. Under the agreement, court administration and staffing support would be shared while Rochel Park court cases, revenues and records remain

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separate. Importantly, this is not eliminating the Rochelle Park court and it's not combining Rochelle Park cases into paramis cases. So how would this work? Rochelle Park would continue operating separate court sessions under the agreement. Rochelle Park would maintain its own court schedule with

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court sessions projected to occur three times a month and Rochel Park cases remain separate from the Paramis cases. As I mentioned, it's essentially two separate courts operating with shared staffing and administrative support. It also should be noted that Maywood and Oriel are to use Pamis for their court

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services. So, why does this save money? The purpose of this agreement is to reduce long-term operating costs while still deliver delivering a quality service. Under the shared service model, Rochel Park avoids many ongoing expenses

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associated with operating a fully independent court system, including salaries, health care costs, pension, and other operational expenses. The goal is maintaining the courts while reducing long-term financial pressures on the taxpayers. So, let's talk about revenue.

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One important part of this agreement is that Rochelle Park continues retaining its municipal court revenue. And over the last year, three years, court revenue averaged approximately $174,753. And under this agreement, the revenue remains with Rochelle Park, while

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long-term staffing and operational costs are reduced. And now because our current full-time court positions would not continue under the shared service structure, this change will have an impact on our court staff, but an August 1st start date gives us the opportunity

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to handle that transition thoughtfully, support those employees, and help them navigate what comes next. And these are difficult decisions, but they reflect the fiscal realities facing communities across the state of New Jersey. And we are not unique to that here in Rochelle Park.

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So, let's look at this court financial snapshot. This chart compares current revenue against projected operating costs. In 2025, Rochelle Park generated approximately $221,000 in court revenue, which was the highest court revenue and at least 9 years according to the police department

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budget presentation that was held in this chamber recently. However, projected 2026 court operating costs are approximately $314,000, resulting in a projected shortfall of roughly $92,000 under the court current in-house model. So, even with record

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court revenue, we remain nearly $100,000 in the red for the courts. And please note, this doesn't include the overtime generated by our police department for our court. So this slide uh shows the projected full cost of our operating municipal

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court in house in 2026. And as you can see, it's not just salaries. It also includes employer costs like healthcare, dental, benefits, and other expenses. When all those costs are included, the projected 2026 core cost is approximately $314,000.

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And that is number we have to compare against the shared service model, not just one set salary line, but the full operating cost to the taxpayers. And just note this was verified by our township CFO Roy Riotano. So let's talk about the savings. This chart compares the projected cost of

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maintaining the current court structure against the proposed shared service agreement with Pamis. Again, these figures are annualized projections and over 5 years, the projected in-house cost is approximately $1.84 million and the projected shared service cost is

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approximately $610,000. That results in an estimated savings of more than $1.2 million. That's significant for our township and something we just simply cannot ignore. Oops. So, this final chart combines projected

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shared service savings with retained municipal court revenue. Over 5 years, Rochelle Park is projected to retain approximately $873,000 in court revenue while also saving approximately $1.23 million through shared services. And per the CFO,

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combined, the projected financial benefit exceeds $2.1 million back to the taxpayers of Rochelle Park. Any discussion from the township committee? >> No

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questions, comments, concerns. >> All right. Uh we want to give an opportunity for everyone to uh speak, but before we get into public comment, Mr. Mr. Scino, will you address uh referendums for shared service agreements?

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>> Uh yes. And uh and I'll generally describe referendums uh so everyone can understand the uh process. First off, shared services agreements are not subject to a referendum. There are only certain types of action taken by a

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governing body that are subject to a referendum. The the clearest and easiest example is an ordinance establishing salaries. That would be subject to a binding referendum either by way of the governing body voting to put it on the

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ballot or by residents getting 10% of those who voted in the last general election to sign a petition. So two methods the governing body does it by resolution or the citizens get 10%

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of s of the residents in this community who based upon the last general election vote. Shared services are enacted specifically by a statute and by a resolution. So, even if someone were to submit a

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petition with the necessary signatures, it would not be subject to a referendum, nor would it be binding if the governing body passed a resolution to put it on. It would be a nonbinding referendum. Thank you, Mr. Scriptino. Uh, at this time, we're going to open public

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participation specifically regarding the proposed Burton County Pox Shared Service Agreement and the proposed Paramis Municipal Court shared service agreement. But before we begin public comment tonight, I want to briefly review the process. At the last town meeting, we had nearly 2 hours of public

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comment on this subject without time limits. Uh but because of that, the township is going to be in uh using a 3minut public comment limit this evening. So we can hear from as many of you as possible. Public comment on this topic will be limited to no more than 45 minutes. And I will remind everyone to

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please be respectful tonight. Please do not heckle members of the governing body and do not heckle uh your fellow residents who are speaking. Everyone deserves the opportunity to speak without interruption. And at the conclusion of the public comments uh at the extent of which we can, we will

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respond. But let's keep this orderly and professional. One speaker, one voice. Thank you so much. May I have a motion to open public comment on these two shared service discussions? >> I'll make a motion. >> Do I have a second? >> Second. >> Roll call, please. Yes. Committee woman Justin.

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>> Yes. >> Committee minutes. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Choice. >> Yes. >> Yes. All right. Public comment is now open. Please state your name and address for the record. And I do want to invite anyone who wasn't at the last meeting uh to please have uh first dibs at the

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microphone. >> Good evening, Mayor Council. Uh my name is Steve. I'm actually a uh supervisor uh supervisor senior dispatcher for Primus Police. >> Do you want to say uh saying your address? >> Uh I live at 157 West Philadelphia, West New Jersey.

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>> Okay. Um I'm here on behalf of my fellow dispatchers. Um so I want to just go over two experiences I've had with Park County. Number one, you know, we all have causes the plaza, shoplifting, car thefts, stuff like that. And we're good with getting their descriptions. And if

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there are times where our guys can't make it there in time, they call Washington Park and they get their information to the cops right away because they have someone sitting at the desk. Um, and in that in that turns, you get a higher apprenticion rate. Now, I know for Bergen County, they have dispatchers who dispatch and ones who

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just answer the calls. So, if I call Bergen County, there's a call taker, then they have to translate my information to the actual dispatcher and that's where information gets lost in relation and can delay a call. Uh, on Bergen County, I want to just go over a call I had with them. Um it happened

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August uh 4th of 2025. They said that the officer is out at a hotel and a cigarette reciprocal was on was uh smoking. Have you smoked? So I asked them where it is. They said it's a coroner Marriott room 17 north. So I confirm again. Okay. So it's at coryard Marriott sent to northbound in promise.

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They say yes. All right. Send my guys there. Then I asked the dispatcher, you know, where is the smoking coming from? And I hear her tell her officer it's coming from between Bonefish Grill and the hotel. Now Bonefish Grill is nowhere near the court of Marriott at all. It's

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near the Fairfield D. So they gave us the wrong information on that and we had to delay the call to try to redirect my FT and my police units to that address. By the time we got on scene, the reciprocal was completely engulfed and the fire extended to a final fence and then an exterior HBAC unit that attached

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to the hotel. Luckily, I've been doing this job for 14 years. I grew up in the town so I knew when I heard Roll Fish Grill where to center our guys. If that was any new person who didn't grow up in Primus and know the area and they were on that caller county, they would have continued those guys. It's the wrong

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hotel and this is situation a lot worse and more of a mass casualty than anything else. Um so, you know, that's all I'd say about that. So, I had issues kind of before sections, you know, for accidents for sick people, stuff like that. Um just my experience want to share with the mayor council for

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tonight. That's all. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH. GOOD EVENING. I'M JENNIFER Colen Beini, Mike Dispatcher Mike Colen Beini's wife. Um, in September, I was diagnosed with stage three metastatic invasive ductal carcinoma. Since then, I've been

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undergoing treatments such as aggressive chemotherapy and amunotherapy. I've had two surgeries, one of which resulted almost in my death. I am currently about to begin radiation in conjunction with my current amunotherapy and will

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eventually need my reconstruction surgery in December. My husband, Mike, has had 18 years of experience being a dispatcher. If my husband gets laid off, I will have a gap in my cancer treatment due to the loss of our health insurance,

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which will be detrimental to my health. He has also been able to take the acred time off to help me throughout this battle. But most importantly, he loves his job. He loves the people that he

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works with, the town. We are a family. I want to put this in a simpler way to understanding the using of a metaphor. Losing your town dispatchers that are there 24/7. They take your calls, provide you a safe place to come to and

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answer your questions. They help the police officers. They know where all the locations are in the town and they keep an eye on your schools for your children. They know how they know you and they by

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name and you know them by name. This would be like me losing all of my care team's information, not being able to get in touch with my oncologist, breast surgeon, plastic surgeon, or radiation oncologist. I would be devastated. I

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would feel unsafe. I would feel a lack of connection with who I really count on. So please try to understand why you guys need your dispatchers and why the town shouldn't go forward with this peace. Thank you.

