Firefighter Heroism and Government Recording Rules in the Week Ahead

Bloomfield’s Township Council meets at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 1 at the Municipal Building.

The agenda includes a commendation for a Bloomfield firefighting unit that rescued a woman and her pet trapped on a balcony in a February fire.

In addition, council members are considering a change to rules regulating recording of public meetings.

According to the new ordinance, Members of the Council and the general public are prohibited from using cellphones or type of voice communication devices during meetings. The rule requires that phones to be placed on vibrate or silent mode during the Meeting.

Also, Council members are prohibited from text messaging, emailing or communicating with any one or multiple Council members during any meeting regarding any agenda item or any matter dealing with the Township of Bloomfield. In March, a Bloomfield resident filed an OPRA request for records of text messages council members were reportedly sending to each other during meetings.

In addition, residents wishing to videotape meetings will need to alert council members of their wish to record the meetings at least ten minutes before the meeting.

Several Bloomfield recreation department programs kick off this week, ranging from karate to belly dancing and karate. Sign up or get more information here.