Time Set For Rescheduled Parsippany Council Meeting

PARSIPPANY, NJ — The time has officially been decided for the rescheduled town council meeting, and Parsippany residents are not pleased with the outcome.

According to a notice filed by the township, the new meeting will take place on Dec. 28 at 1 p.m.

Chaos ensued at Tuesday night's town council meeting after residents filed into the town hall, causing the Parsippany Fire Marshall to shut it down.

The meeting, in which the council was meant to vote on the second reading of the ordinances for three more PILOT agreements, was rescheduled for Dec. 28, according to Leslie Miller, the Parsippany Deputy Clerk.

Residents and school authorities were outraged when Council President Loretta Gragnani set the rescheduled meeting for 1 p.m., prompting suspicions that council leaders were attempting to restrict public attendance with a mid-afternoon meeting on a weekday.

According to a video posted online from the council meeting, the crowd of Parsippany residents was chanting "Shame on you" after officials shared the news of the new schedule. However, after the loud criticism and chants, the time of the meeting was finally adjusted to 7 p.m.

That change was apparently never made official.

On Wednesday morning, Miller told Patch that the time of the rescheduled meeting had not yet been decided and that the township was still debating between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Read More: Parsippany Approves PILOT Projects Despite Public Backlash

The township issued an official notice on Thursday afternoon, indicating that due to the size of the agenda, they would need to guarantee that there was enough time for the council to take action on all subjects while also allowing time for the public to speak.

The meeting will also be held at the Parsippany Police Athletic League, 33 Baldwin Road, rather than at the town hall.

On social media, Parsippany residents expressed their displeasure, claiming that the time change would eventually cut them out of the discourse.

"Pushing a deeply unpopular proposal forward with limited local support and hosting a debate on the issue at an inconvenient time that limits the speech of his constituents is beneath the office of the Mayor of Parsippany," one resident wrote. "What a slap in the face to town residents that actually showed up to have their voices heard," another commented.

Four town council members, Michael dePierro, Loretta Gragnani, Frank Neglia, and Paul Carifi, agree with the mayor on the proposed PILOT programs. Musella, the lone council member who voted no, had spent the last three meetings expressing worry about the township's use of PILOTs.

Read More: PILOT Project's Financial Impact On Parsippany Schools Discussed

On the matter, Musella has continued to oppose his Republican colleagues and the mayor. He invited people to the town hall meeting last week, which several township residents attended.

Mayor James Barberio has maintained his position, saying that without the use of PILOTs, the continued blight of vacant or demolished office buildings will significantly add to the tax burden for residents.

"Our future is pretty bleak when it comes to office space here in Parsippany. We're at a 30 percent vacancy rate and it is only going to get worse. If we don't do things like this, we're not going to collect any tax money going forward," Barberio said.