In an age where towns are being pushed for Open Government, Berkeley Heights has chosen to take a step backwards, a step towards secrecy. In the Jan 24, 2017 Town Council Meeting, the Berkeley Heights Town Council will introduce changes to The Code of the Township of Berkeley Heights. The changes that are being introduced are designed to close the door on committee meetings disallowing the public to have the option of attending these meetings.

The motivation as to why they would choose to deter the public from witnessing what is going on in these meetings should be questioned. The members of these Committees are all appointed by the Mayor to perform the mandates of the Charter set out for these committees. This is the second attempt by the Council to limit what the public is allowed to see. In Sept 2016, the Council attempted to introduce an ordinance to limit all video recording of all public meetings. They introduced an extremely restrictive ordinance that included that the original version was handed over to the Council, as well as placement of the recording devices behind the last row of chairs ( about 40-50ft away from the dais ). In an attempt to push closer to an open government, public meetings are currently being recorded and streamed to the public and archived for future review.

In addition to this latest attempt to limit what the public sees there have been other issues in Berkeley Heights, including private conversations being held via smartphones during the course of the Council Meetings. This is not only disrespectful but possibly a breach of the Open Public Meetings Act. If the meeting is supposed to be done in public, private communication should be limited during the meeting. Cell phone use is appropriate during a communal dinner let alone by the Council during a meeting where our budgets are being discussed or our laws are being made. Should Judges or Juries be allowed to use their cell phones during a trial?

There have been additional instances: the abuse of executive session preferring to negotiate behind closed doors rather than in public; delay in the release of and the poor quality of meeting minutes; and censoring the public by using a 3 minute timer to selectively limit comments that may not align with the Council's personal agenda. I would like to propose that the Council abandon its latest attempt to work in secrecy and to accept a new ordinance titled the Berkeley Heights Sunshine Act. This act provides guarantees that the Council and Committees provide sufficient level of transparency to those interested in witnessing or taking part in local government. The text of the Berkeley Heights Sunshine Act is as follows: