Paterson council advances tougher street excavation rules
A first-reading ordinance would tighten permit requirements for road cuts and raise the maximum fine to $2,000 as Paterson repaves more streets.
Two hosts walk through the week’s edition in conversation — first reading, approval of payment bills totaling $15,834,756, and what’s coming next. Generated by Aware, from this week’s verified summaries.
Council members agreed the city needs more leverage when utilities and contractors cut into freshly paved roads, but they argued over whether the ordinance goes far enough.
Fresh pavement keeps getting cut back open.
The City Council took up a first-reading ordinance to amend Chapter 435, the city’s rules for street openings and excavations. Corporation Council said the measure is part of Paterson’s road-repaving push and is meant to hold contractors and utilities accountable when they open streets. The proposal would require more from permit applicants, including photos and certifications on the materials used in repairs. It would add duties for permit holders and give the city more tools to recover repair and engineering costs when work is not done properly.
Dr. Lilisa Mimms said the ordinance does not raise permit fees, but it would increase the maximum penalty for violations from $1,000 to $2,000. Alex Mendez backed stronger enforcement, pointing to repeated utility cuts on Ninth Avenue and River Street after paving. Luis Velez said the measure could help the city deal with illegal excavations and unpermitted work, including illegal sewer connections.
Michael Jackson said the proposal still lacks the technical detail needed to guarantee good repairs. He argued that state standards already address compaction and materials, and said photos alone will not fix weak inspection and enforcement. The council’s debate ended with questions still open about how closely the ordinance should track state rules. The transcript segment does not show a final roll call on first reading, so the measure’s next formal step was not captured there.
Approval of payment bills totaling $15,834,756.93
The council approved a large batch of city payments, totaling $15,834,756.93. The finance chair said the package included payroll, garbage pickup, capital items and other required spending. One payroll week ran higher than usual because of retroactive payments tied to a fire officers contract signed earlier this year.
The vote was not close, but it was not unanimous. Ruby Cotton voted yes, Maritza Davila voted yes, Alex Mendez voted yes, Ibrahim Omar voted yes, Luis Velez voted yes, Dr. Lilisa Mimms voted yes, and Michael Jackson voted no.
Jackson said he could not support the bills because he lacks confidence in the city’s financial management. He separately objected to how the meeting was handled, saying public portion opened too late and some second-reading items were not discussed sooner. Mendez said he supported the item because the payroll portion goes to city employees. With the rest of the council voting yes, the payment bills were adopted.
Rental aid review heads toward HUD closeout
Community Development told the council a COVID-era rental assistance program used about $5.3 million to help 212 households and now needs a six-month consultant extension to finish compliance work. Council members asked for a redacted breakdown of payments, rent levels and unit sizes before HUD’s final review.
large dollar figure ($5,300,000)
Fire department seeks new ladder truck
The Fire Department presented a plan to buy a new ladder truck for $2,550,000, using CDBG and capital funds, with delivery expected by July 2027. Council members pressed for details on where it would be assigned, what older equipment it would replace and how the rest of the ladder fleet is holding up.
large dollar figure ($2,550,000)
Council reviews annual tax sale process
The council discussed the annual tax sale package, including authorization for the Tax Collector to run the sale, related fees on delinquent properties and the contract for the online sale platform. Much of the discussion centered on notice, staffing, resident complaints and what tax sale liens can lead to under state law.
Tax sale decisions affect homeowners behind on taxes, added fees they owe, and the risk of liens leading to foreclosure.
Council pulls unpaid-tax purge ordinance
A proposed ordinance tied to purging unpaid taxes was removed from the agenda after Dr. Lilisa Mimms and Corporation Council said it had not gone through the tax assessor, legal review and committee process. Michael Jackson argued the council could place the item on the agenda and said it would help a nonprofit property, but the measure did not move.
Debate over removing an ordinance on purging unpaid taxes could affect delinquent properties and tax-sale outcomes.
What we didn’t fit in this Sundays edition
Paterson had 14 more items this week. Here are sixfour — the rest are on Aware.
- GOVERNANCEDPW agenda review: sewer applications, emergency sewer repairs, and warrant contract for road plates. Council reviewed DPW items 45–50, including multiple sewer connection applications for new buildings/businesses, emergency sewer repairs, and a warrant contract for road plates exceeding $92,000. After debate about workshop process and item explanations, items 45–48 were moved to regular agenda; items 49–50 were placed on consent.
