Baden Borough Council abruptly ended its public meeting Wednesday night because members of the public showed up to it.
Residents gathered after learning on social media that borough officials had been holding private talks about the possibility of disbanding or merging their police department with a neighboring jurisdiction.
President Judith Montell told the citizens in attendance that council was “not allowed” to continue its meeting because of the number of residents present.
“At this time I have to make an announcement,” Montell told the crowd. “It is not something borough council chose to do, but it is something we had to do. We are not allowed to meet tonight because of so many people. We are going to move this meeting to the Baden American Legion next Wednesday (October 28) at 6:30 (p.m.) … We didn’t know how many people were going to be here … We can’t take rollcall, we’re not allowed … This is at our attorney’s orders, we can’t. I’m very, very, sorry because I actually want to hear from all of you.”
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