Sayreville council tables proposed Shade Tree ordinance after dispute over tree‑bank spending

Sayreville’s mayor and borough council voted to table a proposed ordinance that would change how the Shade Tree body is organized after public and council members raised questions about how tree‑bank funds were spent and about the process used to place the draft on the agenda.

The proposed ordinance, drafted by the borough attorney, would recast the existing Shade Tree Commission as a different form of body (an advisory committee in some versions) and included draft terms the attorney said were consistent with other municipalities. Council members moved to table the measure without taking up its first reading after an extended discussion and public comment.

Why it matters: volunteers on the Shade Tree Commission oversee and recommend uses for the borough’s tree‑bank money; commissioners and residents said they feared changes to the commission’s powers and to oversight after several thousand dollars were taken from the tree‑bank to pay for a municipal loader. The issue touched on municipal procurement, volunteer oversight and whether the council followed its usual agenda process.

Borough Attorney (speaker identified in the meeting as the borough attorney) said the draft was prepared as a “starter” for council review. “It was just a draft that I had come up with, you know, to be circulated and commented on,” he told the council, adding that the governing body retains full discretion to revise the language and that advisory committees are not automatically subject to the Open Public Meetings Act unless the borough chooses to make them so.

Heather (identified in the meeting as a Shade Tree commissioner), who attended with vice chair Ed Grela and commissioner Chris Cunoz, introduced the commission’s recent youth programs and asked for council support. During public comment, longtime resident Jim Robinson said the Shade Tree Commission “objected to that money being taken from the tree bank and started to ask questions,” linking the commission’s inquiries to the timing of the ordinance proposal.

Councilwoman Novak also criticized the way the ordinance appeared on the business agenda. “It showed up on the agenda for first reading of an ordinance, and that does not follow our protocols,” she told colleagues, saying she had not been consulted before it was posted.

The council’s formal action: a motion to table the Shade Tree ordinance passed on roll call with the council voting yes; the item will be revised and brought back at a future meeting. The ordinance draft and proposed language remain available for council and public comment.

Context and next steps: residents and commissioners urged clearer communication and a role for volunteers in decisions affecting the tree bank and programing. Several speakers urged the borough to preserve the commission’s ability to review tree‑bank expenditures and to provide the commission full information about purchases that affect its fund. The borough attorney said any revisions to the draft can be circulated to commissioners and the council for additional comment.

Any further action will be scheduled at a later public meeting and will be noticed under the Open Public Meetings Act.