LAKEWOOD, N.J. — Residents of Lakewood are calling on the township committee to reinstate in-person public meetings, starting January 2025, in a petition urging a return to pre-pandemic governance practices.
The petition, submitted by community members, highlights the importance of face-to-face interaction during public meetings, which were held at Town Hall before the COVID-19 pandemic. The signatories argue that the virtual meetings, which have replaced in-person sessions for over three years, have limited community participation due to technical barriers and decreased accessibility for some residents.
“These meetings served as a vital platform for residents to interact with committee members, pose questions, raise awareness about pressing issues, object to proposed projects, and engage with town professionals,” the petition reads.
The residents also point out that other governing bodies have returned to in-person meetings, making Lakewood’s continued reliance on virtual sessions an outlier. Additionally, they note the importance of the annual reorganization meeting in early January, which traditionally allowed for public discussion of appointments and resolutions for the year, but is now conducted briefly in a virtual format.
The petition emphasizes that in-person meetings would foster greater transparency, accountability, and engagement between the local government and its constituents. It requests the immediate resumption of in-person meetings beginning in January 2025.
The Lakewood Township Committee has yet to respond publicly to the petition.
Lakewood residents are pressing their local government to restore in-person meetings, citing concerns over accessibility and the need for transparency in decision-making.