At least Phil Read thinks so. On September 19, the Montclair Town Council had a pizza party "Special Planning & Communications Meeting" which the Star Ledger depicted as an evening full of banter and joking, where the council took a "light hearted look at issues."
Remsen, working off a two-page script "not for public consumption," led his council on a free-wheeling brainstorming session Tuesday night, talking up an in-the-works agenda for the remaining two years of his "Leadership Montclair" slate.There was munching on pizza and a tendency for humor as Montclair's duly elected settled into an hours-long back-and-forth billed as a "special planning and communications meeting" loaded with insights into the running of municipal government.
The council did pass an emergency measure, making the downsizing ordinance approved last week become effective immediately. Ted Mattox told Baristanet "This was done specifically with the 21 North Mountain property in mind. We wanted to have the ordinance in effect before the Planning Board's special meeting on the 25th (of September)." Without an emergency measure, the ordinance passed at the Sept. 12 council meeting becomes effective 20 days later.
What other pressing issues were on the town council's minds? There was discussion of recycling, garbage, goose poop, and better communication with the public. Some attention given to cutting expenses - Mayor Remsen mentioned "cost saving synergies with the public library."
Does this evening of making nice portend a more productive, harmonious council?
Not neccessarily. "There are major differences in how some council members want to manage government," says Ted Mattox. "I listen to the taxpayer concerns first and take a bottom-up approach to the issues, other council members believe they know what's best for the town and have adopted a 'top-down' strategy for decision making. Issues need to be put on the table for public discussion before decisions are made, and people need to make their opinions known."
Guess it really wasn't all fun and games.
"[I] take a bottom-up approach to the issues..."
Starting in the gutter, it seems.