[Disclosure: Please be aware that Joe Krakoviak, the founder and primary writer for West Orange Grassroots, was elected to the West Orange Town Council in November 2010 to fill an unexpired term until the scheduled May 2012 municipal election. If you're looking for information on the campaign, please see www.JoeKrakoviak.com or Facebook.] A group of local residents and taxpayers decided to set up this website in July 2009 as a non-partisan source of information, analysis and informed opinion about issues important to West Orange, N.J. We believe that an informed citizenry engaging in civil discussion and respectful debate will develop and support better ideas and wiser decisions related to township governance and finances. To that end, we insist on civility and will modify, correct or delete comments that we believe amount to personal attacks or that are based on incorrect information. Passion for what you think is best for the township is good and encouraged. But expressing that enthusiasm in a negative manner is not in keeping with the shared goal of improving our community. Also, please recognize that we're often dealing with the challenges of complex subjects and incomplete information. We'll make every effort to be accurate and fair, and we'll fix problems as fast as we can. We appreciate your help, constructive criticism and understanding as we strive for these goals. [This site is still under construction, so please bear with us while we gear up. For now, you can post comments without registering first. Please be responsible and civil.]

The West Orange Municipal Clerk rejected the revised petition seeking a referendum on the town's $6.3 million taxpayer-guaranteed redevelopment financing. The petitioners resubmitted the petition after trying to meet the clerk's earlier objections, and the petitioners added more signatures. The clerk indicated the petitioners had filed a total of 2,541 signatures, and she had found 620 of them valid. The clerk's certification is here.

Video of the April 24, 2012, Town Council meeting is now online (links below). The meeting included the public hearing on the 2012 budget that proposes to raise property taxes nearly 2%, or about $975,000 (Video Part 2, 14:30 in). The meeting also included discussion of the petition seeking a referendum on the $6.3 million taxpayer-guaranteed redevelopment financing (Video Part 1, 33:30 in), a lawsuit filed by two residents seeking to overturn the Financial Agreement ordinance that enabled Prism's downtown Edison redevelopment project (Video Part 1, 46:00 in), and a resolution confirming the hiring of a lawyer to advise the municipal clerk on the referendum petition (Video Part 2, 40:30 in). The meeting also included the council's rejection of a proposed ordinance that would make parking changes on Mitchell Street and Hazel Avenue to accommodate patrons of Luna Stage (Video Part 1, 37:30 in). The council also honored the West Orange High School wrestling team, which recently won a state championship (Video Part 1, 2:00 in). Public comment starts at Video Part 1, 17:10 in. It included a discussion of problems at the property at 200 Pleasant Valley Way (Part 1, 20:05 in).

The meeting agendas and related documents are here. 

April 24, 2012 - Part 1 of 2 (About 166 megabytes)
April 24, 2012 - Part 2 of 2 (About 150 megabytes)

The lawyer for the Committee of Petitioners seeking a referendum on the $6.3 million taxpayer-guaranteed redevelopment bond ordinance responded to the municipal clerk's rejection of most of the signatures on the petition with a letter. The April 20, 2012, letter from George Dougherty of Mercerville argues against several steps taken by the clerk in rejecting the petition. The letter also indicates the petitioners may re-submit a revised petition.

Letter from attorney for Petitioners to municipal clerk