Petitioners brief residents on proposal for charter study in Lyndhurst.
LYNDHURST –
A drumbeat for a change of the township’s form of government is sounding and it could result in a public question on the November ballot.
If the forces for change are successful, voters will be asked, “Should a charter commission be established to study whether the form of government of Lyndhurst be amended, changed or kept the same?”
Voters would also be asked to elect five charter study commissioners who would conduct the study and issue a report that could recommend a new direction for the township governance system.
Currently, five civic activists are circulating a petition to put the referendum up for a vote and they’ll need signatures from at least 20% of the 12,300 registered voters in Lyndhurst to do that, according to former Township Commissioner Brian Haggerty, one of the five organizers.
The other petitioners are:
• Darius Hughes, a social studies teacher at Jefferson School and a township recreation coach.
• Chris Andrinopoulos Jr., an electrical contractor who serves as a township volunteer firefighter and active Franklin School PTA member.
• Francine De Bellis, a retired elementary school teacher whose husband Frank is a local scout leader.
• Michelle (Scott) Cockliff, owner of Dolce Hair Design in Lyndhurst and a township recreation coach.
• Haggerty, who served two terms on the Township Commission from 2005 to 2013, is an author, educator and speaker.
Haggerty, serving as chief spokesman for the petitioners, said that Lyndhurst has operated under the commission form of government, as provided under the Walsh Act, since 1913. Now, he said, “we feel the time has come where we should take a look at our form of government to determine whether it suits the needs of our modern, evolving community.
“As a former commissioner, I know full well the extensive responsibilities and liabilities inherent under the law under this form of government. In Lyndhurst, you have five people serving as administrators in charge of setting a budget, hiring, promotions and dismissals, for their respective departments. So I know in many cases, it’s exposing any commissioner to tremendous liability due to the responsibilities and powers associated with that office and we’ve seen what can happen when a commissioner is faced with so many possible liabilities that expose the commissioner and municipality to possible legal outcomes.”
Andrinopoulos said: “I support the referendum in creating the Lyndhurst Charter Study because I believe it will educate and guide us for an even better Lyndhurst.”
And DeBellis added: “I have lived in Lyndhurst many, many years. I have attended both grammar and high school in my hometown and I retired from teaching in Lyndhurst after 35 years. …
If I can be even a small part of helping to find a better way for Lyndhurst to move forward, I am hopeful that all the people of Lyndhurst will have a brighter tomorrow.”
In any case, nothing will happen overnight.
First, the campaigners must collect sufficient valid signatures to file their petition by the deadline, which is 60 days prior to the Nov. 3 general election. Any qualified Lyndhurst resident may file a petition to run for charter study commissioner.
If the question goes on the ballot and if it passes, then the top five vote-getters would be elected as charter study commissioners.
Within 15 days of the election, the nonsalaried commissioners would hold an organizational meeting, choose a chairman and vice chairman and set a budget, which, Haggerty said, would be “minimal,” for things like paper supplies and possibly a recorder to tape meetings. Such expenses would be picked up by the township, he said.
The charter study commission “would have nine months to hold public hearings to put our form of government on trial, in essence,” Haggerty said. “It could call witnesses – current and/or past elected officials from Lyndhurst and elsewhere, possibly those who have worked under different forms of government, and experts, such as from the Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy at Rutgers University, and members of the public – to present forms of government that would be applicable to Lyndhurst.”
Then, he said, the commission would collate all the testimony and compile a report with a recommendation to keep the current form of government or adopt an alternate form. If it recommends a change, that proposal would go before the voters in the November 2016 general election.
If the electorate votes to change, Haggerty said, then the first election under that new form of government would be held in May 2017, which happens to be when the next municipal election is scheduled under the current form of government.
“So the charter process can happen with no disruption to the current system and enough time is built in to allow the public to educate itself and trust in the process,” Haggerty said.
To get the word out in the community about the proposal, Haggerty said the five organizers plan to hold “open houses” for residents and organizations during the summer at the United Presbyterian Church on Ridge Road and at “cottage parties” hosted by homeowners.
