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Toms River council ignore's judge and skips vote on affordable housing, leaving the fate of 8,000 units in the hands of a state-appointed affordable housing judge
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With state regulators and the courts
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watching what happened at Monday night's
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special meeting of the Toms River
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Council, fireworks erupted instead.
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>> Why don't you want the mayor to speak,
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Tom? What do you have to hide? What do
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you have to hide, Tom? Let the mayor
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speak. The mayor was elected by the
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people to run the town.
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Let the mayor speak. What do you have to
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hide, Tom? Do you want to hide the fact
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that you're going to allow builders
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remedy in this town? Are you going to
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let 8,000 units be built because you
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don't want to vote for the housing plan?
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>> The Township Council majority, led by
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David Sikorski, refused to hold a
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court-mandated vote to settle the
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Township's fair share housing agreement.
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>> Just let her finish, please.
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>> she's going to lie, David.
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>> Well, David, you don't you don't you you
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don't give an opportunity for anybody
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else to redress and and
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No, you can't when when when you when
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you give us no opportunity to speak.
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>> Go ahead. Finish.
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>> Thank you, David. I appreciate you
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advertising to the 200 people watching
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at home just
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just how you really are, you and your
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team. You got a lot to answer now, Dave.
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>> I'm talking
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>> I was going to answer.
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>> Instead of voting on the state-approved
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agreement, Niveson and his allies want
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to force the mayor's hand to approve a
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large affordable housing project by a
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developer. But Rodrick says the
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council's developer doesn't have the
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money and has no real plan that would
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get the state's approval.
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>> So, as as was mentioned in three
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meetings that that gentleman attended,
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the land is landlocked.
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As far as getting in the plan, it's well
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beyond that. He doesn't have financing.
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He's not a developer. To build and to to
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build anything like that, you would need
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30 to 50 million dollars.
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It also is landlocked and would require
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Township property. So, this whole notion
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that, you know,
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we don't want to use Township property
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just goes out the window. Sort of like
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when the council said that they didn't
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want anything near Hooper Avenue, but
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that's also near Hooper Avenue. Um
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So, there is no developer. There's no
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financing.
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It's beyond the deadline.
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I I don't know what else to say and as
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far as
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he wound up saying at one point, I think
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in the first meeting, that he would be
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willing to do 100% affordable.
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What I wanted to address earlier on
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today and I've done so in each meeting
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is that 100% affordable housing
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no one is going to build, take their
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property
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and build 100% affordable housing on it
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because they're going to get less than
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half the rent.
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>> The meeting comes before a looming
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deadline where the town could face
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builder's remedy lawsuits and lose its
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court protected immunity due to months
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of inaction and filibustering by the
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anti-Roderick council. At several points
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during the meeting, Mayor Roderick tried
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to explain the settlement but Sekou and
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Tom Niveson repeatedly shut the mayor
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down.
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>> Are we have Are we Are we have one mind
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that am I going to have that opportunity
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now?
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>> Yes.
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>> Uh 5 minutes, Mayor.
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It's okay. I can always just forward
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this statement to the press.
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Going forward, Dave, what we're going to
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do is when I have something important to
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share with the public, I'm going to
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pre-record the message and put it on
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before the meeting.
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>> So, anyway, when when
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when I came back from the from the Stop
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& Shop the other day
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>> Oh, sorry.
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>> Why don't you want the mayor to speak,
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Tom? What do you have to hide? What do
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you have to hide, Tom? Let the mayor
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speak. The mayor was elected by the
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people to run the town.
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>> Did you see that basketball game the
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other night?
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>> Let the mayor speak. What do you have to
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hide, Tom? Do you want to hide the fact
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that you're going to allow builders
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remedy in this town and you're going to
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let 8,000 units be built because you
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don't want to vote for the housing plan
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that the mayor negotiated? Are you
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trying to hide that fact, Tom?
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>> Mr. Business Administrator, be quiet,
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please.
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>> He's losing it.
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>> Be quiet.
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>> That's what you're trying to hide, Tom,
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by not letting the mayor speak.
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>> Come on. Calm down, man.
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>> You know what? You're going to vote
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against the housing plan and there's
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going to be 8,000 units built because of
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you and you and you.
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>> Yeah, right.
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>> And Robert Beaudin shitty, the four
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knuckleheads that won't vote for the
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housing plan that the mayor negotiated.
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The best housing plan in the history of
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the state.
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>> Calm down a little bit. You see that
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basketball
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>> No, because I don't want this town to go
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to hell by 8,000 units being built.
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That's going to be That's going to
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happen on your watch, Tom.
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That's going to be on your hands, Tom,
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because you're going to allow 8,000
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units to be built in this town. It's
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pathetic.
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>> Thanks, Johnny.
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>> It's pathetic.
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>> Nice going, Johnny.
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Uh look at it.
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>> You know you actually pay $97 in
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property tax a year on your farm, Tom.
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$97 in property tax a year. That's all
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you pay. And you you act like you care
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about the taxpayers in this town.
