By
Kevin Coughlin
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3
Some voices got raised Tuesday when the Morristown council took steps to repeal a 2021 noise ordinance that the prior council spent two years crafting.
That debate, which pits police against a pair of councilmen, came on a busy night that saw the council…
- adopt a $56.4 million town budget,
- revoke a cannabis license,
- approve renewals of a slew of liquor licenses, and
- hear a pitch for a $2.1 million Morristown Partnership budget that includes an $811,000 increase and higher fees for businesses.
On the feel-good side, the council approved a street sign to honor 82-year-old former councilman and youth sports coach William “Butchie” Barber. And Councilwoman Toshiba Foster got a warm welcome back, after months of serious health issues.
“Please continue to pray for me, because I am not fully recovered yet,” Foster said, almost in a whisper, expressing thanks for everyone’s support.
“My family and I really appreciate it,” she said. “It’s good to be back.”
After the council acceded to community wishes and voted to place her husband’s sign at Martin Luther King Avenue and Flagler Street, Anita Barber looked relieved.
“It’s a long time coming,” she said.
A citizens committee felt MLK was a more prominent place than the Clyde Potts Drive intersection favored by council members. A public celebration is planned for Sept. 7, 2024, Anita Barber said.
And… Juneteenth now is a paid holiday for town employees, Mayor Tim Dougherty announced. Town hall will be closed on June 21, 2024, in observance of the holiday.
‘I SUGGEST WE GO FORWARD’
Modeled on a state environmental law that lays out procedures for decibel measurements and stiff fines for violations, the 2021 noise ordinance is too hard to enforce, according to police.
With the mayor’s endorsem*nt, the council voted 5-2 to introduce a measure reverting to the previous ordinance, which supporters said gives cops more leeway to defuse loud situations. It does not appear to affect the seasonal ban on gas-powered leaf blowers approved by voters last November.
Councilmen Robert Iannaccone and Steve Pylypchuk opposed the repeal.
“Instead of going backwards, I suggest we go forward,” said Iannaccone, who advocated beefing up the 2021 measure to incorporate police concerns. Iannaccone helped pass the law with then-Councilman Stefan Armington.
If re-adopted at the next meeting, the old rules will replace scientific benchmarks with subjective judgments about what constitutes unlawful “disturbing or unnecessary sound or noise,” Armington said during Tuesday’s public comment portion.
Cannabis business goes up in smoke at Morristown council meeting
“This is a highly arbitrary criteria that I believe is not defensible by the courts, and I am frankly shocked that your town attorneys would believe that is defensible…you’re essentially stripping the police department of any ability to change behavior through enforcement mechanisms, and you’re giving a green light to any prospective violators to do whatever they want,” said Armington, a three-term Democrat who spearheaded the controversial leaf blower referendum.
Pressed by Pylypchuk, town Attorney David Minchello said he felt confident courts will uphold noise summonses without decibel readings.
The town bought two decibel meters and trained two officers in their use, said Morristown Public Safety Director Michael Corcoran Jr., accompanied by Police Chief Darnell Richardson and Officer Colin Birch.
But the technology has proven “impractical and ineffective” for the town’s most common noise complaints: Residents upset about loud private establishments, Corcoran told the council.
Police can take a decibel reading outside a bar. However, the 2021 law also requires them to record a “baseline” level for comparison — and most residents won’t allow police inside their homes for that recording, Corcoran said.
The public safety director became so animated that Iannaccone and the mayor both grinned and asked him to calm down.
Birch echoed Corcoran, quietly.
“I believe that the state model is effective in certain places and towns. I don’t believe it is here, for the majority of noise complaints that we do get,” the officer said.
Corcoran intimated that the old law also was better for curbing noisy garbage pickups, because it banned them in the wee hours. The 2021 ordinance requires an officer to take a meter reading — if he can catch the truck while it’s making a ruckus, he indicated.
Iannaccone asked for the number of times police have responded to noise complaints, data he said has been hard to come by. Meter-documented summonses can be a valuable tool for police, as a deterrent to repeat offenders, as Morristown grows more urbanized and noisier, the councilman asserted.
The state requires municipal noise ordinances to be as stringent, or more stringent, than the Department of Environmental Protection model. The council is weakening noise protections for residents, Iannaccone contends.
Mayor Tim Dougherty said he listens to police, his “boots on the ground.”
“It’s not working. It’s that simple,” he said of the 2021 ordinance. “If it was working, we wouldn’t be here with the police officer, the chief of police and the public safety director.”
Dougherty likened the discussion to the leaf blower ban.
“We talked ad nauseum about enforcement,” he said.
IN OTHER BUSINESS…BUSINESS FEES SPIKING
The average business in Morristown’s Special Improvement District — which spans much of the three-square-mile town–will see its annual S.I.D. fee jump to $3,556 this year, more than double last year’s $1,484 average.
That’s according to Jennifer Wehring, executive director of the nonprofit Morristown Partnership.
Seeking council approval of a $2.1 million budget that includes an $811,000 increase, she blasted through a detailed slide presentation.
S.I.D. fees comprise about two-thirds of Partnership revenues, which help fund street beautification and lighting, fall and Christmas festivals on the Green, a farmers market, and other business promotions.
Wehring said the S.I.D. rate remains unchanged. But that rate now is being levied on business properties with assessed values that have increased 136 percent since the town’s recent revaluation, Wehring said.
The town made adjustments to soften the reval tax blow somewhat for homeowners. But the Partnership is not doing that for its member businesses, Wehring acknowledged in response to questions from Iannaccone.
She explained that S.I.D. revenues have declined or been flat since 2005, while costs of light poles, for example, have more than doubled.
With backing from her board, she aims to create two funds totaling $300,000 as reserves for tax appeals and emergencies.
Additionally, she wants to establish a retirement plan and boost compensation for her three-member team, increase investments in decorative lighting and welcome signs, hire an A.I. company to target advertising for members, and host an annual meeting to take the pulse of local businesses.
The Partnership also is reviewing how to collect S.I.D. fees from new commercial properties.
Iannaccone asked Wehring to inform all businesses within the district of the anticipated fee hikes prior to the council vote on the Partnership budget. She agreed.
Councilman David Silva offered to find volunteers to help Wehring’s staff, which is not bilingual, improve outreach to Hispanic businesses on Speedwell Avenue.
On Tuesday the council also approved $133,437 in change orders for the ongoing sewer line replacement at Ford Avenue and Morris Street, bringing the project total to $1,338,189.
The administration expects these changes will result in fewer feet of piping needed in the next construction phase, offsetting the increases.
Morristown’s governing body also adopted a $2.5 million bond ordinance to fund improvements to streets, municipal buildings and the Burnham pool and Foote’s Pond; along with purchases of police, fire and public works vehicles.
Lastly, John Blanchard, a retired Morris School District employee who resides in seniors housing on Early Street, was appointed as resident representative on the Morristown Housing Authority.
And Morristown police announced they will hand out 150 free Spiderman posters by artist Fernando Ruiz at the 10th annual Garden State Comic Fest, June 22-23, 2024, at Mennen Arena in Morris Township.
