Harrison's $42 Million Budget/ DP Ordinance+ Wed. Jan. 3, 2023

The upcoming Reorganization Meeting of Harrison's Mayor and Council, slated for January 3, 2023, at the Harrison Town Hall, starting at 6:15 p.m., is set to pass an operating budget exceeding $42 million. The Mayor & Council have not however published to the Town’s Website (1) the 2024 Town Treasurers Budget Presentation slides (2) the User Friendly Version of the Budget and (3) the Actual Introduced Budget.  All three of these items are required by New Jersey State Law.  In addition, although the Agenda for the Reorganization Meeting mentions the Minutes of the Christmas week December 19, 2023, Mayor & Council meeting, the Minutes are not published on the Town of Harrison website. The Agenda also includes other items. 

Disorderly Person Public Comment Ordinance

One item that was implemented for the Harrison Redevelopment Agency as well is the limitation of public participation at the Mayor & Council meeting. The 5-minute Public participation provision already existed for the Mayor & Council meetings and was recently added to the Harrison Redevelopment Agency meetings. 

No Hand Clapping, Stamping of Feet, or Whistling

The new Ordinance adds a prohibition on activities like hand clapping, stamping of feet, whistling, using profane language, shouting, or other similar demonstrations that may disturb the peace and order of the Town meeting.  The Ordinance designates the Mayor or his (sic) designee  as the arbitrator of whether there is a violation and empowers the Mayor or his (sic) designee to order the member of the public they designate as disturbing the meeting to leave the meeting.

If the person does not leave the meeting the Harrison Police Chief and/or his designee is empowered to remove the member of the public. The Ordinance uses the word “shall carry out all orders given by the Mayor for the purpose of maintaining order and decorum at the Town meeting”. The word “shall” when used in Ordinances makes it mandatory and not discretionary.  Despite what the new Ordinance states, a Harrison Police officer including the Harrison Police Chief would have to comply not with the Orders of Mayor Fife and/or his designee but with his or her independent judgment after applying the Guidelines from the New Jersey Attorney General interpreting the New Jersey Constitution and the provisions of the United States Constitution as to whether a member of the public is disturbing the peace. There is no history of any foot stomping, hand clapping, whistling, or use of profane language unless you considered the word “blowhard” as used by Councilman James Doran directed a member of the public at one meeting as profane, to justify the introduction or passage of the proposed ordinance.

The Real Reason For Ordinance

What’s the real reason for the ordinance?  Mayor Fife wants to continue his intimidation of anyone who questions his administration.  The ordinance, likely illegal on its face has been drawn up to attempt to silence the public.  The Harrison Police Department officers have to ignore the word “shall” and apply their training to determine independent of Mayor Fife or his designee at a Town Meeting whether there are sufficient grounds to stop a member of the public from speaking at a Harrison Town meeting in the public session designated by the New Jersey Public Meetings Act as an essential component of open government in New Jersey.  Harrison Police officers take an Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution. Their oath superseded any “shall” word in a Town Ordinance.

To review the complete Agenda for the Mayor & Council meeting click here. We hope you come out to the meeting and participate by asking a question or reading a prepared statement or both in the Public Session of the meeting or during the Public Comment period for Ordinances.  The Town Clerk will announce when the Public Comment periods are opened up.

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