CFO/Comptroller/Interim B.A. Jill Goldy momentarily departs the Council Chambers after Fernando Gonzalez voted “No”” to make Goldy the Interim B.A. *Photos by C. Maxwell
6/27/18 Council Meeting
PERTH AMBOY – During the first Public Comments at the 6/27/18 Council Meeting, Resident and Businessman David Caba came up to speak. He wanted to know, “Did the old Business Administrator resign, get fired, or what? Taxpayers pay the B.A.’s salary. Is he still getting paid? I also heard a rumor that someone else resigned? Is that person still getting a salary?”
Law Director Peter King responded, “This (the B.A.) was an Administrative appointment. He was appointed March 2016 and had a contract. He was not removed for good cause. He was not going to be reappointed again.”
Council President Bill Petrick then commented, “I heard he resigned.”
King then told the Council, “You will introduce in a new ordinance as to what you can do regarding this matter. Any Business Administrator can get paid under the circumstances that he left. You can discuss this in closed session.”
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez spoke up and stated, “You are asking me to spend an additional $50,000 without giving me a reason why (the former B.A.) left.”
King responded, “He wasn’t fired. He just wasn’t reappointed. Your ordinance requires you pay additional money.”
David Caba then continued, “If he didn’t do anything wrong, he can get paid. Someone received a $12,000 increase in their salary with less than 2 years on the job and they resigned so I heard. Let’s be honest – there’s more to this.”
King responded to David Caba’s comments: “I’ve heard rumors. If you have any information, please give it to me. You’ve made an allegation. I’ve not found anything.”
Resident Jeremy Baratta came up next and questioned if certain behavior with a subordinate “constituted a moral dilemma?” He then said, “I see two new Resolutions that weren’t here before. R-304-6/18 – Appointing Jill A. Goldy CFO/Comptroller to serve as a Temporary Interim B.A. for an additional annual salary of $36,000. Another Resolution R-305-6/18 – Authorizing a contract for Interim City and Administrative Services at an hourly rate $135/hr.
Baratta asked, “Why two new resolutions for replacement for one guy? Why was there a failure to reappoint if there was no expiration date on the (contract)? Why wasn’t there a reappointment a year and a half ago?”
King responded that when a Mayor’s term expires, Directors have to be reappointed. “
Alan Silber came up next, “On Monday (6/25/18/) at the Caucus Meeting, you talked about the Business Administrator contract. You used the word supersede. Now we’re talking about City Codes. The State Codes and the City Codes are the same. The state statute says “may” not “shall”. You can do anything you want and still get paid. It’s taxpayer’s dollars. He (King) knows there’s more to it than this. Somebody in the Court System resigned. This is a misuse of our taxpayer’s dollars. We’re going to pay him (Former B.A. Cruz) so the Mayor doesn’t get embarrassed.”
Silber then questioned, “Can the B.A. and CFO bee the same person?”
King responded, “In some cities, that can happen.”
Before sitting down, Silber responded, “It’s a conflict. You should hold off on your votes.”
CFO/Comptroller Jill Goldy who was sitting up-front with the Council responded to some of the remarks made by the speakers. She stated that when she was informed by the Mayor that the Business Administrator resigned, the Mayor asked her to be the Interim B.A. “The Mayor can make a temporary appointment. I would not vacate my CFO position and I asked if (Former B.A.) Fehrenbach could partner with me because of a conflict of duty (my position as a CFO) and also as a Business Administrator. Because of my 19 years of experience with the City as a CFO/Comptroller and Fehrenbach’s 45 years of experience, we can address the Council, Mayor, Administrators, and Director’s needs. I felt it was important for the Council to approve my temporary appointment and also for Greg’s appointment. Greg would be putting in anywhere between 15 – 20 hours per week. I felt I needed to be compensated for additional responsibilities (day to day). Fehrenbach can assist with finding a new Business Administrator. He will look at the bill list that I may have to sign off on. Fehrenbach said it may take 3-6 months to get a new B.A. We have to put arrangements in place to post an advertisement for a B.A. My additional salary of $36,000 would be divided into 24 months.”
Councilman Fernando Irizarry questioned, “Will we have to reappoint you after 90 days if no B.A. is found?”
Law Director Peter King responded, “Yes.”
Goldy then stated, “I will not apply for the Business Administrator Job.”
When the public was allowed to speak again, Alan Silber stated, “You don’t have the option of ignoring a statute. You should just appoint Jill Goldy as Business Administrator and put in a request for a Chief Financial Officer.”
When it came to vote on the Resolutions, Councilman Fernando Irizarry made a motion to approve R-251 thru R-281, and R-283 thru R-284, R-286 thru R-290, R-292 thru R-294, R-296, R-298 thru R-299, R-302 thru R-303.
For R-291, Councilman Fernando Gonzalez wanted to table, “I read the report and went to look at the place for a closer look at it. The only person who voted “No” to table was Council President Bill Petrick.
