At the Guttenberg Council caucus this past Monday, council members weren’t the only ones going over the agenda for the following meeting. So were Anna L. Klein students.
The Klein Student Council, composed of President Sabit Nasir, Vice President Frank Gil, Secretary Jorge Car, and Treasurer Eric Fuentes, and with volunteers Arrisa Morris and Alex Sanchez, took part in Guttenberg’s first civics program. After a fierce Student Council election at Guttenberg’s sole school, two teachers, Student Council Coordinator Nancy Duclos and Gifted and Talented Coordinator Jennifer Tsonas, thought it would be beneficial for the students to shadow their elected officials.
The students’ families played a large role in the packed council chambers.
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“It was really exciting because it was something new for us,” said Morris.
Learning about government
Students learned about how government functions during the caucus meeting. As town officials read through the resolutions and ordinances on the agenda, they explained what each one meant to the students.
Mayor Gerald Drasheff also explained the difference between ordinances (which require initial and final votes) and resolutions (which only require one vote). He said that a resolution is passed when they are “acting” on something, while an ordinance is a law.
“The mayor, his job is pretty intense because he gets all the requests and et cetera,” said Nasir, “and he has to make the right decision for the town, so if he messes up, that will go on his history, so for me it’s the same. If it goes wrong it will go on my history.”
Nasir said that as Student Council president, some of the recent requests he has gotten from students have been about basketball uniform changes and forming a skating club, which he’ll have to address with Principal Pedro Garrido.
“Maybe we can change things in the school,” said Car.
Drasheff said that he thought the program went well and felt that it was important to engage students in government. Councilman Alfonso Caso said that it was important to get students involved early on so that when they turn 18, they’ll know enough about government to make an educated vote.
How the town works
Sanchez said that she found out that working in an office isn’t easy work, while Morris said the Police Department showed her how 911 calls come in.
“I learned that the DPW is more than just street cleaning,” said Gil. “They help out with the whole community. Their busiest hour is snow [plowing], so they do more than you expect.”
Fuentes said that he learned about taxes and how when they are lowered or raised on one person’s property, everyone who pays taxes in town is affected.
The students’ families played a large role in the packed council chambers. Drasheff said that it was also important to get the parents involved and that it is always a good thing when he could get the residents of town to council meetings.
Town officials can get raises
Also at the council meeting, an ordinance was passed approving town’s new salary ranges, which Drasheff said needed to be done to bring them “up to date.” Now that the ranges are higher, the officials in question can earn bigger salaries.
The range for the mayor is now $7,500 to $11,000. Council members range from $6,500 to $10,000, and the town administrator can earn $25,000 to $45,000. Other town employee ranges include the tax collector, from $10,000 to $25,000; the public safety secretary, from $15,000 to $30,000, the town clerk, from $35,000 to $50,000, and the town attorney, from $50,000 to $80,000.
Guttenberg will be getting a closed-circuit camera system in town, after the council voted to award the camera bid to Gold Type Business Machines, Inc., of East Rutherford, N.J.
The $187,268 project is being funded by the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone fund. During the caucus, Drasheff said that the company was chosen because they had also supplied cameras to North Bergen, which will ensure that the municipalities will be able to work with one another’s systems.
Police Officer James Hosie was promoted to acting police sergeant at the meeting, effective Dec. 1. Police Officers Richard Anderson, who formally was an officer at Stevens University, and Joseph Torrello, who formally was a Hudson County Sheriffs Officer, were hired effective Nov. 22. Drasheff said that the hires were needed to fill vacancies.
The board also gave out several accolades. One plaque was given to Houlihan’s Restaurant of Weehawken for their donation to Safe Kids Day, while another was given to the Green Kitchen, a town restaurant that has offered one free dinner per week to people who are unemployed.
Town residents Larry Hart, who won first prize in the county art contest, and Paul Freidman, whose work won second prize on the state level, were also awarded plaques. –
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.