The West Windsor town council drew ire from local officials and council members regarding the result and the scheduling of recent meetings and work sessions. Two daytime meetings were held, one at 9 a.m. on July 26, and another at 1 p.m. on August 4, and the timing of the meetings is sparking as much controversy as the decisions being made by the five-member body.
One of those members has vowed never to attend a daytime meeting again. Franc Gambatese says the daytime meetings conflict with his work schedule, and that council is forcing him to choose between his job and his duties as a public official. “It is absolutely wrong to conduct Council meetings when most of the community is unavailable to watch or participate,” said Gambatese. “We are doing the residents of West Windsor a huge disservice and creating an air of secrecy for no reason.”
Council president Linda Geevers told the News that the meetings were held at the odd times in order to give people who couldn’t attend night time meetings a chance to be involved.
Councilman Charles Morgan responded to Gambatese: “The public is not being denied input into our process since the public would not have input at a work session anyway. Moreover, the public will have an opportunity to provide input at such time as the final work product (or another draft) comes up for deliberation and action at a regular business or agenda session.”
During the July 26 special session, which was not well-attended by the public, a full council voted to stop recording its closed-door executive sessions. It will instead rely on the township clerk to transcribe discussions for public record. The vote was 3-2, with Council President Geevers, Pfeifer, and Heidi Kleinman were in support of the change, while Morgan and Gambatese voted against cessation of recordings.
Months earlier, the council was steeped in controversy over its handling of the selection process for an interim council member. Local media blasted the council for conducting part of the interview process in a closed executive session. The recordings of these sessions allowed the press and the public to know how candidates had responded to questions put to them by Geevers, Kleinman, and Morgan. Gambatese conducted his interviews in private. Pfeifer was the council’s selection to take the seat.
In the second part of the July 26 meeting, council members deliberated on drafting procedural guidelines for an improved selection process should they have to replace another member who departs mid-term. The discussion was not completed, and the August 4 work session was scheduled for that purpose.
At least part of the media was left in the dark on July 26. Because the Trenton Times and Princeton Packet are designated “legal” papers for Township business, the clerk sent notices of the meeting to them, as dictated by “Sunshine laws.” No notice was sent to the WW-P News, however.
Also taking issue with the meeting times was Hassan Syed, chair of the Human Relations Council, who E-mailed all council members: “A meeting of such importance and substance should have been well advertised, with lots of notice and held at a time when maximum participation can be expected.”
Geevers responded: “I have spoken to Mr. Syed regarding the concerns he raised in his E-mail to Council. I explained the process to him and assured him that the draft revised procedural guidelines and the draft of a new vacancy guideline would be brought forward in the near future at a regularly scheduled evening meeting.”
Gambatese sent a statement he intended to have read at the meeting, but Township Attorney Michael Herbert ruled that it should instead be made part of public record. Said Gambatese in the statement: “Whether this meeting is noticed and legal is not the question, whether it is good for the residents and good for the perception surrounding the council is the question. It kind of reminds me about the debate I had with This council regarding the interviewing of Council candidates in executive session. Not illegal, just inappropriate. The council doesn’t have a good reputation for listening, and its getting worse.”
Township Clerk Sharon Young confirmed that the council was not noticed for action for the August 4 meeting. The work session was announced just after the conclusion of the July 26 meeting. When council is not noticed for action, they can not vote on any legislative issue.
Geevers said it was her goal to leave the meeting with an outline for a process which can be voted on at the council’s agenda meeting on Monday, August 14, at 7 p.m. Barbara Pfeifer came to the meeting with the goal of reading a prepared statement, but was stopped. (See related story on Page 1) After she left the meeting, the three remaining council members — Morgan, Kleinman, and Geevers — then commenced discussion of the work session topic.
The result of the work session is a definitive procedure to fill a vacancy for the mayor or for a council seat. Council will vote on the change to its procedural guidelines on Monday, August 14.
Candidates must apply within 10 days of the vacancy being announced. Applications are considered public record. Council members are free to talk to applicants about their candidacy on an individual basis.
The new policy for special meetings in the selection process reads:
(1.) At a special public meeting, which shall be called during the third week of the vacancy, each candidate will be permitted to provide a public presentation for up to five minutes and respond to any questions by members of Council.
(2.) Public Comment Period. Public comments will be permitted at this special meeting only after the applicants have made their presentations and answered questions from Council. The public comment period conducted at this special meeting shall be limited to three minutes per person.
(3.) At the next regularly scheduled public meeting after public presentations are provided by the candidates, but within 30 calendar days following the occurrence of the vacancy, each remaining member of Council will be permitted to nominate one of the candidates. No second is necessary for any nomination. After the nominations are made, then the Council will be free to deliberate about the nominees. After deliberations in public are concluded, then each remaining member of Council may submit a ballot to the Clerk selecting one of the nominees to fill the vacant position.