R-282 was voided; R-285 – Jill Goldy said the Administration asked that this be pulled. – Accepting the proposal and awarding a contract to Center State Engineering for professional Engineering Services related to the Housing Study for the Department of Human Services in an amount not to exceed $35,000.
R-295 was voided. Goldy said the Administration also asked that R-297-6/18 Accepting the bid and awarding a contract to IPS for parking pay stations in an amount not to exceed $208,500.
R-300-6/18 was voided. R-301-6/18 was pulled for a separate vote – Authorizing a contract with Test Products International Inc. for the purchase of single gas (CO Monitors PGM-100 in an amount not to exceed $20,000. Councilman Irizarry asked that this be pulled for a separate vote. This was moved by Councilman Irizarry and seconded by Councilman Helmin Caba. When it was voted on individually, all said “Yes” except for Councilman Irizarry who voted, “No.”
Now, the Council had to vote for the last two Late-Starter Resolutions which require a unanimous Council approval for consideration. R-304-6/18 Consenting to the appointment of Jill A. Goldy, CFO of the City of Perth Amboy to serve as Temporary Acting Business Administrator for an additional annual salary of $36,000. The Council was polled: Helmin Caba “Yes”; Fernando Gonzalez, “No” – Resolution did not pass.
R-305-6/18 – Approving and accepting the proposal from Government Management Advisors, LLC and authorizing a contract with said for Interim City Administrator Services at an hourly rate of $135 an hour. It was moved by Councilman Helmin Caba and seconded by Councilman Fernando Irizarry. All Voted “Yes.”
After these two Late-Starters were voted on, Councilman Helmin Caba asked, “Who will be the Interim B.A.?”
At that point, Jill Goldy started to pick up her books and notes which she had on the table in front of her and left the Council Chambers. She stated she was leaving the Meeting because her Interim Appointment had to be unanimous. She said she agreed to this position only if it was approved that way.
Resident Jeremy Baratta came up to speak at the last public portion. In apparent reference to Jill Goldy’s leaving the Council Chambers, Baratta stated, “Did a City Director just go home because she didn’t get a raise? We go through Business Administrators and Attorneys like who know what. This is the level of professionalism we have?”
Councilman Fernando Irizarry answered, “You don’t know her and you should not speculate.”
Baratta answered back, “You should not defend this (her actions).”
Resident Alan Silber came up next. “This (2 Late-Starters) should never have been on the agenda. The State and City Statutes say the same thing. When Perlee (Former B.A. under the Vas Administration) left, he was replaced by Dianne Roman. Vas helped her. The Law Director ignored the City Code. Goldy knew there was a problem. The Business Administrator doesn’t need to be certified. There has to be a separation of money. She (Goldy) told you so.”
David Caba came up to speak, “We don’t get proper information. I know there’s more to this and there is an investigation going on. The truth is going to come out and this is an insult to the taxpayers. You are on taxpayer’s terms. How long was the person in their position who got a $12,000 raise? How many Police Officers or Department of Public Works Employees got a $12,000 raise (in a short period of time)? The City Council should be aware of any pending investigations. People watch the news and many taxpayers will be informed. This will be in Spanish and English. I’ve been a taxpayer for over 30 years.”
Law Director King responded, “I’ve asked people who come here to give me facts. Any agencies will send out subpoenas requesting documents if they are doing investigations.”
Jill Goldy came back into the Council Chambers to let the Council know that she put in a phone call to Greg Fehrenbach in regards to the vote on the two Late-Starter Resolutions. Goldy then informed the Council that Fehrenbach said the proposal was to work with herself (Goldy) and he withdrew his proposal (after she was voted down).
Council Comments followed: Helmin Caba wished everyone a Happy Fourth of July.
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez said he wanted to set up a Zoning Board Meeting that was cancelled. “I believe there is a conflict of interest with the CFO and the B.A. You can’t have the same person who controls the money sign off on it. We keep breaking our ordinances. We need to know the facts. The community trusts us, but we don’t have the facts. To spend $50,000 of taxpayer’s money without knowing what’s going on is a waste of money.”
Councilman Fernando Irizarry spoke next. “When did you discover it was a conflict? It was my understanding that the Business Administrator resigned. I need clarification. A person resigning is different from removal. It looks like he’s getting paid no matter what. Can the CFO and B.A. be the same person? I want to thank Miss Goldy and her resolution as to what can be done. She has integrity and honesty and answers my questions thoroughly and she has no malice against the City.” He then wished everyone a happy Fourth of July.
Council President Bill Petrick stated, “Comcast is failing the City with poor sound quality. I want to thank Goldy for her time as CFO and B.A. (referring to B.A. Cruz’s sudden departure). He wished everyone a happy Fourth of July.
Councilman Fernando Gonzalez had one last remark, “We need to bring people here to answer questions or have Mr. King investigate more.”
Councilman Joel Pabon was absent due to an emergency.
Members of the Perth Amboy Volunteer Fire Department are presented with a Mayoral Citation for participating in the Perth Amboy Fire Safety Initiative Program. Acting B.A. Jill Goldy is seated on the right.
