##VIDEO ID:MXiFMIJl1_o## you're on Rudy okay Nancy all participants are off [Music] hold the um Tuesday December 10th 2024 special meeting of the whiteoff township committee is now in session roll call Nancy Mr Lane present Mr Madigan here Mr melon is absent Mr Shanley here and Mr bua here an if you'll read the special meeting statement please yes this special meeting of the wof township committee is now in session in accordance with the open public meetings act notice of this meeting has been posted on the bulletin board at Memorial Town Hall copy has been filed with the municipal clerk and posted on the municipal website and the copy has been emailed to the record The Ridgewood news and the north Jersey Herald news all newspapers having a general circulation throughout the township of whiteall at least 48 hours prior to this meeting the agenda thereof was similarly posted filed and emailed to said newspapers as part of this meeting the tup has provided a virtual participation accommodation for an individual due to documented medical circumstances this accommodation is being made exclusively for this individual in compliance with applicable law including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the New Jersey law against discrimination it is not available to other members of the public who are required to attend in person should they wish to participate in the meeting the conference line will remain open in listen only mode for the entire meeting to allow the participant to listen during the public comment period the line will be unmuted to provide the participant with the opportunity to address the township committee consistent with the rights afforded to all members of the public the total time allotted for public comment is 10 minutes with a two-minute limit per speaker at the conclusion of the public comment period the conference line will be returned to listen only mode the chair reserves the right to mute the conference line if individual comments exceed the two minutes limit or otherwise violate the Township's procedural rules for public participation this accommodation has been provided to ensure compliance with medical considerations while maintaining the Integrity of public participation and adherence to the established rules for engagement during this meeting it does not set a precedent for future meetings and is based solely on the specific circumstances presented for this session let the record reflect that this meeting is being conducted in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations thank you Nancy uh for one would rise we'll have a flag salute ready salute begin I alance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all be seated all right I'll take a motion to open the meeting for 10 minutes for public comment period so moved second Mr B yes Mr Lane I Mr Madigan yes and Mr Shanley yes with an affirmative vote the motion is approved thank you uh the 10-minute period will be two minutes per speaker that's our Pro our procedure um and comment on any governmental issue that a member of the public FS may be of concern to the residents of the township of wof um the open public meeting comment period is now open each speaker will have up to two minutes to address the township committee anyone wishing to address the township committee on a government issue um that may be concerned of the residents please step to the microphone all participants are unmuted please be respectful and concise in your remarks at this time Mr cavalo please unmute the participant uh which you've done on the conference line to allow anyone on the line who may wish to address the committee good evening count committee members thank you for allowing me to present and speak this evening my name you just say your name and address oh yes of course okay my name is Kevin Esposito my address is 41 Highland Drive West cordwell New Jersey 07006 I proudly serve as the president of the association of Municipal tax assessors of New Jersey I'm here tonight along with a number of members of my Association our past president Angela matis is here to express our concerns about the Township's proposed resolution 24-30 and request that the committee table the resolution so that these concerns can be addressed the association is a nonprofit organization organized for the purpose of improving the and advancing the professionalism of tax assessment profession it serves as a resource to all branches of our state government given its history and composition the association has extensive knowledge of standard of tax assessment practice in New Jersey including the legal and procedural components of the tax assessment practice the association has a long history of participating in litigation and other disputes involving Municipal tax assessors either informally as I'm doing here tonight or as a party of amikas to litigation resolution number 24 d-300 authorizes the immediate suspension of his assessor without pay and further directs the assessor to return certain materials and Technology items to the township no later than Friday 13th December 24th with all due respect there's no legal Authority or procedural whatsoever for a municipality to take matters into its hold in hands and suspend a sitting assessor with or without pay and demand the return of her files so that she can no longer