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Ogdensburg council approves reorganizational package, names Ruitenberg council president
Summary
At its Jan. 2 reorganizational meeting the Ogdensburg Borough Council approved a package of routine resolutions and professional appointments, adopted its 2025 meeting schedule and appointed Councilwoman Ruitenberg as council president.
The Ogdensburg Borough Council on Jan. 2 approved a slate of reorganizational resolutions, confirmed professional appointments and set the borough's 2025 meeting calendar.
Councilwoman Ruitenberg was appointed council president after a motion by Councilman Ciasullo that passed on a voice roll call. The council also approved a consent agenda of resolutions (Resolutions 01-2025 through 15-2025) addressing administrative and fiscal housekeeping, including tax-interest rates, official newspapers, petty-cash and change funds, and a temporary 2025 budget.
Resolution 01-2025 formalized interest on delinquent taxes at 8% per year on the first $1,500 of a delinquency and 18% on any amount above $1,500, and added a statutory 6% penalty for delinquencies exceeding $10,000. The resolution also established a 10-day grace period for quarterly tax payments, effective Jan. 1, 2025.
The council confirmed several professional appointments and contracts for 2025: Van Cleef Engineering Associates for engineering and planning services; Schenck, Price, Smith & King LLP as municipal legal counsel with a $3,450 monthly retainer and specified hourly rates for matters outside the retainer; Wielkotz & Company LLC as municipal auditor with an annual fee of $31,250; Community Action Services (Steven J. Weinberg) as borough grantsman on a per-unit fee schedule; Rogut McCarthy LLC as bond counsel; Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc. as risk management consultant; and Reliable Restoration Logistics LLC as water treatment plant operator for an annual fee of $24,000 with specified labor rates for additional services.
Council voted to adopt Resolution 12-2025, setting the regular 2025 council meetings for the second and fourth Mondays of each month (with the May and October exceptions noted in the resolution). The council also approved the list of officers, members and drivers for the Ogdensburg Fire Department for 2025.
Borough Attorney Robert McBriar clarified that the mayor's list of "liaisons" to departments are informal reporting assignments rather than standing committees; establishing standing committees would require an ordinance. Council approved the slate of statutory appointments and professional contracts but deferred formal congressional confirmation of the 13 liaison assignments to the mayor's discretion.
The meeting included a brief public session in which Sussex County Commissioner Alan Henderson introduced himself as the county liaison who will attend select borough meetings. The council adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
What happens next: Departments will be notified of liaison assignments and the borough will publish the adopted resolutions in the official newspaper as required by law.
