The After The Storm: Mayor & Council Meeting Tues. Feb. 13, 2024 6:15 p.m.

The Harrison Mayor & Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 13, 2024, at the Town Hall located at 318 Harrison Avenue. The session is scheduled to commence at 6:15 p.m. in the Caucus Room on the Third Floor, with the official meeting following at 6:30 p.m.  The Mayor & Council have not been using the much larger Council Chamber on the 2^nd floor of the Harrison Town Hall which has traditionally been used for Mayor & Council meetings and is a better space for social distancing.

The meeting will kick off with standard procedural activities, including the Call to Order, Sunshine Notice, Pledge of Allegiance, and Roll Call. Among the first orders of business will be the approval of minutes from the January 3, 2024, Mayor & Council meeting.

Fire Department Promotions

Significant resolutions on the agenda include a variety of topics spanning multiple departments. The Fire Department will see promotions within its ranks, with oaths of office administered to newly promoted personnel as follows  Battalion Fire Chiefs Joseph B. Cavanagh, Robbert S. J. Underhill, and Joseph P. Faugno. As Fire Captains, Joseph DeFuria and William Ring IV. 

A Long Way from Newark Takeover

In 2016, eight years ago, then-Councilman Anselmo Millan fought Mayor James Fife, at a Mayor & Council meeting to save the Harrison Fire Department from being shuttered and closed down and Harrison's Fire services to be handled by the neighboring City of Newark Fire Department.  It does matter who you elect and one wonders when promotions are made in the Harrison Fire Department if veteran firefighters of the Harrison Fire Department reflect on the occasion how different their lives and the lives of their families, and residents of Harrison would have been if then Councilman Anselmo Millan had not refused to go along with Mayor Fife's and the Department of Community Affairs plan to save millions of dollars in the budget by dismantling the Harrison Fire Department. Mayor Fife fought tabling the bill but ultimately relented.  Councilman Anselmo Millan changed history. One wonders if any Harrison Firefighter has recently gone over to Anselmo Millan's house on Warren Street and said "Thank you, for standing up for us."

Legal Department Resolutions

Legal resolutions include amendments to contracts, updates to the town's Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual, and the authorization of contracts and sales of personal property which includes a lot of used Harrison vehicles and equipment. The resolution amending the Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual refers to red-lined changes to portions of the manual but does not provide those pages as part of the Resolutions available to the Public.

Police Department

Several ordinances are slated for introduction and adoption, touching on critical issues such as municipal budget appropriations, department head amendments, fee adjustments, and changes in salary schedule including a reduction in the number of steps for the Harrison Police Department. Designation of a Handicapped space in front of  228 and 431 Hamilton Street is also on the Agenda

Finance Department

There is a resolution making emergency appropriations to various municipal budgets at the request of the Finance Department. The Town of Harrison has not yet adopted its 2024 Municipal Budget and has until March 31, 2024, to do so.

Public Comment

The meeting will also include time for public comment, allowing residents to voice their concerns or support for the various items on the agenda. The last resolution is for the payment of bills and payrolls, underscoring the town's operational and financial management.

The Mayor and Council meetings are open to the public, offering residents an opportunity to participate in the governance of their community. Go out and ask a question on any item on or off the Mayor & Council Meeting Agenda.

Also Read: Harrison Fire Department A Long Way From Newark Takeover

Mayor Fife's Plan: Harrison to Switch to Bergen County Dispatchers

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