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Votes at a glance: Hawthorne council passes consent agenda, advances water-rate ordinance and approves two fire applicants
Summary
At the regular meeting the council introduced water-rate ordinance 23-75-25 (first reading) and passed a consent agenda that included certification of the 2024 audit and a $125,000 county open-space grant; the council also approved two fire-rescue applicants and authorized payment of bills.
The Borough of Hawthorne council approved a set of routine and substantive items in a single meeting, including advancing a water-rate ordinance to public hearing and approving personnel and grant-related actions.
Key votes and motions - Approval of minutes for the Oct. 1, 2025 meeting: Motion by Leosso, second by Bennett; roll call carried. - Consent agenda (Resolutions R160–R166): Included insertion and budget insertion of a 2025 open-space grant, acceptance of a $125,000 open-space grant for WAG 1 bleachers (R161-25), a shared-service agreement with Passaic County to provide high-speed internet to municipal facilities (R162-25), biannual employee handbook revisions (R163-25), adoption of the Passaic County hazard mitigation plan (R164-25), certification of the 2024 audit (R165-25), and an amendment to an assessment and the road program (R166-25). The consent agenda passed on roll call with one recorded abstention (Witecki abstained on R163-25). - Ordinance 23-75-25 (water rates): Introduced on first reading and set for final consideration and a public hearing on Nov. 17, 2025; motion carried on roll call. - Personnel: Approved two new fire applicants — Julia Korpix to Tower 2 and Joseph Fitzmaurice to Rescue 5 — after motions and roll-call votes with a small number of abstentions recorded. - Bills: Council moved to approve bills and forward them to the treasurer for payment; the roll call contained a few abstentions tied to specific items, and the motion carried.
Procedural notes: Where abstentions were recorded, they were tied to specific consent items or line items in the bills; the clerk recorded roll-call votes for all formal actions. The certification of the 2024 audit (R165-25) was part of the consent agenda and follows the auditor's presentation of a clean, unmodified opinion.
What this means: The council advanced several administrative and infrastructure items without delay. The water-rate ordinance now moves to a public hearing before a final vote, and routine personnel and grant actions were completed.
