TRENTON – There’s a bell in the courtyard here and unsurprisingly no one feels like ringing it.

It stands in the heat here without apparent significance. No plaque marks its purpose.

In fact, amid flat shadows cast by chalk white buildings there’s no one around, except state Senator Nicholas Scutari (D-22), who moments ago ambled down the steps of 225 West State Street, Governor Phil Murphy’s makeshift office.

“I want people to get along,” said Scutari with a grin, side-stepping a question about details.

The Senator from Linden was over here with Senate President Steve Sweeney’s (D-3) team of squad leaders to sort out the budget mess with the front office.

“Progress,” a source insisted, when pressed about what came out of the latest sit-down between legislative leaders and the Governor.

But a second source wasn’t as sanguine.

“Not really,” the source said, when buttonholed for specifics and relayed the “progress” line. “It just wasn’t a bad meeting.”

Following the confab, the senate went back to its scheduled voting session.