top of page
I want residents to be informed on what matters are before the Town Council. Feedback from residents is essential for strong local government. When I ran for office, I promised residents I would keep them informed on what the Council was voting on and issues facing our community. Since I took office in 2019, I have provided summaries of key decisions and issues discussed at Council Meetings on Facebook. Now, I have expanded those updates to this platform to ensure more residents have access to my summaries.
Access Council Agendas, Resolutions, and Ordinances:
Watch Council Meetings:
The best way to communicate your questions and thoughts on an issue is to email the entire Council.
You can search through previous Council Summaries by using this search function.
Search
May 4th Meeting Summary
On Monday May 4th, the Verona Town Council met. Here is a recap of what was discussed at the meeting. This was our first meeting after learning about the cutbacks that were happening at the Verona Public Schools in order to make their budget. The cutbacks triggered dozens of emails that were sent to the Verona Town Council asking to add to the agenda an item for public discussion on the sharing of PILOT funds with the Board of Education (BOE). The Mayor and Township Manager
Christine McGrath
2 days ago4 min read
Â
Â
April 20th Meeting Summary
On Monday we had an important Council meeting. We started the meeting with our annual hearing on our budget. We received no comments from the public. We passed our budget 5-0 after authorizing several significant changes since introduction. Verona's budget is reviewed by the State of New Jersey, and they had some changes which impacted the numbers. The changes involved expenses that could not be allocated outside of the 2% cap on the tax levy. This year, we needed to move
Christine McGrath
Apr 233 min read
Â
Â
April 6th Meeting Summary
We had a very short meeting on Monday, April 6th. The most significant action that the Council took was to introduce an ordinance to allow for a PILOT agreement for the project at 885 Bloomfield Avenue. The ordinance was introduced with a vote of 3 to 1 . I voted against introduction. A PILOT agreement is a long term tax abatement for a property. Instead of receiving taxes on the improvement on the property, the Township will receive a fee. As part of the process the Coun
Christine McGrath
Apr 123 min read
Â
Â
March 23rd Meeting Summary
On Monday, March 23rd we had a meeting. Here is a brief summary of the highlights. The Council introduced our 2026 budget. In an effort to reduce the tax increase from 5.8% to 2.8%, the Administration made a few changes since the budget presentations: The amount of fund balance used in this year's budget increased, from $4 million to $4.135 million. $200K of health care cost expenses were moved out of our current fund and into our water and sewer utility, to more closely
Christine McGrath
Apr 12 min read
Â
Â
March 9th Meeting Summary
On March 9th we had a jammed packed agenda. Here is a summary of major action that was taken by the Verona Township Council. We had several ordinances that related to commitments that were required to change our zoning to ensure that Verona builds affordable housing. The state deadline to complete action on these changes was March 15th. All the ordinances and resolutions passed, but Councilwoman Holland and I did not vote in favor for a few items. We both voted against th
Christine McGrath
Mar 163 min read
Â
Â
February 23rd Meeting Summary
We had an important meeting on Monday, February 23rd. Here are the highlights of what we discussed. The Council took up several matters regarding to affordable housing projects that are required by the State of New Jersey. We had a substantial conversations before the introduction of two redevelopment plans. Redevelopment plans are created after a property (or properties) are declared an "Area in Need of Redevelopment". These plans allow the Township to set new rules on w
Christine McGrath
Mar 24 min read
Â
Â
February 9th Meeting Summary
The Verona Town Council met on February 9th. The following is a summary of what we discussed. We continue to advance many elements of our Fair Share Housing Plan, which requires zoning changes to be adopted by mid-March. Several actions were taken at our meeting. We introduced changes to our zoning code for the Town Center District. This includes updating acceptable uses in the zone and removing the "equal distribution of uses" clause that currently exists. That will allo
Christine McGrath
Feb 163 min read
Â
Â
January 19th Reorganization and Regular Meeting
The following is a summary of the Verona Town Council biennial reorganization meeting on January 19th, 2026. Congratulations to my colleagues - Cynthia Holland, Jack McEvoy, and Christopher Tamburro, who won re-election and were (re) sworn in at our Reorganization Meeting. After they were sworn in, we voted on who will assume the title of Mayor and Deputy Mayor. With a vote of 3-2, (Councilwoman Holland and I were the dissenting votes), Chris Tamburro was re-elected Mayor a
Christine McGrath
Feb 12 min read
Â
Â
January 5th Meeting Summary
On January 5th we had our regular meeting at 7 pm, which was preceded by a special meeting at 6 pm where we went into closed session to discuss some legal matters. We started off the meeting with the vote on another legal settlement relating to our affordable housing plans. As was previously stated in September, Verona's affordable housing plan was challenged by an entity that wants to develop 251 1/2 Grove. Currently that site is an industrial storage facility. We agreed
Christine McGrath
Jan 153 min read
Â
Â
Special Statement Made During Councilmember reports
The following is a statement I read during my Councilmember report on January 5, 2026. Tonight is the end of what is normally a two year cycle of five members of the town council serving together. This time, because we moved our elections, we got an extra 6 months together. It's a good time to be reflective on what is going well and where we have opportunities for improvement. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their dedication and the time spent serving our community.