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>> Thank you. >> Hey folks, good evening. I'm Pete Donatello, emergency management coordinator, and I'm sure it's no surprise I'm expressing my strong support for the Rochel Park dispatchers and their families. By supporting these dispatchers, we are also supporting every resident and their families who

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may one day depend on their professionalism and knowledge of our town at a moment of crisis. From an emergency management standpoint, eliminating or relocating local dispatching services 14 miles away would be a profound mistake, just like constructing a municipal building in a flood zone, one that we're still paying

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for today. I served as a volunteer firefighter in Rochelle Park, excuse me, since 1974 and have been involved in emergency management since 1994. Over these decades, I personally witnessed the exceptional performance of our dispatch team. Most notably, during the

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flood of 2021, our dispatchers handled over 276 calls for evacuation and coordinated 72 life-saving rescues. We coined the phrase, "Not one call missed, not one life lost." That was in 2021. That level of performance is not accidental. It is

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a result of experience, local knowledge, and unwavering dedication. I would certainly hope these numbers don't change if this move is carried out. I can contest to the fact that since 1974, we have not had one fatality in this town due to flooding. However, I can't

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say the same for our neighboring towns who utilize county dispatch. One had a flooding fatality that I believe still may be in litigation. This raises serious questions. Why would we entrust emergency communications individuals who lack familiarity with our streets, our residents, and the specific hazards

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within our community when seconds and local knowledge matters? And when it's your family calling for help as the waters rise, you want someone on the other end who understand exactly where you are and what you're facing. The county took the field of dreams approach. If you build it, they

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will come. The reality, however, is far different. And it's clearly supported by the documents that were provided to us at that January at the March meeting. Over the past 16 years, only 31 municipalities have utilized any form of county shared services. And just 18 of those counties, 70 municipalities

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participate in full dispatch services. In other words, 52 municipalities, nearly twothirds of the county, have chosen not to participate in a county system for full dispatch services. Why should we be the exception to what the overwhelming majority already rejected?

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This is a typical bait and switch tactic with the teaser rate. What may appear affordable today can quickly become a long-term financial burden tomorrow. For the safety of our residents and the effectiveness of our emergency response system, I urge you to stand with our dispatchers and oppose any move that, in

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my opinion, would compromise public safety. Don't let this county dispatch become the municipal building that haunts this town for years to come. I got to ask you just one last thought. In the 90 days of your administration, you have driven your dispatchers, building department, and office clerical staff to

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seek union representation. This is unprecedented that a unanimous showing of interest from your workforce is now being represented by two different unions. That alone should tell you something. People don't turn to unions because they have bad jobs. They turn to unions because of bad leadership, poor

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management practices, and administrative policy decisions that'll leave employees feeling unheard, disrespected, and unprotected. At night was never an attempt to have constructive dialogue with anyone in emergency services, not the police chief, the fire chief or office of emergency management to

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discuss or to discuss or explore alternatives to a county dispatch. I'm sure after today I expect some type of retaliation, but as emergency management coordinator, I stand behind my statements and my convictions because I feel that strongly that it is not right to move Rochelle Park, especially as

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we're rapidly approaching hurricane season. We're at We're on when we're at our most vulnerable to flooding. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Sorry. Tough to follow Mr. Donatelli. He's very good at this. Uh Brian Galina, 46 Katherine, Sergeant Roshial Park Police. Uh I'm obviously

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saddened by the decision that you guys are ultimately going to make tonight regarding the town uh dispatchers and municipal court. Rather than use my limited time up here to focus on the negative effects that these decision will ultimately have on our residents and our police department, I would instead like to take a few moments to thank people. To the numerous residents

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who supported us, attended meetings, signed petitions, our department thanks you. Fear not, we still have one of the greatest police departments in the state and I am proud to say I'm a member of it. We will continue to fulfill our oath to this comm oath to this community to serve and protect the best of our to best of our ability. To my mother who's

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in attendance, thank you for being the voice when I cannot be present. And lastly, thank you Brian Hall, Michael Calamini, Andrew Gorman, and Nicole Dominguez. As a department, we entrusted you with our lives and safety, and you never failed us. My wife and children, thank you for helping ensure I make it home at the end of my shifts. I'm proud

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to have served with you. Thank you all for your combined 50 years of service to our community. We all appreciate it. Matthew Mooney, 82 Forest, please. Tonight, this committee is going to enter into a shared service agreement with the Bergen County Department of

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Public Safety. A decision that will change the way public safety is structured and delivered in this township, possibly forever. And it is going to be made without any meaningful input from the people who live here. This is not a small thing. We are talking about an agreement that will

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directly affect any everyone in our community. We are talking about potential changes to response times, local oversight, and day-to-day character of public safety in March Park. And the residents of this township were not given the courtesy of a real conversation about any of it. Many

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people in this community have concerns, not because they're against progress, but because they have been given, but because they have not been given enough information to know whether this is the right move. and rather than taking the time to inform and include them, this committee choose uh chose to move

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forward anyway. That is a failure in leadership. You were not elected to make decisions for us without us. You were elected to represent us, to bring us along, to make sure that when something this significant is decided, the people sitting around dinner tables in this

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township at least understand what was agreed to in their name. Now, I acknowledge that a referendum cannot be done, and I want this committee to hear something loud and clear. There are over 400 signatures on the petition I circulated, and the number of signatures

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on the paper does not represent the full scope of concern in this township. There are residents who didn't get to sign, uh, didn't get the chance to sign, residents who didn't know the petition existed until it was too late. I'm still getting calls and texts asking if people can sign. residents stopped us in

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driveways, at doors, at the grocery store to say, "I need information." I want to say in a decision I want to say in a decision this large. The level of community concern here is real and it is significant.

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To the residents of Rosal Park who signed the petition and to the many more who couldn't sign but share the same concerns, thank you. I want you to know this is not over. We will be watching how this agreement is implemented. We will be demanding the public informational meetings that were

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promised to no one and owed to everyone. We will be documenting what changes, what is lost, and what is promised versus what is delivered. And when election time comes, the residents of this township will remember who sat in the seats tonight and chose to move

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forward without them. To the committee, you were elected to serve the people of Roshaw Park. Tonight, a lot of us feel like you forgot that. We haven't. >> Thank you. >> Good evening to the board. Um, if I

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understood the honorable Mrs. Chhatina correctly, um, no matter what the tax payers hear say or do, they'll be over overrided. Did I Did I hear that correctly? >> Do you mind I'm so sorry. Do you mind saying your name and address? >> Oh, sorry. Teresa Okano, 250 Rashel A,

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Rashelle Park. >> Um, am I clear on that? No matter what the taxpayers say, they will be over rules by the board. Did I hear that correctly? >> You want to answer to the end? >> We're going to answer a lot of these questions as soon as we close while we

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come. So, I want to give you that. >> Okay. um lived here. I've lived here most of my life and uh pardon lived here most of my life. Nice small town like it very much and I am in favor of the police. The audience here are

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very young and they have children and I'm concerned for for the the families here. Um why not just have Pamas take over Rochelle Park and get it over with? >> Exactly. Well, that I mean I'm asking could I mean why not? It's going to

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happen. Uh where are their ranks? Just asking. Um I just hope that everything works out for everyone. But I I am concerned about, you know, small town and the rights of taxpayers living here. Maybe some of them are living here over 20

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years. And uh I think they should have a say in in in their homes in their town. Thank you for listening. I appreciate it. Thank you. Jessica Anderson, 33 East Pay Street. And I emphasize the east because there's

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not even many people in this town that know my section of that block. When I pick up that phone, it's the first thing I say is 33 East Bay Street. And if that dispatcher doesn't know that small section of P Street, they're not going to find my house. I'm a single mom with

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two children. I'm on disability. I rely on our dispatchers. Nobody knows where I live. And just hearing that gentleman talk about that miscommunication, that could be me. Second short story I'd like to share with you. And unfortunately my children I don't want them to hear this but I

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received a letter from my ex and his life and I had to go looking for him and we called that dispatcher with OnStar and I sat in that police department shaking and quivering

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until they told me that they found him alive. And I have a feeling, and I can't say for certain, if the dispatchers weren't in this particular building to get those phone calls and secure all of us in our safety, I thought that they

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would have found my children's father in the timely fashion that they did. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. My name is Thomas Hall. I'm Brian Hall's father. I live in Maywood 57 years. They have they kind of snuck in

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this 911 shared service on us. Nobody knew about it till it was implemented. And if you ask the residents of the town, they will tell you why. It's not worth it. You can't get a the dispatch

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in Mawa does not know the intricacies of of Maywood. If you got have somebody behind the desk, they know exactly where and what and somebody is there instantly. Okay. The residents of that

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town, they're awful mad. Okay. My advice to you, don't do it because you're going to destroy the tight-knit safety net that Rochelle Park has. And I have a lot of friends, colleagues that live in this town and

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they're going to be awfully pissed. Have a good night. Thank you. Jim Gallagher, A18 Harvey Avenue. I'm a resident of this town since 1965. My three sons grew up in this town.

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There's an old saying, if it's not broke, why fix it? My late son, who just passed away in February,

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was retired police officer in this town. And back in 1995, he was appointed the first paid dispatcher in this town.

