Morristown council adopts ordinance requiring project labor agreements for town-funded projects

Morristown — The Town Council on Tuesday adopted Ordinance O-44-2025, creating a new municipal chapter establishing project labor agreements for qualifying town-supported construction projects.

Council President Nathan Umbria moved to adopt the ordinance as amended and the council approved the measure by roll call. Council members said the ordinance targets projects that receive direct town support and will not apply to projects funded through state or federal sources.

The ordinance includes a 50% affordable-housing threshold that exempts projects that are more than half affordable housing from PLA requirements. During the public hearing, construction manager Stefan Armington said he supported the ordinance’s aims but urged clearer criteria for when the business administrator could decline to require a PLA, warning the waiver authority could invite ambiguity. "My recommendation is to amend the ordinance to actually say provide criteria for basis for the administration deciding not to provide a PLA," Armington said.

A town official who was invited to respond (addressed in the record as Machado) told the council the town’s policy balances promoting organized labor with ensuring affordable housing projects are not burdened: "We don't want to place any additional restrictions on any project that would be 50% or over in affordable housing," the official said, and described the waiver process as one that brings specific cases before council for public discussion and decision.

Councilman Iannacone said the ordinance’s scope is limited because it applies only to projects that receive town funds and that the threshold for covered projects is high: projects must exceed $5,000,000 to trigger the requirement. He said he believes the measure will affect a small number of projects and recommended staff implement forms and procedures to manage the process.

The council also approved a de minimis amendment to clarify a statutory citation in the ordinance’s definitions. After the amendment and discussion, the ordinance was adopted unanimously by the council.

Under the adopted terms, the business administrator can present requests for waivers or determinations not to require PLAs to the council for a public decision. Implementation details, including forms and administrative procedures, will be handled by town staff.

The ordinance takes effect according to the timetable in the town code; council members did not set a separate effective date during the meeting.