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>> $97,000, that sounds like a lot to me.
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>> $97, Tom. 97.
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>> Yeah, sure, John.
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>> Go look at the record, Tom. Go look at
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the record.
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>> even know cuz
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>> You got a lot to hide, Tom. That's why
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you don't want the mayor to speak.
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>> Tax records confirm that Nivison has a
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state property tax exemption for his
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business and only pays $97 per year in
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property taxes on his approximately
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10-acre business in Silverton.
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Business administrator John Solones had
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a heated moment with the council, which
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continued its filibustering. Now, the
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decision of Toms River's development
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future could lie in the hands of a
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state-appointed judge. Rodrick says he
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will once again go before the judge and
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plead his case for an extension after
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the council ignored the judge's deadline
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once again.
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Earlier in the meeting, Chikozie lost
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control of the meeting and didn't
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understand the procedural actions he was
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taking on the council, prompting the
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township attorney to intervene. Attorney
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Jonathan Penny was also shut down by the
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council president.
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>> Well, the table didn't pass.
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>> So, it it Do you mind if I take a moment
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to Does it move then? Okay, so
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um on to the cassette agenda, please.
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>> Can we Can we speak on that at all?
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>> No. Dave, you didn't table it.
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You didn't You didn't table it. You had
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a 3-3 vote. You didn't table it. So, you
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got to have an up or down vote, but I
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would really like an opportunity to
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speak before you make me up there.
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>> the end, Mayor. Thank you.
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Thank you, please.
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>> You don't want to You don't want to hear
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from the administration.
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>> move on to the cassette agenda, please.
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You Dave, you can't You can't You can't
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have something on the agenda not table
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it and not vote on it. You'd be breaking
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the law. You got to vote.
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>> Then then so be it then. So we're on the
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cassette agenda.
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>> cuz I I think the rule is you have to
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have a majority to table something. You
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You moved to table, you didn't have a
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majority.
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>> So it's moved It was a tie, 3-3. So it's
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not tabled and and it's not moving
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forward. So what do you suggest?
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What do you suggest?
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>> It's already on the agenda. You have to
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You have to vote up or down now, Dave.
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>> You should vote on it.
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>> No, we don't. No, we don't.
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>> Oh my god, Dave.
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>> No, we don't.
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>> You got a lawyer here? You got a lawyer
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here? Is there any other lawyer in the
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audience?
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>> him and he didn't respond to me.
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So what what happens then?
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>> You got to vote
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>> You vote on it.
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>> Is that correct, Peter?
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>> on the
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>> Is that correct, Peter?
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>> It's on the agenda.
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>> You're going to put your You're going to
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put your reputation on the line and say,
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"Yes, that is correct."
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>> Absolutely it is cuz it is. It's on the
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agenda. All right. Now look, if it
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doesn't pass, it doesn't pass. Let's
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vote on it, guys.
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Okay.
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>> Yeah.
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>> Let's vote on it, guys.
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>> You can't You can't You You actually
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can't table it. That would be That would
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be the improper thing to do.
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>> I didn't say
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table it. It So it's a 3-3.
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>> Well, if you don't vote on it, then it's
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tabled.
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You either vote on it or it's tabled.
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So you got to vote on it and you got to
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put your Talk about reputation.
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>> It didn't It didn't It didn't The
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tabling didn't pass then.
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But but perhaps again, if you would
7:23
allow me to speak briefly, I could put
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to rest
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>> You can
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>> I know you have Mouse Club Mohel in the
7:29
in the audience yelling out no, but
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I figured you your own man.
7:33
>> Uh You can put it You can put it forward
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and abstain.
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>> I need to take a a recess on this,
7:39
please. Thank you.
7:40
>> You could take a recess, I'm sure. But
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you would need a vote on your recess,
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too.
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>> I said I need a motion for a recess,
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please.
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>> Okay.
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>> Do I have a
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>> Mo- Motion to recess.
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>> I'll second it.
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>> Okay. Roll call, please.
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>> Motion to take a recess was made by
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Councilman Kniveson and seconded by
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Councilman Bradley. Councilman Kniveson
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to recess.
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>> Yes.
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>> Councilman Bradley.
8:02
>> Yes.
8:03
>> Uh Councilman Coleman.
8:05
>> No.
8:06
>> Councilman Eber.
8:07
>> No.
8:08
>> Councilwoman O'Toole?
8:10
>> No.
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>> Council President Sakowicz?
8:14
>> Yes.
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>> Well, the the recess didn't pass.
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>> Here Here Here's the thing.
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Um
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we have we have the state of New Jersey
8:24
We have the state of New Jersey and the
8:26
court watching us. Um
8:29
Yeah.
8:30
>> Recognize
8:31
your meeting.
8:32
>> Do you Do you need a Do you need a break
8:34
with your
8:36
Do you want to go into session or
8:38
something like that? I mean
8:39
>> I need
8:41
to hear and
8:42
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