Letter to the Editor 5/15/2009 (The Leader & South Bergenite)
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Rutherford Council President Raises Concerns Letter to the Editor 05/15/2009
A special meeting of the Rutherford Mayor and Council was held on May 13th. The meeting concerned four staff members of the Construction Department. In my view, it was shown that the Construction Department is a self sustaining entity - with their overhead and expenses covered by the revenue that is generated through fees collected.
However, other issues surrounding the meeting are troubling and need to be addressed to protect the Borough and its taxpayers...
The first concern is the formal "Rice" notices that had been sent to only four employees from one borough department at this late date in th e budget process and in this manner. The State of New Jersey mandates that if a municipality is contemplating furloughs, temporary layoffs, or changes to titles, etc. under civil service regulations you must have a "Plan". Without a Plan in place, these notices and the manner in which they were served is premature. This action should have been undertaken months ago during the budget process. With twelve more departments needed to review, is this an effective, efficient, and timely way to tackle the deficit that the borough is faced with at this late date in the budget process?
The second cause for concern is the appearance of a conflict of interest on the part of Councilman DeSalvo, an electrical contractor in town, and the most vocal proponent of reductions in staff at the Construction Department. I questioned, as many residents do, whether it is appropriate for Councilman DeSalvo to participate in the discussions concerning the Construction Department. Would it not be appropriate for Councilman DeSalvo to recuse himself on this issue in order to avoid any appearance of a conflict and to protect the borough from any potential litigation?
Clearly there needs to be action taken to reduce the tax burden, however this is not the way to go about it.
If Mayor Hipp wants to keep his promise of lowering taxes without cutting services, he should fill us all in; at this rate, the Borough has become stagnant and only because there is no plan.
Respectfully submitted,
Maura Keyes
Rutherford Borough Council President
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