Ogdensburg council approves court and police appointments for 2026

Mayor George P. Hutnick and the Ogdensburg Borough Council approved multiple personnel items at their Jan. 12 meeting, including court appointments made by neighboring Sparta and the hiring of a new borough police officer.

The council unanimously acknowledged Sparta’s selections of Timothy J. Profeta, Esq. as Prosecutor and Orlando R. Rodriguez, Esq. as Public Defender to provide legal services for the consolidated municipal court arrangement that serves both Sparta and Ogdensburg. The resolution notes that salaries, benefits and fees for those positions are covered under Ogdensburg’s annual payment to Sparta for court operations.

Separately, the council adopted Resolution 19-2026 to appoint Nicholas McWilliams as a police officer in the Ogdensburg Police Department, effective Feb. 1, 2026, "subject to satisfactory completion of all other tests and examinations authorized or otherwise required by law or by the Borough, and subject to final approval by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission." The resolution lists annual pay of $54,716.45 (Step 2). Mike Marceau, the borough chief financial officer, certified that funding is available for the hire.

The police appointment motion was made and seconded during the meeting and the roll call vote recorded yeas from Ciasullo, Cowdrick, DeMeo, Gandarinho, Gordon and Lame; no nays or abstentions were recorded for that action. Earlier votes on consent items recorded abstentions on specific consent entries noted in the minutes.

Borough Attorney Joseph Maddaloni addressed a question from Councilman Gordon about whether an abstention would be required when a council member has a relative involved; Maddaloni explained the legal context for conflict-of-interest abstentions in that exchange.

The council closed its public session without comments and adjourned at 7:30 p.m.