Christine McGrath
Jan 143 min read
Â
Â
December 15th Meeting Summary
Before the holidays, the Verona Town Council had a meeting, and some important decisions were made. Here is a summary of key actions taken by the Council. We started off with two legal matters that relate to our affordable housing requirements. We had a key update from our Legal team about 40 minutes into our meeting. Our state-required affordable housing plan (which you can read here ) was challenged by multiple entities, including Fair Share Housing. As required by law,
Christine McGrath
Jan 55 min read
Â
Â
December 1st Meeting Summary
On Monday the Verona Town Council met and had a robust agenda. The following are the highlights of what happened. We introduced a suite of ordinances for the 2026 pool season and passed the 2026 pool rules in our resolutions. I know many residents are passionate about the pool and concerned about it's financial future. Over the last few months, the Administration has received lots of feedback on the pool's rate structure and ideas to generate more revenue and reduce costs
Christine McGrath
Dec 5, 20253 min read
Â
Â
November 10th Meeting Summary
The Verona Township Council had a meeting on Monday, November 10th. Here are the highlights. We approved our 2024 Audit report. The public is encouraged to look through all of our financials here: https://www.veronanj.org/media/Finance%20&%20Tax/Budget/2024/2024%20Municipal%20Audit.pdf We also talked extensively about the pool (both 33 mins in and 1 hr 44 min in). We got an updated financial analysis on the pool rate structure which the public can review under the agenda h
Christine McGrath
Nov 17, 20253 min read
Â
Â
October 20th Meeting Summary
We had a short meeting on October 20th. Here is a summary of what was discussed. We passed our 2025 and 2026 salary ordinance for exempt employees. Their salary increase matches our recent union agreement with the OPEIU, which is 2.75%. We introduced two ordinances regulating massage parlors, barbershops, hair salons, cosmetology, and nail salons. These ordinances will allow our Health Department (for which we contract with Bloomfield for these services) to conduct necess
Christine McGrath
Oct 31, 20252 min read
Â
Â
October 6th Meeting Summary
Last night the Council had a meeting, where the most controversial action took place in the last 2 minutes of the meeting. We started off...
Christine McGrath
Oct 7, 20256 min read
Â
Â
Update: Verona Town Council Election
For the first time ever, Verona residents have the chance to vote for up to three non-partisan Town Council candidates in November ! As...
Christine McGrath
Sep 30, 20252 min read
Â
Â
September 8th Meeting Summary
The Verona Town Council had it's one and only meeting last week. Here are the highlights of what we discussed. The Verona Baseball and...
Christine McGrath
Sep 16, 20255 min read
Â
Â
Special Meeting Summary: Emergency Services Building, August 13th, 2025
On August 13th, the Verona Town Council had a special meeting to review, in great detail, aspects of the proposed Emergency Services...
Christine McGrath
Sep 3, 20254 min read
Â
Â
August 18th Meeting Summary
The Council met for a second time in August with a fairly efficient public meeting. We approved a three year lease for trailers for our...
Christine McGrath
Aug 27, 20251 min read
Â
Â
August 4th Meeting Summary
The following is a summary of decisions the Council made at our meeting on August 4th. We approved most of the resolutions on the Consent...
Christine McGrath
Aug 13, 20253 min read
Â
Â
bottom of page