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He was proud of the ladies and gentlemen that he worked with through his career in this town. And oh, by the way, anytime there was a family emergency

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where we had to request the ambulance or police department, he never called 911. He called the police desk on the town in the land.

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Thank you. Good evening, Bonnie Benedict, 18 Hobart Court. Um, I come to you guys today to speak about the decision you guys are going to make as a mother, single mother of her special needs son in town. Um, there's been many mishaps and challenges

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that I face that at this point the police department is so used to getting a phone call and they know my house, they know my son, they know how to interact with him. And I just want to also share something that happened over the summer. my son was in a near fatal drowning accident in town um where I had

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to call 911 and state that my son was on East Pacific Street. Now, if I would have made that call, I don't believe that any of the dispatchers would have been able to get there in the time that Roshchaw Park was able to identify that part of town and get there quick as

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possible. And in those type of situations, every second matters. My son could have lost his life and I'm so lucky that he's here with me today and that did not happen. But I just I'm just extremely disappointed I come to you also. My dad's a retire a retired

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lieutenant in town. He loved his job. He spent many years here um with Chief Pinto and it it's just really sad. It's just sad to think the kids at school, the safety, it's it's definitely a concern and I, you know, I know you guys

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at this point, you guys minds kind of made up, but um, you know, I just hope at the end of the day that everyone could just live with what happens after this and those type of calls and how things are handled cuz it might not work out to the best of the abilities that

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you guys think it would. So, thank you. >> Thank you. Hi, my name is Nicole Dominguez. I'm a dispatcher here in Roshial Park. Um, I just wanted to say a couple things. I mentioned in the last meeting that I also am an EMT. I was on a volunteer and

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I also worked within Hackin Sack. I rode a lot of the calls in this town. I have cried with many people in this town. I've notified them that their family unfortunately was not going to survive it. In my time during working EMS, I

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have done gunshot victims, stabbings, children who were in cardiac arrest, children who have drowned, children who were abused, elderly that were abused. I've performed CPR on countless people in this town and in

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Hackinack. You name it, I have done it. Partial amputations, internal decapitations where your head is still on but it's decapitated inside. All of these things that I bring up to you, never in my life have I experienced the

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amount of stress that I am experiencing now during this interaction. I have never with people dying in front of me. I'm talking to you and you take your last breath. I've had six of them.

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With all of that, I have never experienced the amount of stress that I am under right here, right now in this town. Why am I on the desk? I took a break from doing EMS because I was assaulted. I was physically

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assaulted by a patient, not once, but twice. My hair was pulled out. I was choked. I was thrown around in the back of an ambulance. I was p punched in my chest. And this is why I feel safer behind the doors. If you didn't know,

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because you know, if you don't know what the room looks like, there's a device on the wall. It's for choking victims. If you come into the headquarters and you're choking, you put the device on your face and it's supposed to pull the object out. In town, do you know how

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many parents are new parents? Do you know how many we have in town? >> Okay. Well, the number is five. Do you know how many are able to walk to the police department if, god forbid, something happens?

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That number is two. There are two brand new parents that live in town. One's right across the street and the other one's right in the apartment buildings. Do you know that if, god forbid, something happens to that baby, that newborn baby with that new mom, because moms are not equipped to know

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everything, right? You still fumble, you still make mistakes. If something happens and she runs into headquarters, who is going to be there to help her? I'm probably your best option if I'm on the desk. If you drop dead in my in my lobby, I'm probably the best option to

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help you. And that's not including the other ones. We're all certified. Somebody called headquarters the other day, not 911 and not Pamis. They called direct and I worked them and I did CPR on the phone. You're not going to get the same the

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same level of standards with Pamis or you know the county is golden. I'm I'm not going to knock it. I I can't knock it. I can't I've spoke to them. They always give me the information. You call 911. The county dispatchers are not briefing those calls. They aren't. And I

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apologize. I apologize for that. But it you cannot ask somebody if your car breaks down, for example, you're driving, your car breaks down, who are you going to call? You're going to call a mechanic. You want to call your dog groomer to fix

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your car. This is what we're asking. We're asking to reook at the situ situation. We are white glove service here. We care about our residents. They care about us. Look at all the people who showed up to come and talk to us, to talk to you guys. This is what we're

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asking. We're asking to look at the situation, not just for the jobs, right? Not just for the jobs. You can make money anywhere. You You can sell popcorn on the street and make money. We're asking you to look at the situation for your residents, for the babies, for the

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elderly, for the community, to give them the service that they deserve, that they rely on you guys to give them. This is what we're asking. Thank you. Thank you. In the interest of time, I'll be brief, but thank you. Roshel Park Police Chief

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Rochel Park's local dispatchers provide an irreplaceable level of geographical geographic familiarity, direct coordination, and real-time awareness that directly impacts emergency response and officer safety. They know our streets. They know our schools. They know our apartment

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complexes, all of our businesses, our frequent callers, and recurring problem locations without hesitation or delay. At the last meeting, the township committee heard real life testimony from many of our officers and dispatches. So, I won't will not repeat the operational realities that were already presented.

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While I understand the financial pressures many municipalities are facing throughout the state, this decision should be evaluated based on public safety and operational effectiveness, not solely on assumed cost savings. In critical incident, seconds matter. While

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my team and I will always work hard to provide the very best of police services to these folks and for you folks, I respectfully oppose transferring Rochelle Park dispatch services to Bergen County and strongly urge the township committee to prioritize local public safety operations and

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community-based emergency response. Thank you. Thank you. Hello, I'm Patricia, court administrator, 22 24 Heatherway Street in Wellington. Um, I just want to address um one thing

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that the way the my department and I was treated without any prior communication or any prior consultation was so disappointing. This is a great way not to treat your employee. Please do not ever treat them the way we were

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treated. We are we are human beings as well. Um from my experience I know that few years ago Pamis wanted to take over the our court that the town was fighting so much

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keeping it the court even though with the revenue was much lower. If the town believed that the court was financially worth it keeping then why why is it suddenly not worth it keep it now cost saving may look may look good on

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paper but in the real cost to what is the real cost to the community what is the cost of losing local presence local identity and the connection residents h that they have in in their own town.

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This municipal building is not it's not just a building. It's a heart of Russia Park. And what what I feel what what is being done now, the heart is being cut into pieces and it's being given away to local cities. Thank you.

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>> Thank you. Good evening. Rasmatru, 21 CMA. Uh, my husband and I have been residents of Roshchel Park for u 22 years. And in that time, um, I know we've seen a lot of changes in this town. Um, but the one thing that hasn't changed and the one thing that's kept us here um has been

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the sense of community. And I'm sure that the council is serving because you too feel that sense of community. And our town, like many families, is facing a lot of financial challenges due to things like um increased costs, whether it's fuel prices, health insurance

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costs, or utility bills. And these times naturally cause us to take a look at our budgets and take a hard look at where we can make cuts. But as a mom, the one thing I would never do is skimp on the safety of my family. I'll go without on other things and I'll prioritize what's most important. And likewise, I've

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always considered Rosh Shell Park like a family. Uh we may have our disagreements, but at the end of the day, we've always done what's right for our family. And what's right for everyone is keeping our dispatchers. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good evening. I'd like to ask is have

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any of you used EMS 911? I've used the police department's e desk seven times since the first of the year. These guys saved my life. They would add the best sound in the world as they hear a police car racing up your street when

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you're laying on the floor and you can't breathe. I got to the hospital. They said, "Do you have a living will?" I said, "No." "Do you want to be resuscitated?" I said, "Yes." With that, I stopped breathing. My heart stopped. If it wasn't for these guys, and I praise them

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for doing what they do. My wife is very sick. They took care of her. She has lung problem. They took care of her and they kept her calm. She has plaque in the brain. She's very upset. She can't come here

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cuz she can't walk too well. But the best sound in the world is when you hear a police car coming down the street with the siren on and then 3 minutes later the paramedics are there and you can walk out of the hospital cuz you're alive. I was on life support for 3 days.

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And if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here. And that's what I say. I was the captain of the ambulance squad. I answered over a thousand calls in 14 years. You need to keep 911. It's not your decision by yourselves. It's all these

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people. We say keep it and use have your mind made up to get rid of them. And that's how it works. We know that. I honestly think if you've ever had to use 911, you'll be surprised. It's

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amazing how fast they get there. Way before the ambulance that I was laying on the floor. They gave me oxygen. They calmed my wife down. They moved the furniture in my house so get me out. What else do you want from us?

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You You come up here. I'm here 48 years in town. I know what goes on. I've had lots of calls and it doesn't take lots when you're laying on the floor and you can't breathe. It is the scariest thing in hell. I turned purple and then I almost

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died. So remember that one minute. The last time we had a call, my wife panicked. She called 911. They asked a million and one calls. I finally yelled off the floor with the last breath is saying, "Just get the f an ambulance here. Stop asking me

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questions. It's these guys know me. They hear my voice. I hear the dispatcher saying the rig is on the way." So, please think of the people,

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not your agently yourselves. Thank you, >> Jer brother. I'm the police captain. Just one thing to clarify that Mr. Catrell said the key in his point is that when he calls the desk and says, "I'm having a heart attack." He says, "It's Bill Catrell or it's Gloria Catrell." Every one of our dispatchers says, "I know exactly where that is.

