BY LARRY HLAVENKA JR.
Staff Writer
Howell HOWELL – Another Township Council meeting, another early morning finish.
And with sleepy discussion at the meeting which began in the evening hours of Sept. 5 and ended in the early morning hours of Sept. 6, the governing body pressed for a solution once again.
“At some point we’re losing our focus on what we have to do,” Councilwoman Cynthia Schomaker said. “I am in favor of adopting some kind of protocol.”
Schomaker referred to a memorandum from Township Manager Thomas Czerniecki which called for better-defined guidelines for the way meetings are conducted.
Back in June, when the council ended up acting on agenda items at 12:30 a.m., Mayor Joseph DiBella took exception with the late hour and called it a “non-productive situation.”
At the time, the mayor moved for the adoption of a strict adherence to the five-minute per-person public comment rule – with a one hour total limit for all residents – that was instituted in March.
That intention did not advance and over the summer the council members endured other meetings which ran well into the morning, with the Aug. 15 meeting running past 1:30 a.m.
The Sept. 5 meeting ended at about 12:45 a.m. Sept. 6.
Councilman Robert Walsh restated his displeasure over having to make significant decisions at such a late hour.
“I’m all for getting the business of the town done in a timely fashion,” Walsh said.
The council members noted the political hoopla of the Aug. 15 meeting – when DiBella, Walsh and members of the public verbally sparred over issues regarding Howell’s revaluation process – and said that cannot happen if the governing body wants its meetings to run efficiently.
Regardless, the panel recognized the politically motivated discussion strayed from township business and detracted from meeting time.
“The exchange a couple of weeks ago was uncalled for and the debate was not about township business,” Councilman Juan Malave said. “We need to adhere to the agenda.”
So, as part of Czerniecki’s plan that includes addressing the structure of meetings and how public input is received, he hoped to find what he called a set of “best practices” for township meetings.
In closing, the manager said, he would “develop a draft so we can all get out of here by 11 p.m.”
As a final point of business, the Sept. 12 council meeting has been moved to Howell Middle School South at 7:30 p.m., as per the mayor’s recent request that council meetings should be held at locations besides town hall.