7/12/17 Council Meeting
Residency Ordinance Text Follows at End
PERTH AMBOY – During the Public Comments on the Ordinances, Resident Stanley Sierakowski questioned the Prosecutor and Assistant Prosecutor’s salaries and hours.
Acting Law Director Peter King responded, “Prior to 2012, the City had two Prosecutors. At the end of June 2017, one of the Prosecutors retired and now we have one Prosecutor. That retired Prosecutor was paid as a full time employee. With the Mayor’s appointment of Mark J. Cintron as Assistant Municipal Prosecutor and Delgado as Chief Prosecutor, all Prosecutors will be part-time, with no medical or pension. Any Municipal Prosecutor can’t appear as a lawyer in the (Middlesex) County. The rate is $95/hr which is keeping with other Municipalities.”
Resident Ken Balut came up to speak next, “You should table this item until you find out more.” He then questioned the Administrative Clerk and other titles. “They are getting a 2% increase while others (Non-Union City Employees) are getting thousands of dollars more in raises. Where is this money coming from? There are no raises for our Police. Only certain people are being taken care of.”
Council President Bill Petrick responded to some of the comments of the speakers, “The Mayor’s letter said that the two Prosecutors that were named above are not getting benefits.”
Balut continued, “The experienced Prosecutor (Cintron) is being hired as a part-timer and Delgado who has no experience is getting a full-time position.”
Law Director King responded to an earlier question as to what the Assistant Prosecutor salary would be, “It’s $33,825.”
Resident Jeremy Baratta came up to speak. He stated, “The Prosecutors are getting a Defined Contribution Retirement. (DCRP)”
King replied, “It’s an employee contribution and they have the option of putting it into a 401K.”
Councilman Irizarry spoke up, “This (401K) is the same as the Council gets.”
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez repeated the same information and also added, “Besides being enrolled in the employee contribution 401K, we (the Council) are also part-time.”
Irizarry spoke again, “This person (Cintron) will be enrolled in an 401K Style Plan. Except for one Councilman, we do not get medical.”
Resident Alan Silber came up to speak. He made a reference to the Salary Guide, “This sounds like the deal with former B.A. Pelissier who had multiple titles.”
Council President Petrick responded, “Both positions (Chief Prosecutor and Part-time Prosecutor) are part-time and salaries are set by the Mayor.”
Law Director King responded, “The law was changed in 2000. The prior prosecutor received benefits (medical) as a full-time employee.”
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez asked King if he suggested the Council change the laws.
Council President Petrick questioned if they should pull out the titles for the one that doesn’t exist.
King suggested, “The Ordinance can be amended. And you should have Alternate Prosecutors.”
Petrick continued, “Titles are not reflected in our Ordinance.”
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez then cautioned the others,”We assume that we can have assistant titles that weren’t on our laws. Our goals are to make sure the rules are right and that we follow them.”
At this point, Council President Petrick asked King, “Can you research if we can have these proposed titles in the City?”
King responded, “I’m suggesting that you get another Municipal Prosecutor.”
Councilman Joel Pabon said, “I would like to vote to amend Ordinance No. 1 (RE: Management and Non-Union – Additional Titles).”
Resident Alan Silber also had a question on R-274 (Appointing Carmine Muccio as Manager of Public Property with a waiver of Residency). “Our former B.A. (Fehrenbach) said it’s better to hire a company as opposed to an individual. This way, you have a backup person. Was this position advertised?”
B.A. Cruz responded, “No.”
Silber responded, referencing Perth Amboy City Ordinance 4-132 Section D. (see below right) “You can’t waiver residency unless it’s advertised to see if there’s a qualified resident first. There is not an automatic waiver. I suggest you table this.” Silber agreed with Balut who he felt made a great point about salaries for union people. “$50,000 to start for a new Police Officer is about right.”
For Ordinance No. 1 RE: Management and Non-Union – Additional Titles, all Councilmen voted, “No.”
When it came for the Council to vote on the Resolutions, R-265 thru R-272 and R-275 and R-277 thru R-281 were moved by Councilman Irizarry and seconded by Councilman Jelmin Caba. These Resolutions passed unanimously. R-276 was voided and R-273 and R-274 were pulled for further discussion. It was then determined that R-273 were to be removed. This was moved by Councilman Pabon and Seconded by Councilman Irizarry. It also was determined to remove R-274. This was moved by Councilman Irizarry and Seconded by Councilman Pabon.
After the Council voted, during the Public Portion, Resident Stanley Sierakowski came back up to speak, “You (the City and Council) will have a lawsuit if the position was not advertised for Prosecutor.” He then turned his attention to Bridgeport. “What was the appraisal for Building#3? There was no appraisal. Is the cost $150 million or $200 million for the project? A brand new application was filed by Bridge. That’s why you (The Council) need a real estate expert.”
Resident Jeremy Baratta came up to speak in regards to the Prosecutor’s positions. He said, “Billy Delgado was the former Democratic Chair. There was a full-time Prosecutor that was paid $66,000. Now we have one part- time at $65,000. This is a full-time rate for a part-time job? Is he (Delgado) a Certified Municipal Attorney?”
Law Director King responded, “These salaries are in-line with other Municipalities.”
Baratta continued, “This person was supposed to get a judgeship. This Administration tells the Council nothing. We saw the same discussion (that are ongoing) to find out the real deal as to what goes on. The people who came up to speak do the research. There are always some new fugazi business.”
