Cumberland County Board of Commissioners introduced and passed an ordinance on first reading and approved several resolutions at a shortened meeting Oct. 14, 2025, at the Cumberland County Administration Building in Richland.

The ordinance was introduced and adopted on first reading by title only; the clerk announced the measure "was introduced and passed upon first reading at a meeting of the governing body of the county of Cumberland, 10/14/2025," and said the county will hold a public hearing and consider final passage Nov. 12, 2025, at 6 p.m. at the Cumberland County Administration Building, 164 West Broad Street, Richland. Copies of the full ordinance, the clerk said, will be available at no cost during regular business hours prior to the hearing.

The board also approved a set of resolutions during the meeting, including a resolution authorizing a non–fair-and-open contract to provide training on election materials for the Cumberland County Clerk's Office and Board of Elections for the Cumberland Regional High School special election (listed in the resolution as 2025-15 districts). Commissioner discussion during the vote noted the county will fund the training up front and be reimbursed later by Cumberland Regional High School.

Other approved resolutions included an amendment of bills (listed in the meeting as Resolution 2025-586), a resolution supporting "Operation Greenlight for Veterans" (listed as Resolution 2025-572), which declared Oct. 14, 2025, through Nov. 11, 2025, as Greenlight for Veterans, and a resolution certifying compliance with regulations of the Local Finance Board of the State of New Jersey (referred to in the meeting as Resolution 2025-575). The board also approved a closed-session resolution authorizing a meeting not open to the public to discuss litigation, negotiations, attorney-client privileged matters and employment matters (listed as Resolution 2025-587).

Public comment was brief. Nancy Ridgeway of "Robert Deerfield and Fairfield Township" told commissioners she wanted to be concise and flagged an urgent need for board appointments, saying, "We're going to go into executive session and we have several boards that need members to be reappointed or new appointments. One of those boards is the vocational education board, which if we don't get an appointment by the first Sunday in November, they will now have a forum to have a meeting." Ridgeway said other boards also need appointments and that she would raise them again at a future meeting.

The clerk opened the public comment period and then closed it before the board moved to closed session. Commissioners voted on the ordinance and each listed resolution during the meeting; the roll-call portions recorded affirmative votes from commissioners and senior staff present. Board leadership noted the meeting was shortened because the building's emergency generator had been unreliable earlier in the day; commissioners said they expected to move into closed session and would not return to take further action at the public meeting.

Votes at a glance
- Ordinance (introduced and passed on first reading; public hearing set for Nov. 12, 2025): approved on first reading.
- Resolution 2025-585 — non–fair-and-open contract for election training (to be reimbursed by Cumberland Regional High School): approved.
- Resolution 2025-586 — amendment of bills: approved.
- Resolution 2025-572 — Operation Greenlight for Veterans (declared Oct. 14–Nov. 11, 2025): approved.
- Resolution 2025-575 — certification of compliance with Local Finance Board regulations: approved.
- Resolution 2025-587 — closed-session authorization for litigation/negotiations/employment matters: approved; board moved to closed session and stated no further public action would occur at the meeting.

The meeting record shows unanimous or near-unanimous affirmative roll calls for the listed items; specific yes votes recorded in the transcript included Commissioners Ostino, Albrecht, Lodes and senior staff (Deputy Director Marchand and Director Sorrow). The clerk read the formal notice about the ordinance's next hearing and availability of the full ordinance for public review prior to Nov. 12.

The board also discussed the State Planning Commission's schedule for public hearings on the draft final New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan and an infrastructure needs assessment, noting six hearings will be held statewide in mid-October and that mapping changes to the state plan are not expected until 2026. Commissioners said county staff will post hearing information on the county Facebook page and website.

Before adjourning to closed session, leadership reiterated that, because of the shortened meeting and the earlier generator failure, attendees should be prepared to leave should building power fail and that no additional public action would be taken after the closed session.