A disagreement about who may reserve and use the City Council chambers surfaced during the Oct. 14 workshop, when Councilman Jackson said he was denied access to the chambers for a community meeting he organized and that the clerk told him the council president had blocked use. The council president said the clerk follows a reservation process and that requests must go through the clerk’s office to avoid conflicts and overtime costs for building staff.

“I do not take it kindly that you have specifically gave directive to the clerk to disallow me from utilizing the chambers,” Councilman Jackson said, alleging the chambers had been locked after he sought to reserve it. The clerk told the council she had been asked by an outside group to lock the chambers after an external event, but said she had not been instructed by the president to deny access.

Council members debated whether the chamber had been reserved properly and whether the process was applied evenly. The council president said reservations have long been processed by the clerk’s office and denied requests when City Hall was closed because opening the building would require overtime pay for staff.

Corporation counsel confirmed he had submitted a reservation and that a tenant legal clinic, including Northeast New Jersey legal services and other nonprofit partners, was scheduled for Oct. 15 to advise residents about evictions and tenant rights. Council members said the event would be allowed and encouraged residents to attend. “Let's not take away that this is a service… It's free; anyone interested Oct. 15, tomorrow, you can come here to the City Council Chambers,” one councilmember said.

The council agreed to clarify the chambers reservation process and urged that council members be notified when events are scheduled in the chambers. No formal policy change was adopted at the workshop.