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It's Oak Street." And he doesn't have to be able to give out another word. He says, "It's Bill Catrell." And our dispatchers say, "Send the cops to Oak Street." And when you call Bergen County 20 miles away and you have a new employee who's never been on the desk and has never been to Rocher Park and you say it's Bill Catrell, they're going to say, "Who?" And that's the

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difference. >> Oh, I know you asked me not to speak because I spoke last time. No, no, you're absolutely welcome to speak. >> I'm Michelle Galina, 46 Captain Street. My son is the person here whose heart is

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breaking over his friends. I'm the mom. I feel like I'm the mom when he wrestled and all the things. I was always the teen mom. Make them oranges, whatever. I'm the same way with all of our police. They know, they see me. I love them all. I want every one of them to go home

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safe. These dispatchers are unbelievable. I've been going door to door. I know you heard about the petitions. 6 o'clock this morning. I was changing signs for some my coil, my neighbor said, "Michelle, you're putting them the wrong way straight. You got to

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put them this way, the front and back so people coming and going will see them." 6:00 I went out and fixed the ones on Marshall Avenue. I was asking the American Legion to put them on their side because everybody's stuck in traffic. the nice ones they could see on that side. They need to be going the

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right way. Um, I can't tell you how much this is breaking my son's heart, which breaks my heart to watch him be upset. And I know you care. I really do. I mean, and you know, I'm in contact. I've

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been emailing you and I get no response, but that's okay. I just That's Then why do they put your emails on the web page? I mean, if you can't do it and all I want is for take a time, step back.

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There are alternatives. I understand shared services. I worry every day that my sons at some point is going to be part of a shared service. He left the job that he he enjoyed in Randolph to come back to the town when they asked

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the town people wanted a local police officer and he took a big cut in pay and started from scratch. But he loves Rochel Park. He loved my father so much and these dispatchers

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came. I would call the 1515 if he fell 95 years old resident all these years that they would answer and they said 47 people grand Brian's a grandpa is he okay they genuinely care about this town and I know you care about the town you

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live here you've got kids you and I I I feel like you're on the same page I am and I know you ran on physical responsibility but there has to be a happy medium down the road. Maybe it's going to be sharing with Pamas, but then our dispatchers would be working in

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Pamas and they know and the Pamas police know Roshial Park. We're asking to send these calls and now you change the story that they have jobs. That's new. Last meeting they could apply for a job.

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That's what was said. They have the opportunity to apply. Now, you said they've added it to the agreement that they'll have jobs, but someone with 21 years experience, now he's got to take calls in towns where he can't do his job the way he wants. He doesn't know every

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town, but he'll make sure he does find out what there is cuz it's not one of them. I wouldn't put my life on the line. And I want my grandkids. I wore my purple cuz my grandkids know grandma loves purple. I wore it for good luck. But then when I read this, I got the

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feeling this is a done deal and I don't think that's the right approach. Why did we have all those people? If you look at those names that are on there, these are people and we only told them we want the opportunity to do have a vote. Now I

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understand according to our attorney who's knows my husband very well. Um Anthony Galina. >> Oh, sure. >> And he's been a municipal judge who just retired. Very good judge. >> Thank you. He is many. He did 46 years as a lawyer and he lived his practice

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was in Rochelle Park. Most of his clients he did closings. He's going through his files. Rochelle Park address each one. And he bang cliffs. He wasn't from Rochelle Park. But Angwood cliffs nobody knew anybody. And when our son

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went on became a police officer, we were so proud. My grandfa my father his grandfather pamed his badge on when he was sworn in it. I have a picture in my office and then when he got promoted again my father was there. You c you

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can't get that kind of Roshel Park love. Mr. Towinsky I know you're from Owen Park because I used to live in Owen Park and I know your father was very big politician and he loved Roin Park. East Patterson when he was there. Mhola counted on your brother, your father.

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Your brother was in Fairine. You've all served a lot of community. You moved to Rochelle Park. When I saw your truck, I said, "That's got to be Ed's brother." And it and that's who you are. But don't you find Rochelle Park to be you like here a lot of your customers are

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Rochelle Park people. I see your trucks parked. Your son's working there now. That's the kind of town we are. Multiple generations. So all I could say is give us time to explore

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maybe there's other alternatives. I realize everything's about saving money, but there is no money that will heal my heart if, god forbid, something ever happens to my son or any of these other police officers. I know their kids.

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Brian has birthday parties for him. Their little kids are here. Last time officer Mune mentioned about how much he loves his kids. I know those three little boys. They are the cutest little guys and they're wrestlers and they're real boy boys and um he just has a new

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baby. They want to go home and this is definitely going to affect this security they feel. But Brian is brokenhearted. I I can't, you know, you have a son, it's not easy to watch this pain. And it's because he really

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genuinely loves everybody he works with. He tells me all the time if it wasn't for our dispatchers, the stuff they know, it's invaluable. So, I don't know that this is going to work out, but I just ask you and I did email you 11:00 last

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night when I found out. Did you get my email? Did you read your email? >> I just found out about the little switcho and the meeting and and the vote and stuff. And I was here, right? You saw me. I got here at 5:30 to make to watch when you guys came because I just

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felt like I needed to be somewhere to do something. Mothers never give up. So, I'm kind of a pain in the neck that way. And when you said about you spoke before, I'm I'm not a good public speaker, believe me. But I'm a mother who loves her son, my other

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two children, my grandchildren, but I love these guys and these dispatchers. So Chris be right I had to take care of they belong to the credit union that I worked at. They're they're family. I'm like a pay mom to them but they know. But this morning I dropped off a big box

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of BMW Boston cream donuts and I wrote on it we stand cuz they need to know that Rochelle Park cares about our police officers. And you care about our police officers. I I know you really I don't want you to feel bad cuz what I

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sent to you was me as somebody who knows you forever and I don't think we need to vote tonight if you don't have to because we're not done. We're going to all be very sad and I hate to think what's going to do our police department

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without those familiar voices on their dispatch calls. So again, thank you for listening to me be a mom and a Rochelle Park person, third generation. I'm planning on not going anywhere. This is my final place and that's where I

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want to be. But I also want It's going to make me cry looking out. It's really can't put into words what a brotherhood we have. To be a police officer, you have to put your trust in. Your dispatcher first. They're the first line. You know who the first line

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defense is is the dispatch. If they don't get the call out, right, these guys go out on calls not knowing what what's going to bother and what's going to happen. And um Mr. Smith might I can see you're falling asleep because you

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don't care what I said. >> Okay. WELL, >> maybe my husband also >> said I'm resting my eyes. >> That is not I'm not resting my eyes. >> Okay. Well, that's what it looks like. >> Thank you so much, Miss >> Sorry to do this again, but I'm not

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because there's nothing I will not do to these guys. >> Thank you. Lieutenant Bermudas from the Rochelle Park Police Department. I'll be quick so you could the residents could speak. So another important point that cannot be overlooked is liability and accountability. If something goes wrong, whether it's delayed response, a

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mistransmission, a dispatcher handling multiple towns during a major incident or a communication breakdown during an emergency, the residents of Rochelle Park are going to look at the police department, the council for this decision. Who becomes liable? Is it the

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county dispatch? Or is it going to be the police department and the township if if they miss a radio call, if something gets lost in translation? I just want to know who's going to be accountable, us as police officers and the the township or is the county going to be responsible?

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That's that's my question. As a police officer, I'm just concerned that I'm going to be held liable My name is Rosemary Harris and I live >> I can't hear the speaker. >> My name is Rosemary Harris and I live at 42 Catherine. Um I know all of you. I

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know you, you you you and I put you on the ballot because I believed in you. I can't believe this decision is being made without the input of the people that voted you in and love you. But aside from that, I have a little

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granddaughter who was born with a seizure disorder 28 years ago, and I have used these dispatchers seven times. And when I hear them say, "We've got Caitlyn. were on our way. You can't understand the relief I feel. Caitlyn

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was one year old when this first seizure started and we have had numerous calls to your 911. And every time they didn't ask me, they had Caitlyn's records. Um, they came through the door on Christmas Eve, 2 minutes after we called while we

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were trying to see which way we were going to go with her living or dying. So, you can't replace that with a budget. All I'm saying is, do you have to vote tonight? Can't you ask us, the people of this town, what we want? And I

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can tell you right now, we want our dispatches. And I thank you very much for your time. Yeah. Luji Ward Street. Um, you stick to procedure and protocol all through your meetings, but where was the protocol

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when you double doubled the burrow administrator's salary from 70,000 to 140? Where was the RFQ and the resume? You didn't get that much of the participation by the residents. Doubled the salary and that was kind of shoved in. >> We're we're just talking about these two

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shared service agreements. >> We're talking expense. We're talking about expenses and unfortunately you all kind of look bored. So, you know, you're kind of shoving this on everybody. Good evening. My name is Mike Nihi, 106 terrorists.

