Council Passes Communications Protocol

Months after a council meeting erupted with accusations ranging from cozying up to developers to parking ticket fixing, the Ridgewood Village Council on Wednesday passed a resolution outlining policies for communication with themselves and the public.

(Read more about the brouhaha here and here.)

Village Attorney Matt Rogers concluded Mayor Paul Aronsohn and Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli did nothing wrong when they set up meetings with developers of proposed projects in town, though two council members claimed they were unaware the meetings took place.

All council members agreed to set up a series of rules to follow regarding commuincations among themselves and others, drafted by Pucciarelli.

The resolution was pared down from nine items to eight, with the council removing a section on requiring a unanimous vote to release priviledged attorney-client information from individual members. Councilmembers Tom Riche and Bernadette Walsh objected to its inclusion, stating nothing is done purely by unanimous vote in municipal government.

Rogers recommended removing the provision.

By doing so, "the regular standard relationship between attorney and client exists, so that the individual that receives it or the individuals that receive the communication from the attorney are the only ones that can waive it," he said.

Here are the points of the resolution:

*Prior notice of all meetings with members of the public that include more than one councilmember and a member of village staff or a paid consultant shall be provided to all members.

*Discussions between any councilmember and members of the public involving issues related to another councilmember's committee or board assignments should be shared with or referred to such other councilmember.

*Councilmembers should not engage in public discourse that is conducted on an anonymous basis.

*Telephonic or electronic communication between or among councilmembers or between a councilmbember and members of the public during public meetings is prohibited.

*Councilmembers must exercise discretion when dealing with communications with residents and business owners, with due regard for the privacy of such persons.

*All "notices" and other communication required or otherwise given pursuant to this protocol shall be deemed given to a councilmember when sent via e-mail addressed to the recipient at his/her village e-mail address.

*Councilmembers shall not disclose any information discussed at closed sessions of the village council to anyone who was not present at the closed session.

*Nothing in this protocol shall prohibit any councilmember from communicating or meeting with the village attorney or other legal counsel appointed on behalf of the village or any of its subdivisions without having to provide notice of such commuincation or meeting where the commuincation between the councilmember and such legal counsel concerns matters that are priviledged attorney client communication.