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Saddle Brook officials defend ending township senior bus as residents press for answers on missing records
Summary
Residents criticized the end of Saddle Brook's township senior bus at a July council meeting, raising missing OPRA records and service concerns; the mayor and administrators said Bergen County transit will replace the service, citing cost and accessibility improvements.
At a July public meeting, Saddle Brook residents urged the township to explain the decision to end the local senior-bus service and to produce records they said are missing from public files.
"When records needed to evaluate a public service are unavailable, there is a ripple effect because public trust can be eroded," said Denise Monastery, who told the council she filed an OPRA request for senior-bus records from 01/01/2024 through 05/22/2026 and received only a subset (08/06/2025–05/14/2026).
The administration defended its decision to rely on Bergen County Transportation for most trips. The business administrator reported that the township's full-time driver position carried a salary of $55,000 and that the county has registered 285 Saddle Brook residents in its system and performs a minimum of 500 rides annually. Town officials said the county buses include an aide and wheelchair-compatible lifts, capabilities the municipal bus lacked.
Several residents offered contrasting views. Juanita Hickman thanked the former driver for years of good service; John Vitovic said the township created the senior-bus program with "no control, no oversight, no supervision" and had asked for rules and procedures that he said did not exist. Others praised a recently expanded senior-center lunch program announced by Karen Arminio, the senior-center director.
Town leaders said the shift to county service was a budget and accessibility decision, and they signaled follow-up steps. Council members said they will look into missing logbooks and records; administrators told the council they had located some records after the senior-center move and that they and the mayor were "looking into some things." The council also noted the township will provide shuttle service for large events such as the picnic.
The meeting closed with the council saying it would continue to review records and operational details. No formal reversal of the service change was announced at the meeting.