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I was here last meeting and I was quite taken back. I I listen with interest and I'm very surprised and proud that all of us are surrounded by professions.

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These are people who work daily, worked hard. Miss Dominguez made a good uh presentation about her exploits and experiences. I remember the talkings from the former uh speeches from last month

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and I'm sitting here for two and a half hours, three hours last month and I'm thinking where's the proponent for this peace? I know you folks have your job to do. You got to put your agenda forward. You talk

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about saving money. Who doesn't want to save money? But at the end of the day, if somebody's putting this forward, how come they're not they're not here to promote their product.

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When you go to the store, you want to buy something. You want to understand what you're buying. It sounds like here the people know what they're going to get and they don't want it. They don't want it because they already have chosen people who are proving themselves fairly inside and out. And I'm very proud to be

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part of this community. I'm a small time community guy and I'm almost appalled appalled that you folks sounds like you're going to go for this deal. This deal which I understand if I'm not mistaken will take 10 years before you

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can renew it. That's 10 years like a generation. You're going to have older people gone. You're going to have younger people coming up and forgetting about all this. Remember, all these professionals right here are people who are proving themselves. And I think that's what's going to happen in the

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long term. You're going to lose the professionalism because the dispatch force, which is the core of this community, as you've heard time and again, is the soul that makes this place rock. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody

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else? >> Good evening. My name is Adrian Lra Hall, 236 Roshaw Avenue. Um, I had an I have a father that lives in Maywood. He also partially owns our our home on 236 Rosha Lav. Uh I was in

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Maywood uh a couple of months ago and my father needed an ambulance so I called 911 and I said please can you send an ambulance? I said it's not an emergency. We're at uh 116 East Magnolia. And they

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go okay what are your cross streets? So that's when I was like, "What?" You know, why are you asking me that? Like, you know, so that's when I realized something was wrong, which I didn't even know what it was yet. So I was like 116

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East Magnolia, not west, east. And they came eventually, but there was a hesitation. And I did not like it. I was pissed to be honest with you. My nephew is Brian

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Hall and he had this job for 21 years. He's a great dispatcher. He's my nephew and I love him. And uh I feel bad because now you're pushing him somewhere else. He's going to get a cut

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in salary. He supports himself. It's just not fair. Like you have to listen. It's a problem. The Maywood people do not like the system. If you talk to any of them, I'm a hairdresser. I know everybody and everything. They tell me

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everything. So, they're not happy with it. So, I I beg you, please don't do this to our town. Please don't do this to our officers who are always there. I see them every day.

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Don't do that to them. Don't do that to our dispatchers that have families that are that know their job. You're going to disrupt their whole lives and the people of this town, our safety.

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Thanks for hearing me out. I'll be quick. Uh I'm officer BS of the Roch Park Police Department. I've been working here for going on three years. Um part of that what drove me here is that I grew up at Hackinack. Uh graduated Hackinack High School, class of 2018. Miss Judge was on the board of at the time. Um she's familiar with me.

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Um what drove me to this town is that uh a lot of my friends, they went to Hackinack High School with me. Um they're from Rochelle Park. My mom's getting older. And with that being said, I I know their parents are getting older. Um I see the Glennon family in here. Mr. Venezuela, I went to school

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with his daughter. Um and his sons. That sense of community is what drove me here. Um our dispatchers are part of that. I just highly recommend that you guys reconsider this decision if possible. Please, in the most

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professional way. Thank you. hearing. Seeing nobody, can I have a motion to close public comment? >> Motion. Have a second. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Here.

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>> Yes. >> Yes. All right. Thank you so much. Um, I really appreciate everybody coming tonight. Um, you know, there has been a lot of, uh, information that's gone out there. Um, and these town meetings give us the opportunity to correct some of

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that, uh, the dialogue that's been out there. Um, currently there's no data presented showing that Burn County Peace makes any community less safe. Um, obviously not every decision is easy, but the reality is that this is about

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long-term sustainability. It's not a matter of if small municipalities like ours will move toward shared dispatch services. It's a matter of when. Uh health care, contractual obligations, staffing, operational costs continue to rise every

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year and we can't ignore that financial reality. I also want to address that this didn't come about yesterday. There was questions about this last year to our previous admin uh administrator. Um, also on March 20th, as I've brought up

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at our last meeting, members of this governing body, uh, members of this deis, uh, they're currently on this deis went to, uh, Mala to visit, um, Bergen Pock along with our, uh, police department, members of our police department, fire department, DPW, and

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OEM. Uh, and I reported that at the March 25th meeting. We discussed this in length at the April 22nd meeting. It was written about in the May 1st newsletter. Um and it is now uh on a vote for our May 13th meeting. Um I do also want to clarify that the police landline will

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remain active. Um and I also want to address that the GPS capabilities of Burton Peace are extremely uh advanced and at the end of the day this is a representative democracy residents elected township committee to review the facts, evaluate long-term costs and make

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decisions and not just for today but for the future as well. And we've listened to residents concerns throughout this process and made sure that important protections and clarifications were included in the agreement, including the continued camera access and employment

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transition language for our current dispatchers. I also want to address that every member of this governing body has children. We have families and we care deeply about this community and our police department. And the reality is that there's very few realistic options

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for us and for a lot of municipalities across New Jersey and what they're facing. We're seeing it in local media every single day. Significant tax increases, reductions in staffing and services or responsible shared services that help control long-term costs while

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maintaining the services that we rely on. Um, Mr. Scatino, did you want to address the question about liability? Yes. And there was also a question regarding uh the referendum.

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It legally for this type of issue, the petition process does not allow it to go on the referendum. That's the law. Uh so it wasn't a yes or no answer. It's just that it's not this is the type of issue

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that is not allowed to go on the ballot as a result of a petition from the citizens. as to liability. Title 59, which is a state statute, provides significant immunities not only to the police department, but all public

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public entities. So, in the event someone is injured as a result of any type of action by a public police officer or an employee of the burrow, first they have to get through the title 59 immunities. If they can get through

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the title 59 immunities, then the individual responsible for the negligence can be sued. They'll be covered by the township's insurance. It will not be paid by the taxpayers, will be paid by the insurance that the town pays every year. Just as if someone got injured on your property, your

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homeowners insurance would cover any claim of negligence that was committed. So it was only the individual who ha who committed the act of negligence that would be uh responsible for any injuries not them individually. Again the town

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coverage would provide the insurance for them as well as the representation. They would assign legal counsel to represent uh the claim that was made against that individual as an employee of the municipality. Uh finally, if I may, just to address, it wasn't really a question,

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but comments regarding transparency. The transparency is this process. The no other town does it differently, and I'm involved in several communities. An issue is placed on the agenda.

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It's the the agenda is posted. The public becomes aware of the agenda. They come to a meeting like many of you did and you have your opportunity like when someone said you're not getting any input. This is input. This is a lot of people for a public meeting. I go to many meetings where there's four or five

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people in the audience regardless of the issue. So this community over the course of two meetings has had uh basically fill the room with input. That's the transparency that the law provides. But this township actually went a step

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further. As those of you who have been here, you've been aware that a separate opportunity for the public to speak on this issue only was given at two meetings and a significant amount of time. Public entities are only required to do that. They're only required to open the meeting once on all topics, but

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to give and allow the people an opportunity to speak. It was done to allow this community to have input separately on this issue. And so there was as much transparency as any public entity gives for any type of

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issue. Thank you, Mr. Scatino. Another thing that we do that we put forward this year is we also detail the close session agenda on our agenda. I think that's very rare. You don't see that. And that came from feedback from the public.

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Anything else from the township committee? >> No, you answering the questions. All right. All right. Resolution 26-140 author authorizes the shared service agreement with the county of Bergen for the provision of 911 communications and

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public safety dispatch services. Uh, may I have a motion to adopt? >> Motion. >> Have a second. >> Second. Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Mayor,

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>> yes. >> Yes. All right. Resolution 26-141 authorizes the shared service agreement with the bureau of parameters for municipal court services. May I have a motion to adopt? >> Motion. >> Have a second. >> Second. Roll call, please.

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>> Woman, >> yes. Woman, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Mayor, >> yes. Thank you. All right. All right, at this time we're going to move to the 2026 budget presentation by our township CFO Roy Riatano and township auditor

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Andrew Pren will be here. Yeah. Go for it. Hey, how are you? Oh yeah. All right, roll call >> here. >> Miller >> here.

