Council votes on dozens of property sales, developer conveyance, emergency purchases and ordinances; one property sale tabled

The Trenton City Council on Sept. 16 approved a broad slate of ordinances and resolutions covering city-owned property sales, a policy authorizing conveyance of abandoned buildings to developers for rehabilitation, some routine personnel and procurement ordinances, and two walk-on procurement resolutions for firefighter turnout gear. One second-reading sale was reconsidered and ultimately tabled after council members raised questions about assessment values and sale prices.

Council members and staff handled dozens of sale ordinances and routine measures in a single session. Several sales that were presented under second reading were adopted by roll call with no public speakers and limited discussion. Multiple members of the public used the public-comment period to raise concerns about the process for selling city-owned properties, whether titles and utility liens are cleared before sale, and whether the city prioritizes local buyers.

Items approved by council included ordinances authorizing sale of city-owned parcels under N.J.S.A. provisions (examples below) and an ordinance creating a new position, building inspector apprentice, for the Department of Housing and Economic Development's Division of Technical Services. Council also approved Ordinance 25-106 to authorize conveyance of condemned or abandoned properties to local developers as an alternative to demolition under the neighborhood redevelopment and revitalization program; administration said the…