carry out her statutory responsibilities thus resolution 24-30 appears to be starkly illegal and author and other cized action which may embroil all of us in needless litigation the cost of this of course action will ultimately be born not by you not by me not even by your recor but by all taxpayers in the municipality we appreciate that you are directing your removal action to the Division of Taxation and that is the only entity with the power to remove a tenear assessor from Office under njsa 54 1-35 31 however until such time as your assessor is removed from office after a proper hearing before the director she remains your assessor who must be allowed to continue the function and carry out her statutory responsibilities we have reviewed the proposed resolution with the ass with the association's legal councel and offer the following comments most critical New Jersey has a compr comprehensive statutory scheme governing the duties and responsibilities of a municipal assessor that has been interpreted in numerous published Court opinions sently tax assessors assess properties as agents of the legislature and not as agents or employees of the municipalities in order to protect and insulate assessors from potential Municipal interference tenured assessors such as the Township Assessor can only be removed from office from the director of the division of taxation for Good Cost I'm almost done I'm sorry we're good in addition municipalities are statutorily precluded from reducing their assessors salaries finally Decades of published case law has continuously underscored the fundamental practice of tax assessment must be able to act independently of Municipal control or intimidation and be able to perform their duties without fear or favor and free from pressure and harassment in short municipalities cannot interfere with the tax assessor's discharge of her constitutional and statutory responsibilities the association is not aware of any Authority statutory regulatory or case law that permits municipalities to spend its sucessor without pay as recognized by the Appel division in Carlson versus city of hackensac njsa 4 a-9 I'm sorry col 9-1 165 expressively prohibits any reduction in the cessor salary with or without good cause for the term of her office suspension without pay is nothing more than reduction of salary to zero and an action expressly prohibited by Statute the association concerns with the proposed resolution 24 D300 300 is that by suspending its assessor without pay and requiring her to return properly to the municipality by Friday the township is unquestionably interfering with the Assessor's ability to perform her job including an immediate concern the Assessor's ability to file and certify the Township's tax list as required by law by January 10th 2025 again the association is respectfully urging the township committee to table resolution 24-30 so the concerns expressed by the Association can be addressed and that any action taken by the municipality without regard with regard to the assessor adheres to the established statutory scheme and case law thank you for your time and consideration greatly appreciated thank you sir for your comments anyone else wish to address the township committee yes okay this is Pamela steel the tax assessor I'm unable to be there tonight due to the fact that I have lung cancer and must remain out of public meetings I have been employed by wof in the town hall for 30 years and provided dedicated and exceptional service there has been no incident or blemish on my career the proposed action at this meeting is illegal my supervisor at the Bergen County Board of Taxation has written and instructed and directed the township committee that they are without the legal authority to do and take action as they plan to tonight they have also been contacted by the assessors associate I ation attorneys and equally advised again that this is an unlawful action and prohibited by law that's all I have to say thank you thank you Pam anyone else wish to address the township committee there being anybody um there being none a motion to close the public comment section second second Mr Bop yes Mr Lane I Mr Madigan yes and Mr Shanley yes with an affirmative vote the motion is approved now we have been respectfully asked by Mr Esposito to table this motion is there any thought that anyone here has to tbling the motion I think it should be tabled is there a second I hear no second so for lack of a second the motion dies in its place ready can I go Mr cavalo um you have returned the mic to listen only at this point yes thank you um discussion I'll take a motion on resolution 24-30 authorizing petition to remove and notice of suspension I move resolution 24-30 resolution authorizing petition for removal and notice of suspension on advice of councel I second it it's been moved and seconded any discussion roll call Nancy Please Mr Boonstra yes Mr Lane I Mr Madigan yes and Mr Shanley um because of Robert Leon the tax administrator's letter to us that we don't have authority to do that and the opinions of the municipal assessors of New Jersey and the fact that I'm an attorney I think we don't have the authority so I'm going to vote no motion carries motion to ad chair second Mr boa yes Mr Lane I Mr Madigan yes and Mr Shanley yes with an affirmative vote we have ad okay