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>> Thanks so much. All right, 2026 budget presentation. take it away. >> Okay. Thank you. So, this evening, uh, under the law, we're going to be doing, uh, the intro on the budget as far as the hearing. Um, at the same time, we

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are also going to be talking about the budget amendment which will be introduced as well. However, the actual amendment, the public will have a say in two weeks at the next meeting in which there will be another hearing on the

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amendment to this budget. So, with that said, we can start. >> Was there's another hearing for the amendment on >> Yeah, just clarify that one more time, Jeremy. So this evening you're going to be voting on the budget introduction

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uh original and then we're going to have a resolution before you to amend this budget in which time in two weeks the public will have a say on the amendment and

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adopt in two weeks. But how we got here is something that I think the public should see and that's what we're going to discuss. Okay. So the first slide is just a little bit of a history of the assessed

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valuations in the township for the last 5 years. And you'll you'll basically see a a a large increase in the assessed value for 2026. Everyone in this room is is aware that there was a property tax revaluation in

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26. Uh the the property tax values increased from 963 million to 1.5 billion. Uh it was a 57% increase. Um the re the revaluation

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um was required by the county. Um it was the last time there's been a revaluation in Rochelle Park was was 2010. Um the actual revaluation was supposed to occur in 2020 but then as a result of COVID it

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was delayed and then now finally completed for the fiscal for the calendar year 2026. Um again the the assessed valuations went from 9 900 million up to 1.5 billion.

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No, no. Um just to get a little further detail with regards to the um revaluation um because it it there's going to be a built-in tax impact. What happens with the revaluation and it's not just

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specific to Rochelle Park is um the the revaluation, it shifted the valuations of the property from commercial values to residential values. So you could basically see in 2025's

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assessed value assessed value the residential portion was 60 62%. After the revaluation was completed the residential value is now 68% of the total valuations. What that did was it

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basically increased the average home from 335,900 to 577,900. Okay. There's going to be a builtin tax impact in 26 as a result of this shift.

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Um the total dollars for all of your components which represent your your municipal tax, your library tax, your county tax, and your school tax is going to be a built-in increase of $925.

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The municipal portion of that is $325. As far as the tax rates are concerned, for the last 3 years, we've had a $33 increase on an average home. In 2023, in 2024, it was $20 and in 25 it was

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$17. As far as the surplus is concerned, next slide slide. The surplus on the introduction, we're using 1,928035. That number equates to leaving a balance

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of almost $2 million. This township committee as a whole was not happy with the increase on the introduction. So, you will see on the amendment, we have reduced the tax burden substantially to the homeowner.

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So we are going to be using uh 2.2 million of that surplus instead of 1 n and as a result that's going to bring the taxes down substantially. Okay. The next the next three slides are going to discuss um the um anticipated

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revenues of the township. Um, with the introduced budget, um, the anticipated revenues were approximately 16.9 million. Um, as a as a part of the amendment, those revenues were were reduced down to 16.7 million. The the

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major change there was um the um the utilization of an additional 303,000 of fund balance and then a reduction in in the tax levy

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from 11.2 million to 10.7 million. Uh as I indicated um your the revenues of the township in total are 16.7 million. Um, in in this amended budget,

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we're using 2.2 million of surplus. You you have uh municipal local revenues, which are your licenses, your fees and permits, your court fees, your interest on investments. Uh we're anticipating 636,000 there. Uh uniform construction

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code fees, 180,000. There's uh anticipate anticipating 706,000 of state aid. Uh I think it's important to point out that municipal state aid has remained constant for the last 10 years. There's there's been no increase in

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state aid for municipalities. So that's that's remained at this 76,000. Um we have other special items of revenue 812,000. Those would be your hotel fees, cell tower leases. We have the cannabis fees of 480,000,

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pilot fees of 259,000, and then the last major piece would be the levy, the local tax levy of 10.7 million. And then the last slide is just um a little pie chart to show you um the

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percentages of each each revenue. Um the surplus represents 13%. Your local your local revenues would be 4.9%. Your state aid is 4.2%. Um, and then the largest piece is would

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be your would be relying on the taxes of 64%. Freeze one moment, folks. I'm so sorry. Do you mind just keeping your voices down? I know there's some conversations. Just need to hear uh from these gentlemen and make sure that you all hear from them as well. The next part of this budget is the

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appropriation side. And on the appropriation side, uh when we started this process back in November and December, um the appropriations were out of cap, meaning that um because we were out of cap, there was a potential of

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even further reductions in uh services. Unfortunately, um because we do have surplus and hopefully some developing going going forward, um we should be in uh better shape. But with that said, on the budget

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introduction, the major increases uh were the salary and wages, which were contractual uh obligations. the uh other expenses uh were actually reduced as a result of the township committee looking at every department

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and forcing or mandating that we do these reductions um to lower the tax burden on the taxpayer. the uh next slide. When we get into the budget uh

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amendment, this is where the fruition of the work for the last four or five weeks comes into play. The reductions are substantial. um including now having a little bit of a cap bank which this township committee

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is now looking forward to the future of next year's budget not just this year looking for a band-aid. So this does have a plan. So with that said when we go into where is your dollars on the introduction

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basically the majority of this uh the funds are going to public safety salary and wages. Um some money goes towards of course the board of education. The debt is 9%. Um

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the aortionment of taxes on the introduction was this right here. Okay. Okay. Um just to uh um just to just uh explain the difference between the introduced and the amended. Um the

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amendment the amendment the the introduced was reduced by 155,000 um and those decreases were um $200,000 in salaries and wages. Social security

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was was reduced um by 9,000. Um health benefits were reduced by 37,000. Um there was the interlocal agreement increase for 80,000. Um the re the other expense related to access for all

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recreation access for all was increased by 5,000 and the celebration of public events other expense line was increased by 5400. Um just uh and then just one one other point about appropriations.

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Um and I'm sure we've all read the paper. Um the the major increases here would be your contractual salary and wages which are going up 6.7%. Um your insurance

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uh which primarily is going to be your health benefits that's going up 16%. And then the other major increase in your appropriations would be your uh statutory expenditures for your PERS and

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PFRS pension which is going up 171,000. Um again the the health benefits and the um the pension increases those are bills that you're basically getting from the state and and you have no control over that. You that has to end up in your

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budget. Okay. >> Yeah. Next slide. So when you look at the average home on 577,900, what you will see is the municipal is going up $312.

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The library is going up 12. The county was 52. The school is 324 for a total of $700 uh dollars on introduction. Um that's where we are on this >> on the amendment that is. So I know you

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wanted the amount reduced which we have done in the tune of originally $500 on the uh home just on municipal loan rate. So we've got that down to 312 when we do the amendment.

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um in 2 weeks and um with this slide here it's this is this does not include the impact of the rap revaluation. This is simply this is the increase as a result of the increase

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in your rate. Um so again, as Roy indicated, um when when this budget was introduced a month ago, the um the impact on the the municipal impact on an average home was $485.

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As a result of the amendment that's on the agenda for tonight, uh the municipal impact has been reduced down to the $312. Okay. Um and now what this slide now does um it's a it's this is the total

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tax impact on the average home with the revaluation. So um basically you have it we're having an increase as a result of of the tax rate which is b which is primarily in the municipal side. It's going to be $312,

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which is associated with your health benefits, contractual salaries, and your pension. The library on the budget side's going up $12 on the average home. The county 52, the school 324 for a total budget impact of 700. Now, when you factor in

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the revaluation, which no one had any control over, it was something that was statemandated, countymandated, the effects of the revaluation in total is at $925. The municipal piece being 325. So the

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total with the reval and the budget, the total tax increase you're looking at is on an average home would be around $637 for a um on on a municipal levy. And again um the reval no one could control

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that side of it. >> Um thank you. Can you guys uh sort of talk us through like um the previous introduced budget, how close we were to cap and how are we within CAP now that we've made these changes and these

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amendments? Well, it when we did the introduced budget, you have to be in cap. So, so you were um we were in cap in in uh both you have your tax levy cap and your appropriation cap. We were we

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were in in in compliance with both. Um we for the amendment we lowered your appropriations by it's 155,000. So you now have a

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for the appropriations cap you now have um a a bank of of 119,000. And then for the tax levy cap, that's over a million dollars that you have in the bank. >> And that's again moving forward that

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bank will be used next year. >> Thank you. Um let's talk us through sort of the cuts that it took to get here. Uh to get to CAP, we had to cut about how much and then how much have we cut on top of that to get to where we are with

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this amended budget. When we first started um with the preliminary meetings um we cut approximately 430,000 to get you to your introduced number and then um and then

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from the introduced to the amendment that's where we cut another 155,000. So from the beginning back to December, January, it's been well over $800,000 that this township committee cut in

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expenses. >> Thank you. And how does that number, that 312 number compare to the other municipalities that you're working in right now? >> It's on the lower end as far as the municipal side is concerned. Um the

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record newspaper should be doing a symposium very shortly. Some of the numbers that you've read in the last two weeks, the increase has been anywhere on the municipal side from $4 to $700 a house. You're at 312.

