South River council approves first readings of four ordinances, adopts broad consent agenda including insurance fund switch

South River Borough Council on Jan. 13 voted to pass four borough ordinances on their first reading and adopted a large consent agenda that bundled routine appointments, contracts and administrative items, including a resolution to join the Mid Jersey Municipal Joint Insurance Fund.

The council moved all four ordinances — Ordinance 2025-1 (amending Chapter 193, Vehicles and Traffic), Ordinance 2025-2 (amending Chapter 120, Cannabis), Ordinance 2025-3 (amending Chapter 155, Fees) and Ordinance 2025-4 (an amendment to Chapter 350) — on first reading by title only and scheduled a public hearing and second reading for 7 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2025 (by Zoom or in council chambers at the Criminal Justice Building). The clerk read the ordinance titles into the record, and Council President Sealy made the motions to pass each on first reading, with formal seconds recorded for each motion.

Why it matters: first-reading approval moves each ordinance into the statutory public-notice and hearing stage, where the council must hold a second reading and public hearing before final adoption. The cannabis ordinance in particular drew public attention during the meeting; council members and residents raised questions about proximity to churches and schools and how state agency approvals (the transcript references the state approval step) will affect any retail openings.

The council also adopted a consent agenda — described by the mayor as routine and noncontroversial — that included resolutions 2025-10 through 2025-67. The consent package covered license administration, contract renewals, grant applications, board appointments, equipment contracts and other recurring municipal business. Two items were pulled for separate handling: Resolution 2025-32 (appointments to the Local Emergency Planning Committee) and Resolution 2025-36 (name correction; the mayor indicated it would be pulled because of a personnel/name point). Despite those pulls, the consent slate was approved by roll call.

Among the consent items the council included Resolution 2025-58, authorizing the borough to join the Mid Jersey Municipal Joint Insurance Fund. Borough officials said the move followed a cost-shopping exercise: several municipalities left the Middlesex County joint fund after facing roughly a 20% rate increase, and switching to the Mid Jersey JIF was presented as producing roughly $180,000 in near-term savings for the group of municipalities that moved together. The council discussed health and other insurance pressures during reports; one official said borough health insurance rose 19.5%, representing about $40,000 a month and roughly $480,000 annually.

Other consent items called out in the meeting minutes include contract renewals, grant applications to the Middlesex County and NJDEP programs, appointments to boards and commissions (planning/land use, parks and recreation, emergency management, and others), and the hiring of a part-time administrative assistant (consent resolution 2025-64) to assist with customer service and billing follow-ups during a meter- and billing-system transition.

The council also passed a resolution to enter executive session to discuss property acquisition; the resolution said the record of the session and any discussion may be released when confidentiality is no longer required.

Quotes (from the meeting): "This is for your workers' comp, vehicles, buildings, and property, which is gonna be about 200,000," said a council speaker describing the insurance context; another council speaker added, "So right now, ours went up 19.5%. So that is $40,000 a month for $480,000 a year." (Both statements were made during the finance/insurance discussion recorded in the meeting.)

Ending: The ordinances will return for public hearing and second reading at 7 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2025. The council’s consent-adopted items will move into implementation by the named departments and contractors; council members flagged follow-ups on insurance budgeting, grant deadlines for stormwater mapping, and personnel onboarding for the new part-time assistant.