Council pauses proposed change to Trenton Water Works residency rule after public concern

Trenton City Council on Sept. 4 heard extended public comment and council debate over Ordinance 25-085, a proposed amendment to Chapter 2 of the city code that would change residency requirements for employees of the Department of Water and Sewer (Trenton Water Works). After residents and council members raised concerns — including about whether the city already had a residency rule, whether the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had recommended regional hiring, and how Trentonians would be affected — the administration said it would pull the ordinance to rework its language and return it to a future agenda.

The ordinance text before the council would have removed or adjusted a local residency requirement for Water Works employees. Jim Beach, the mayor’s chief of staff, told the council that a 2022 New Jersey statute treats utilities that serve multiple municipalities as "regional utilities" and that state rules extend residency preference to the utility’s wider ratepayer jurisdiction. "This ordinance is simply trying to conform our ordinance to the New Jersey statute that indicates that if it is a utility that services multi jurisdictions or multi municipalities that that residency requirement extends to any ratepayer municipalities," Beach said.

Residents who identified themselves as longtime Trentonians asked the council to protect local jobs and said they were not notified in advance of the ordinance. Victor Rizari, who gave his address in Trenton, said he was "a Trentonian and I'm not going anywhere," and urged the council to consider local employment impacts. Mary Horn, who described Trenton Water Works as "our most valuable asset," told the council she opposed "regionalization of jobs at Trenton Water Works" and asked the council to adopt a clear position opposing a lease, authority, or commission.

Council members pressed staff for specifics. Councilwoman Feliciano and others asked the administration to insert the relevant New Jersey statute citation into the ordinance, and several council members asked whether the change would remove a requirement that new hires move into Trenton after a specified time. Jim Beach said the administration would amend the ordinance to include the state statute language and to better explain the administration's rationale.

After further council discussion, and with council members divided on the policy question, the administration formally withdrew the proposal for revision. "If it pleases, the administration would pull it at this time and take into account the comments we've heard tonight and come back with an amended version," Beach said; the council accepted that action.

What happens next: The administration said it will return with amended language that includes the state statute citation and clearer explanatory text about whether the municipality is required by state law to alter residency rules for a regional utility. Council members said they expect the revised ordinance to describe whether existing Trenton Water Works employees would retain their positions and to clarify whether a requirement to move into the city after appointment would be removed.