Council welcomes public comment, but not smears
During the public session of the March 4 Borough Council meeting, which was held virtually over zoom, a few individuals attempted to announce their personal views, complete with ethnic and political slurs, but Council caught on quickly and shut them down.
One speaker, discussing her dissatisfaction with feminism, held the floor for a minute, but Council cut her mic when she injected an ethnic slur into her commentary. Another speaker’s mic was turned off a second after he began his speech with a slur aimed directly at Council.
“We’re under attack!” commented Council member John Valenza.
Other would-be speakers had lined up, but Council President Kit Chandler, now cautious of their intentions, checked their addresses and denied the microphone to those who were not from Pennington or did not state their complete name.
Mayor James Davy spoke up to clarify the purpose of public sessions: to allow Pennington residents an opportunity to comment on and ask questions about policies affecting them and the community. Several Pennington residents did speak, requesting information about ongoing projects. Dan Pace asked about the hunting season deer-count and Hardy Petersen asked about the Sked Street Park project. Davy and Council members replied, and said they would follow up with additional information.
In the second public session of the Council meeting, Pace suggested that requiring public members to register before speaking at virtual meetings could reduce or eliminate slurs against ethnic groups or Council members. Davy agreed it was worth consideration.
New Borough Administrator
Gian-Paolo (GP) Caminiti, whose first day on the job was February 20, thanked Council and Pennington residents for giving him a warm welcome.
In an email communication with MercerMe, Caminiti talked about his plans as the Borough’s administrator: “My immediate focus is to better understand daily operations and staff in order to best support and streamline services,” he said. “As the year progresses, other projects such as lead line and water line replacement, engineering, road work projects and collective bargaining renegotiations will be coming into focus.”
Caminiti mentioned the importance of fiscal responsibility “to maintain stable municipal taxes, smart economic growth and development, and sustainable planning to manage environmental concerns and threats.”
Commenting on the challenges of managing a local government, Caminiti said: “As with most municipalities in New Jersey, the Borough faces ongoing pressures to provide a high level of resident services with ever-increasing budget pressures. Adding to local matters, more State and Federal regulations with less aid mean we all have to ‘do more with less’.”
Speaking of smart planning, Caminiti mentioned the Borough’s current work in re-examining the Master Plan, including town redevelopment, open space acquisition, and stormwater management.
He mentioned affordable housing obligations as the Borough moves into the next round of State requirements in 2025. “All of these factors must be actively balanced to keep Pennington the lovely community it is,” said Caminiti.
Budget updates
Phoenix Advisors senior managing director Sherry Tracey gave a presentation on Pennington’s debt services analysis. Covering general capital debt, and water and sewer debt, Tracey projected expenses over the next 10 years. Council president Kit Chandler said the advantage of a 10-year projection is the ability to foresee necessary projects and related expenses so increases can be smoothed out over time rather than hit the budget with a huge increase in one year.
Chief Financial Officer Sandra Webb noted that a big expense facing all local municipalities is related to the recycling program administered by Mercer County Improvement Authority.
Discussing the 2024 budget, Webb said the municipal portion of the property tax bill is about 17 percent of the total amount [with County and school taxes making up the balance]. “A typical house assessed at $488,000 would have an increase of about $64,” she said.
Upcoming events
Council members Charles Marciante and Nadine Stern announced three upcoming events. The Easter Egg Hunt takes place at Kunkle Park, March 30, 10am. Stern said she also is working on Pennington Day and Local Government Week. Details will be posted on the Borough website.
The next Borough Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 1.