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>> Thank you. Any questions from the township committee? >> No. Thank you. >> Go ahead. the revenue or fees that were brought in from the pilot from 26 to 25 that was posted up there. Did >> we put in

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>> the pilot from >> payment of lower taxes >> the revenue that the pilot brought in in 2025? Can you speak to the revenue that was brought in 25 from the pilot? 25. >> I have this Andrew. >> Yeah,

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we want to be exact with this uh dollar. So, your pilot your pilot revenue in 2025 generated 458,000 >> and in 26 >> in 26 we are anticipating

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400 uh the pilot and and and then in um in 26 we're anticipating 259,000 and that's because in 25 we had there was a back they owed the residential

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owed the 24 um there was a portion of the 24 billing that had that was owed for the residential. So that was collected in 25. And so then when we're preparing the 26 budget, we based the budget on what we um

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>> on what we're going to be building. >> So obviously that's a reduction revenue year. >> Yeah. What we're anticipating a little bit. Yeah. >> So they usually do that reduction. >> Yeah. >> So let me ask this question. And do we know what the property taxes were on that when that was a vacant piece of

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property? >> We would have to look that up. >> I think that was around 170 >> 254. So >> 254. >> So vacant vacant land was when it was in before before it became what it is. When it was just vacant and sitting there, it

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was a $254,000 >> property tax. So we're going to be back to a $5,000 difference if we're expected at 259,000. for for revenue from generators that property. I know we're not comparing

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property tax, but I'm saying the revenue the I'm looking at the the overall number that's all bring the the pilot revenue exceeding what the tax would have been. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So on the vacant the vacant beat up building that was there that nothing was going on that that was

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blighted generated 254,000 in property taxes and now we're generating 259,000 in taxes with developing. >> That's only the one part. That's only the one part. >> Okay. The other part is the storage. >> Correct. The storage is another couple is another hundred and something

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thousand. I'll give you the analysis at the next meeting. I don't want to guess. >> That would be helpful. That would be that but you have to also give us the tax on the land. Correct. >> Yeah. I'm going to give you the whole detail. I wasn't prepared for the pilot to see to go in detail.

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>> Thank you, Matt. Anybody else? >> I see this up here on that. What are you asking? >> On the phone, the breakdown of that on the uh the school. >> Go ahead. >> No, I just I'm looking at the breakdown. I can't read all the numbers. >> Oh, you want me to read it to you, >> please?

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>> Okay. Uh, municipal 36 cents, >> library 2 cents, school 51 cents, and the county 11 cents. >> Um, the county tax is less than last year, correct? >> So, the county tax went down because the valuation of Rochelle Park went up close

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to a billion dollars. Wow. >> So, you get a break from the county on that. I got >> All right. Ready for the public hearing? >> Yes. >> All right. So, we are going to uh open

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the public hearing regarding the previously introduced budget uh that occurred on April 8th. Correct. Andrew and Roy. Yes. Awesome. So, may I have a motion to open the public hearing regarding the budget introduced on April 8th? >> Motion.

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>> Second. >> Roll call, please. >> Woman. >> Yes. woman. Yes. Communion. >> Yes. >> Marriage. >> Yes. >> All right. Public hearing is now open. Please state your name and address for the record. >> Hi, good evening. Or as me. I actually

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just have a couple of questions. Um, if someone can explain um the surplus and how that figures into the budget, is that like taking from like savings and putting it into the expense document? That's exactly what it is. It's a savings that the

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township committee uses at their discretion to lower the tax rate or the taxes that you would pay on your home. >> And has and that amount has increased from last year. >> Yes, we went from in 24 we used a

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million 928. This year we're using 2.2. and that is trying the township committee is trying to soften this blow with the rebound that hit the homeowners. >> So how does this surplus fund get sort of replenished over time? Are we just

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going to keep taking from savings? Like what is that for? So that surplus is earmarked for the township committee as I said to basically reduce taxes as best that they can. But more importantly is

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this year is to regenerate that surplus that savings. And some of the ways that the township committee is looking to do that is looking at uh some of the development that's going to occur hopefully in town. Um and of course with the reduction in the appropriations

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that's less money we have to uh spend. So hopefully the revenues will increase as well and that should help um increase the surplus for next year. Um so I had a question also about and this is more of an assessment question I

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think but um residential property values have of course increased and I noticed that in the apartment um category as well in the taxes but they've still retained 3.7% based on the slide of their um value to the township. So, how come the

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residential, the single two family um homes percentage-wise increased so significantly with respect to the budget as opposed to the multif family residential? >> Well, when they did the reevaluation, it's based upon comparable sales of

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property over a one-year period. So if your home last time, let's say it was 10 years ago when you purchased your home and you purchased it $300,000, your assessment was based upon when you purchased it at. Now when they do the reevaluation because although all

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residential properties have increased in value, one and two family homes have significantly increased in value >> proportionally, >> right? Not only in Rochelle Park, but probably throughout the state, but certainly in Bergen County. I mean, I I think if you follow the newspapers, people list their home for 800,000.

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People get in bidding wars and they wind up getting hundreds of thousands more than what the realtor even listed them for. >> Understood. >> So So in any >> But rents are also going up. >> Right. But but in any but in any event, so the reevaluation now you're supposed

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to be at 100% of value. So that if you sold your house, and it's never 100%, but it's supposed to be. If you you should be able to sell your house for at least what it's assessed at. And that's why the assessments have gone up so much

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because the value of one or two family homes have gone up significantly especially more than commercial properties. >> But also typically shift has taken place. >> Yeah. But also typically in a revaluation at least what we've seen in the past is that although the values have gone up the tax rate has decreased

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to sort of equalize. So but it >> went down. Okay. >> But not as much as we would like. >> Yes. >> Go up next. >> Yes. Yes. Um and then I just had um do I have one more question?

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>> Nope. That was it. Thanks very much. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> I guess um Andrew Matson, 14 Elorado Court. the billion dollars that's more in the town the for the revaluation and

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then also on the pilot that land definitely has to be worth more now than it was vacant does that get considered for the revaluation >> when reevaluation is done every property >> including the land gets reassessed as to

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what they believe the present market value is about and as if the land was previously assessed for let's say a uh I don't know a threestory building now it's going to be assessed by having a m you know whatever that is 160 units

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>> so them being a payment in lie in taxes in lie of taxes they don't they're not outside of that >> the payment in no land is tax payment in le of taxes is separate >> that that's strictly based upon the agreement that was entered into by a prior entire governing body and the it's

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based upon the revenue generated from that building. So, >> so the land tax >> separate in addition to the pilot, >> but it'll be more than it used to be before the reval. >> I mean, I don't I don't see I didn't see the number, but I would imagine it will be more. >> It will be more.

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>> The land will be more. >> And this revaluation, when was it originally supposed to be done? >> 2020. >> 2020. It It was scheduled for 2020. And there was there was actually a special emergency done in 2020 and then

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CO hit and then it got delayed and then and then it and now and now it was completed for 26. I notice in my line of work um I worked with a lot of commercial properties as as an electrician and the value of commercial properties

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has been dropping since maybe 2015 2016. It's been a long-term trend. It's affected my line of work. Um, so I I can't help but think that in 2020 they were already four or five years into that trend. They should have jumped

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all over that revaluation knowing with all the office buildings in town what was going to happen today. That's my comment. >> Thank you. >> Davidson, Lexington Avenue real quick. Um, you mentioned that you

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had to use 200 200 thou 200,000 >> too many my question is what do we have now? Did this drop down to 1 million instead of two? I'm not sure if I understood what you said.

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>> So what's the surplus after applying this year? >> What's the remainder? >> 1,686. We really cut it short. Um, okay. And and you're mentioning um

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more more um development. Do we have any um has anything been gone through the building department yet with new development? Anybody know? >> Uh Miss Cario, do you want to give an

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update on uh the bank diner property? >> Uh yes. I recently met with the applicant that had submitted a application several years ago on the bank diner property. Um it has been stagnant for quite some time. He was

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appreciative that the township had reached out to him to see the status of the project. Um and he is re-engaging the township to hopefully start uh the process of groundbreaking and uh within the next several months >> with or without a pilot.

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>> No pilot. No pilot >> cuz originally they did want a pilot. >> Mhm. >> Um the the only other thing I just want to ask is I see for the library it's 2 cents if you take a dollar that I think in the budget it's like $500,000. Is

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that correct? >> Yes. >> That's pretty much equal to your 911 people. You just let go. >> Thank you so much. >> Anybody else? Come on up. >> Hello. Good evening. Susana cana Ban Street. Uh I just have a question and I

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was in that discussion about the revaluation and yeah I would like to sell my house but uh I have to fully disclose what happened with the floating >> with the floating. This is one of the streets.

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>> Yes. So, yeah, they explained to me thoroughly how it's going to be from the 300 something that I that my credit was at 2021 and now it's going to add to 4 400,000 something. But, uh, the situation with

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my house since I hasn't improved. I still owe money from that time. So if I dare to sell my house, I need to disclose that that this street is still floating. So in that budget, in that consideration, are you including

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anything for the flooring or the mitigation in case we have another with this climate change another impact like that? >> You have to talk the governing body doesn't address the tax assessment. The tax assessor is an independent individual on state law because they

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don't want them influenced by anyone when they're making the determinations. If you're looking for some type of reduction, you got to talk schedule an appointment with the tax assessor >> and if you're not satisfied with the tax assessor, you can file an appeal tax appeal with the county tax court.

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>> Yeah. And I agree with that. But in this budget and this library, >> there is nothing related to that. Legally, the governing body cannot do anything with respect to the assessments of properties. >> Okay, that's fine. Thank you.

