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Bellmawr council introduces ordinance to limit public access to municipal work areas, citing staff safety and records protection
Summary
Council members introduced Ordinance 04:09:26 to create restricted work areas (employee-only zones) intended to protect personally identifiable records and staff safety after an insurer recommendation; the measure drew public questions about which rooms would be controlled and how access would work.
Council members introduced an ordinance to establish restricted areas inside borough buildings that would restrict access to employees only in defined workspaces, saying the change aims to protect personnel and sensitive public records.
The measure, introduced as Ordinance 04:09:26 for first reading, "was drafted the other day" on the recommendation of the borough’s insurance joint insurance fund, a borough official said. The official said the ordinance would designate inner offices—"for example, Fran's office"—as controlled work areas and require visitors to be buzzed in rather than allowed to walk unescorted through employee workspaces. "It's just making that you can't just immediately walk in. You have to ask ... to enter through a buzzing system," the staff member said, adding the goal is to make employees safer and to prevent people from videotaping staff while they try to do their jobs.
During the public portion resident Blake Shepyszewski asked what specific areas the ordinance would cover and whether the change would prevent normal public access to services. The resident said he typically knocks on the side door and wondered whether the proposed plan would lock residents out; the staff member replied that the building would remain publicly accessible but that certain internal work areas would be controlled to protect staff and records.
Council members framed the ordinance as a procedural step recommended by the insurer rather than a criminalizing or permanent closure of services. The ordinance is a first reading and will return for second reading, public hearing and final adoption at the May meeting, the presiding official said.
If adopted, the new chapter in the municipal code would limit unsupervised public entry into specific interior workspaces and authorize the borough to operate an entry/buzzer system and other access controls. Details about which rooms will be designated and exactly how the access system will operate were discussed in Q&A and were described by council as operational decisions to be finalized by staff. No enforcement penalties or exact technological specifications were described in the meeting record.
