Mayor and Council Meeting Tuesday 3-09-10

Mayor and Council Meeting 3-9-10 I apologize to our faithful readers for being so late in publishing this article. The meeting lasted until 11:30 PM and left me exhausted after a long long day and another one on Wednesday. Several people have already contacted me asking about the meeting.

The 7:45 PM scheduled meeting started about ½ hour late. The Work Session was considerate of the attendees by repairing to the Caucus Room for their closed session rather than displace the audience which had grown to be quite large.

Very considerate! Quite a bit of the time was taken up by political discussion, but this time, it was the Democrats who pushed their agenda. Explanations and accusations abounded, but the Republican majority kept their reports fairly brief. We will not discuss the merits of either side’s viewpoint or discussion!

The two big items discussed, mainly in the Open to the Public portion, were the suggested elimination of the Department of Human Services and the Department of Animal Control. Fifteen people arose and approached the podium to state their views on protecting the status quo of the Department of Human Services and why it should be kept within the Borough rather than being shifted over to County Welfare. Department head, Irene Maury explained what she and her one woman department has achieved despite a much heavier workload due to the failing economy. Several recipients of the benefits of the Human Services Department broke their anonymity to declare themselves and the benefits they have received.

One of the items stated, the vegetable garden, struck home. Paramus Sunrise Rotary Club helped Ms Maury to get it started and volunteered during the first season to weed and water the project. Maury brought her offspring to help with the initial planting. When the Sunrise Rotary Club had a picnic at the IBEW Local 14 grounds, Irene’s son brought over one of the products, a pumpkin. www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20080921143400914  This pumpkin dwarfed Mayor Tedesco’s granddaughter, it was so big.

After the first year, the garden was tended to by the grateful recipients of the fresh produce!

Al Gunderson read a summary of the benefits of keeping the Animal Control Department in town and what it has accomplished without embarrassment to the Paramus pet owner, items like removing deceased pets with consideration given to the grieving owners and their children.

Mayor Tedesco allowed every resident to get up and state their opinions. It included my good friend Lenny Goldblatt, Vice President of the Paramus Republican Club, who urged cooperation.