- GOVERNANCECity Clerk items: taxi cab/livery driver applications and parking compliance concerns. The City Clerk presented items 14, 15, and 19 involving taxi cab/livery-related applications. Council raised concerns about cabs parking on residential streets and requested stronger inspection and enforcement tied to designated parking locations and proof of lot contracts. Council debated whether the items were new or renewals and moved them between consent and regular for further review.
- GOVERNANCEPolice review urgent care policy and camera study. Police presented one item to let officers use urgent care instead of emergency rooms for faster treatment and another authorizing a no-cost University of Chicago agreement to analyze body camera footage. Council asked questions about implementation, data scope, and whether specific incidents could be reviewed.
- GOVERNANCETwo budget items deferred for later meetings. Council postponed action on the Downtown Industrial Park SID's 2026 budget so the public hearing and vote could occur when the SID director is present. A separate budget item was also removed because it was not ready and will return later after revisions.
- GOVERNANCEHealth and Human Services contract with St. Joseph’s University Medical Center for tuberculosis treatment services. Health and Human Services presented a resolution authorizing a contract with St. Joseph’s University Medical Center for tuberculosis treatment services. The Director stated it is grant-funded by the state with zero City cost and described it as a long-running arrangement. Council placed the item on consent.
- GOVERNANCEAdministrative items: transitional aid MOU, contracts, and RFQ pre-qualification lists (engineering, construction management, bond counsel, architectural services). Council reviewed administrative resolutions including a transitional aid MOU with the State (item 7), an auto body repair contract (item 8), language line services (item 9), and multiple RFQ-based pre-qualification lists (items 10–13). Staff explained RFQ items pre-qualify firms and do not commit work or payment; Council asked about procurement and firm lists.
- GOVERNANCECouncil request for report regarding meeting security incident. Councilman Jackson raised concerns about a security staff interaction with a member of the public during the meeting and requested a full report of actions by City employees. The Police Director stated he would review what occurred and coordinate with Corporation Counsel and the Business Administrator.
- GOVERNANCEQuestion regarding creation of a clergy office and departmental establishment process. Councilman Velez asked Corporation Counsel and the Business Administrator about the process for establishing a new office/department and raised concerns about reports that a clergy office was created and run by a mayor-appointed clergy member. The Business Administrator stated he was not aware of formal action beyond a fire chaplain appointment earlier in the year.
- GOVERNANCECouncil hears broad public comment, then closes hearing. Council heard extended public comment covering a firefighter retirement dispute, planning board virtual meetings, redevelopment, traffic safety, sanitation, and transparency concerns. Members then voted to close public comment and briefly responded to some issues raised.
- The week’s most important Paterson decisions
- Plain-English explanations, every Sunday
- Delivered to your inbox — one email a week
No charge, ever. Unsubscribe anytime.
- Everything Aware covers in Paterson — the full record, not just the highlights
- Plus full coverage of 3,000+ cities, not just yours
- Source documents, Ask Aware & Aware Explain
- Follow up to 5 towns · email meeting alerts
Snapshot is the starting plan — larger plans (Insight, Intelligence) add more towns, countries & usage. Sundays is the free weekly read; Aware is the platform that powers it.
Got a neighbor in Paterson who should read this?
Forwarding this Sundays edition is how Sundays grows. No paid ads — just neighbors telling neighbors.
FORWARD TO A NEIGHBOR →See an error? Email us.
Sundays is generated by the Aware platform (www.awarenow.ai) and verified against the official meeting record. If something looks wrong, please tell us — we respond within 24 hours and publish corrections directly on this page. corrections@awarenow.ai
Common questions
- What is Sundays?
- Sundays is a weekly civic newsletter for Paterson, NJ. Each Sunday morning we summarize what the town council, school board, planning board, and other public bodies did that week — in plain English, with links to the official meeting record.
- How are these summaries generated?
- Sundays is produced by Aware (awarenow.ai), which creates short summaries from publicly recorded meetings. Summaries are generated by AI technology and can make mistakes and do not represent official public record or positions portrayed in the videos. Official recordings are available on the town's video library. Each town maintains video libraries in different ways. Summaries are subject to our terms of service. See below on how to report corrections for these summaries.
- Where can I read past Sundays editions for Paterson?
- Every edition for Paterson is archived on the Paterson town hub. State-level archives live at sundays.news/nj.
- How do I subscribe?
- Sundays is free. Subscribe at the bottom of any edition or on the Paterson town hub — one short email every Sunday morning.
- Found an error?
- Email corrections@awarenow.ai. We respond within 24 hours and publish corrections on this page.
No resident comments recorded this week.