The next person who came up to speak was Businessman Sergio Esteves Wilson who owns a business on Smith Street near Goodwin Street. “Something has to be done at that intersection. There have been 15 major accidents. I almost saw a woman get hit by a car as she walked across the street. Rte. 440 or Smith Street are the only way into town (in that area). I don’t want to see a dead person for something that can be prevented. Maybe we need a traffic light there. We have to find a way to get funds for this.”
Acting Police Chief McKeon came up to respond, “Deputy Chief Cattano suggested that it (Goodwin Street) be a one-way street.
At that time Petrick spoke up, “A one-way would not work because it goes into a major street (Smith Street).”
McKeon responded, “A light is expensive and you would have to go through an engineer. A cost-analysis would have to be made. The engineer has to be involved because we are talking about a County road, too. You will have to authorize our engineer to do a study.”
B.A. Cruz spoke up and stated, “I can call the City Engineer to call the County.”
Council President Petrick suggested, “We need to get a Resolution about this problem on our next agenda.”
Resident Balut came up to speak. He questioned the designated parking spots (at the YMCA) that the Parking Authority should be charging for. He then turned his attention about the appointment of Delgado as the Prosecutor. “In Diaz’s campaign literature, when she ran against him, it was mentioned that Delgado’s license was suspended, but now he’s good enough to be a Prosecutor. Maybe Ed Troche can get us a traffic light (at Smith and Goodwin) . He’s in charge of Vital Statistics and is a Police Director. Also how much will the schools lose on the Bridge PILOT? Since Fairview Insurance has come in, now all of a sudden, No-Bid Contracts are being awarded.”
Alan Silber came up to speak, “We are not enforcing illegal parking and that is why certain intersections are very hard to get out of. We need a full-time Attorney to make sure we are up to City Codes. A Prosecutor is not a position to learn on the job.”
Law Director Peter King responded on the steps taken to be considered for that position, “The applicant receives letters of recommendation from other attorneys and judges. They have experience in Municipal Court cases and those credentials along with the recommendations are sent to the State for certification. It is on the job training.”
Resident and Businessman David Caba came up to speak and asked the Council to have the Mayor timed when she speaks. “If her time runs out, she should also ask for permission for additional time. The Mayor said in campaign literature that Delgado’s license was suspended in Pennsylvania. We are letting our Waterfront deteriorate. You need to enforce the ordinances. The Mayor is not holding Kushner accountable. One of the Landings units was sold for $106,000. A comparable unit in Newark costs $500,000.”
When it came to the Council Comments, the following statements were made:
Councilman Jelmin Caba thanked all the speakers who made comments. “There’s lots of good things going on in the City.”
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez suggested, “The Council should get the same kind of program that Code Enforcement has so that we can get their status reports.”
Councilman Irizarry said, “I thank all who participated in the fireworks. There were huge crowds. Also, the Board of Education will not lose money due to the PILOT (Bridge). They have a budget and the City is obligated to send their portion per State Stature. At the last Council Meeting, remarks were made that bordered on racism. People in this Country are innocent until proven guilty. I want to apologize to the Jewish Community for not speaking out when a person said, “Let’s build a wall around a certain city.” The warehouse (Bridge) being built will not bring additional children into the City. I would also like to see a Bill List, especially on No-Bid Contracts. Councilman Joel Pabon said, “I would like to commend the Recreation Department. Director Kenny Ortiz does a great job.” One of the activities mentioned was the movies being shown on the beach. “But, I am not happy with the parks. The fields are in bad condition, and it’s the same issues every year. We spent a lot of money at Rudyk Park and the festivals that were held there are over. The fields are not being taken care of in a timely manner for use in the next season. There are many dangerous corners in the City. We talked about getting flashing lights at the corner of Fayette and Maple Streets. People are still parked on sidewalks. With the Bridge PILOT, we have to plan what to do with that money. We have to look more at Rudyk Park. The fireworks were beautiful and I saw them from my front porch. People had a good time.”
Council President Petrick said, “The fireworks were spectacular. I want to thank Barry Rosengarten and Mayor Diaz and South Amboy Mayor Fred Henry along with South Amboy Council President Mickey Gross. There was no alcohol and everyone got in and out. Traffic control was good. There was good weather, good vendors and a great crowd.” Petrick reminded everyone of the many events coming up including the concert series.
Perth Amboy City Ordinance 4-132 – D. Appointments without reference to residency.
(1) In accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:9-1.7, whenever the appointing authority determines that there are certain specific positions or employments requiring special talents or skills which are not likely to be found among the residents of the City of Perth Amboy, such positions or employments so determined shall be filled without reference to residency.
(2) The appointing authority shall, prior to any determination to fill a position without reference to residency, advertise said position, indicating the special talents or skills required. In the event that applicants who are residents of the City of Perth Amboy do not demonstrate that they have the special talents or skills required for appointment to the position, the appointing authority shall determine that the position may be filled without reference to residency.
(3) The following positions or employments shall be deemed to require special talents or skills which are necessary for the operation of the City of Perth Amboy, except as otherwise provided by state law:
(a) Positions having substantial managerial policy-making and/or policy-implementing responsibilities.
(b) Positions which require pursuant to state law that the appointee hold a specific license or certification.
(c) The nature of the employment is such as to require residence at the Runyon Watershed, Old Bridge Township, New Jersey.
(d) Other positions which require substantial formal education and employment experience and/or which require substantial scientific and technical skills which are necessary for the operations of the City of Perth Amboy.