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>> One comment on the library. The governing body here has no say whatsoever on the appropriation side of the library. State law requires that municipalities, whatever the assessment is, it would be 1/3 of a mill. And that is state

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mandate. what we have to give the library >> or or the school. We have no say in the school. >> School either. We we just collect for the school >> and the county >> or the county >> an open space.

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Anybody else? >> Seeing or hearing no one. Can I get a motion to close? >> Ask me Patrick again. Um quick question just to follow up because I'm actually also curious. I think the previous speaker's question was actually what part of the budget is dedicated towards

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um like flood plane management in town. I know she was talking about her particular home but um I think it's also in terms of you know the budgeting for blood fl management um and >> response and that kind of stuff and emergency management. >> There was a grant that we did have a

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couple years ago. Some of the properties were raised. Um I'm sure we'll be looking if there's other grants out there. uh we will apply also again there were homes that did have flood mitigation the homes were raised uh through FEMA

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>> understood um but in terms of the municipal budget with respect to you know >> there's no appropriation for that right now >> or emergency management activities >> emergency management has an appropriation manager just so you know

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>> yes okay thank you >> thank you Just so you know, when it comes to flooding, when we say there's no specific appropriation, there is a capital budget. So, if there's a capital project, it's funded through that line item in the budget. When we go out for a

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bond, unfortunately, typically flood mitigation is extremely expensive, no matter the size of the project. So if there was a project that was presented to the township committee that they thought was worthwhile pursuing, they would still be able to do it within this

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budget move on process. Anybody else? Can I get a motion of closed public comment? Motion. >> Okay. Second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? All right. Uh any

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additional questions for Roy and Andrew? >> So protocol would be now for your role on introduction. >> You got it right here. >> Oh, you have it already. >> Okay. Thank you uh Gina on that. >> Great. Thank you.

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>> Have a good night. >> Thank you. So at this time, the township committee will consider several resolutions related to 2016 budget, including self-examination, waiver reading, and budget amendments. Uh resolution 26-142

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authorize township to participate in the self-examination process permitted under New Jersey budget law and certifies the township meets the statutory budget requirements established by the division of local government services. May I have a motion? >> Motion >> and second. Second. Roll call, please. >> Yes. City.

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>> Yes. Commit. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. All right. Resolution 26-143 authorizes uh the waiver of the reading in full of the 2026 misal budget as permitted under New Jersey law since copies of the budget have been made available to the public in accordance

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with statuto requirements. May I have a motion? >> Motion second. Second. Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes.

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>> Thank you so much. Resolution Resolution 26-144 authorizes amendments to 2026 municipal budget following its initial introduction and public review process. These amendments are being made uh prior to the final budget adopted in accordance with state budget procedures. May I have a motion? >> Motion second.

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>> Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Mayor, yes. >> Yes. >> Thank you so much. Uh any correspondents? >> No. All right. Thank you so much. May I have

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a motion to approve the following meeting minutes? Close session, April 22nd, 2026 and public session, April 22nd, 2026. May I have a motion? >> Motion. >> Second. >> Second. Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Yes.

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>> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. All right. Before we approve the agenda, can I get a motion to authorize a forensic audit of the Rochelle Park municipal budget >> and add that to consent agenda?

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>> I'll make a motion. >> I'll second it. >> Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Judge, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Mayor, >> yes. >> Miller, >> yes. All right. May I have a motion to approve uh tonight's agenda as amended?

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>> Motion. I have a second. >> Second. Roll call, please. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Thank you so much. Any new business?

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All right. This time we'll open up for public comment one last time. Have a motion to open public comments. >> Motion. >> Have a second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? All right. Public comments now open. Please state your name and

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address for the record. >> Sorry, this will be very quick about the answer. Will this presentation be available on the website? >> Yes, Rochelle Park uh Rochel Parknj.gov/finance I believe is the >> finance. Okay, very good. Thank you.

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>> Thank you so much. >> All right. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor and Council. On behalf of the Galo family back there, plus many others that are not here, and all those supporting Justice for Terror,

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I want to sincerely thank you for listening to us at the last council meeting regarding our opposition to the possible parole of James Stewart of Maywood, New Jersey. James Stewart murdered our beautiful Tara, her

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precious daughter Britney, on August 24th, 1994. As he is now eligible for parole, there is a strong possibility that he could return to this area if released. We are deeply grateful for the compassion and support shown by the

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mayor and council, and we respectfully encourage you to adopt a resolution opposing his parole. >> I also here. >> It's on the agenda. >> I also want to express our heartfelt

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appreciation for hearing us regarding resolution number 26-147 authorizing the addition of terror Michelle Galfo's name to the street sign designation on Forest Place at the intersection of Roshial Avenue.

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This creates a lasting memorial for Tara in the very neighborhood where she lived and where so many memories of her remain. Everyone who knew Tara and everyone who knows the Galo family understands the meaning and importance of this location.

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The thoughtfulness behind this tribute leaves us truly speechless. It is beautiful and meaningful honor that is a long that is long overdue. Thank you again for your kindness and thank you for everything you do. >> Thank you, Jody. Thank you.

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>> How you doing? Dominic Pazudo, 24 Suana. And I just want to say growing up, I was 8 years old when that happened. And throughout the years, I would be lying if I said you think about every day, but there is times throughout my life where I thought about that family. I just want to say thank you for doing that for

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them. Thank you. >> Well, down 117 West Aler Street, Chairman Roshial Park, Access for All. On April 23rd, Access for All hosted their ice cream social. It was a tremendous success. We had over 300 people and served over

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225 ice creams. Mhm. I want to thank everybody that supported us. There's so many that I'd be remiss and I know I wouldn't miss somebody and it wouldn't be fair to them. So, this is a public thank you to everyone that has helped us and look

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forward to seeing everyone across the board day. >> Thank you, Walter. >> Thank you. >> I say that the ice cream social was a lot of fun. It was fantastic. >> Well done, Walter. Well done. Gayen Fernandez, 37 East.

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Um, I have a question regarding I want to know when complaints become harassment. I've become I became a resident of Rochaw Park. This July will be 5 years.

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Um, my family and I have actively become integral parts of this community. We're members of Sacred Heart, active members. We're active members of the school. We're active members of the community. And any way we can serve, in any way we

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can be a part of that. Um, in 2021, I purchased a very old home, a very old home. And I am very versed in town ordinance and town permits. Every single time that I have

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needed to make an upgrade in my home, I have come over to the town and submitted a permit to which has been given to me. I've placed my permit where it is needed to be located in the front of my door.

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Not even one day or two days of acquiring my permit and starting work on my home. I have an inspector in my house. Um to which I have no idea why. Clearly somebody is complaining about the work

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that I am doing in my home. So with that I ask the question again. At what point do complaints become harassment? Because I am doing everything right that I think I am doing right and the tarot has

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authorized me to do right and then at some point they do come to my home verify that the work that I am doing is within permit it is legal and it is within my right so I ask at what point

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does this become harassing and at what point does this become a waste of taxpayer money and inspector time and township time because I don't know if I'm being targeted or

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but I know I am not because I know this is not an isolated issue. I know other people go through this but at what point does the town put a stop to it and say there's a permit in place. We've already

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checked records. It's there. They're within their rights to do whatever there it is that they are doing. So why the unnecessary check-ins every single time? And it is not a check-in because oh we need to see that this is going according

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to plan. It's a check-in because someone has called in to complain. So again that's my question. At what point does a complaint become harassing? uh you know unfortunately

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you know we cannot answer a question as to at what point something becomes harassment. What we can do however is ask our administrator to get your address and contact the construction official and find out what is going on with respect to these complaints and why

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has it necessitated multiple visits and then the administrator can get back to you. In terms of if you believe it's harassment, that would be a more than likely what they would say is a civil matter and the governing body does not get involved with civil matters between

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neighbors. Legally, they cannot. You would have to consult with your own private attorney. We can't give legal advice on that either. Again, what we can do is look into your complaint with our own building department and someone get back to you as to what uh what the

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reason of or of any inspections, how many have taken place, how many complaints they receive. >> Okay. Um and again, it's not like I know who the complaints are coming from. I have an idea, but I don't know who they're coming from. But yes, and I know

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that it is a a police issue where at some point if I feel that it is harassment, I do need to go to the police department. >> Right. If it rises to the level of being criminal, the police department >> Exactly. I understand that. >> Aen, if you don't mind sticking around uh at the end of the meeting and and

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providing your contact information to the administrator so that she can follow up. >> All right. Thank you so much. >> Thank you so much. >> Anybody else? hearing or seeing no one. Can I get a motion to close public comments? >> Motion. >> Second.

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>> Uh, all in favor? >> Any opposed? All right. Consent agenda. All items listed on the consent agenda are considered routine, non-controversial, and will be approved by one motion unless a committee member or citizen request otherwise. May I have

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a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> Motion. >> Have a second. >> Second. >> Roll call, please. Yes. >> Josh, >> yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. The next township committee will be held on Wednesday, May 27th at 7:00 p.m.

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May I have a motion to adjourn this meeting? >> Motion. >> Have a second. >> Second. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Any opposed? Thank you so much. This meeting is adjourned. >> I I I