Police Officer Hani Tawfik speaks to the Council as his Fellow Officers stand in support. *Photo by Carolyn Maxwell

1/23/19 Caucus/Council Meeting

PERTH AMBOY – At the Caucus portion of the 1/23/19 Council Meeting, Resident Ken Balut who is a retired Police Officer and former Council President referenced R-41-1/19 – Consenting to the appointment of Frederick C. Carr as Business Administrator effective January 22, 2019 and waving the residency requirement. He urged the Council to, “Just do a three-month appointment instead to see if Carr works out. It costs taxpayer’s money with what happened with the last Business Administrator, Adam Cruz.” He also later stated, “You will be paying three people (Acting B.A. Greg Fehrenbach, Interim B.A. Jill Goldy, and Frederick C. Carr) to do the job of one.”

Council President William Petrick responded, “Ms. Godly will not be paid for the B.A. position after tonight.”

Several Police Officers attended the 1/23/19 Council Meeting because they were not happy with R-42-1/19 – Authorizing a contract for professional services with Government Management Advisors, LLC to facilitate the transition of the new Business Administrator.

During the public portion on agenda items, Sharon Hubberman came up to speak about this Resolution. She questioned, “When is the start and end date for the labor negotiations? Is there a panel for an advisory committee? An ordinance stated that the panel  should consist of three citizens who have knowledge regarding labor negotiations and also one Council Member. I know there is a transition period. To have a hired hand involved in labor negotiations is not necessary.

Police Officer Hani Tawfik came up to speak, “This resolution lacks language. The town does not need the service of Acting Business Administrator Greg Fehrenbach. He (Fehrenbach) sees the town as a cash cow. The new Business Administrator’s (Frederick Carr) salary is $147,000. We are double dipping into a fund that is paying Fehrenbach $135 an hour. Vote “No” on this resolution.” Other Officers stood up and applauded.

Resident Ken Balut came up to speak. “You’re giving the new B.A.(Frederick C. Carr) $147,000. We are keeping Fehrenbach here to baby-sit, plus you’re giving him 18 days vacation. Carr is supposed to have all of this experience. You are denying an Officer an extension of pay. There were 78,000 calls to the police last year and they’re working hard. Now you want to pay $200,000 to have two B.A.’s? The last Business Administrator (Adam Cruz) was a disaster. We have an absentee Mayor who is also the Police Director. Fehrenbach is her buffer. You should do a 90-day trial period for the new Business Administrator. The Law Director (King) and Fehrenbach knew what was going on (regarding Cruz). The police deserve to get a nice raise.”

Resident Alan Silber came up and questioned how many hours Fehrenbach was working now.  Silber then added, “I wish Mr. Carr all the luck in the world. Fehrenbach was a good guy and now he’s doing the Mayor’s bidding.”

Resident Dorothy Daniel came up to talk about the police’s low starting salaries. She said she considers the police her children, “And they took an oath to protect the City. I’m hearing things that are disturbing me.”

Fehrenbach addressed Daniel’s remarks, “Negotiation (on police contracts) were not completed and there is a $600,000 surplus in the budget.”

Daniel started again and stated, “When the Housing Authority does their budget, they have to check with the City first about any raises. There should be no negotiation about giving the Police and Fire Departments personnel raises. They go into situations where people run away from. Our City takes the most amount of calls – more than Woodbridge Township. I respect and honor each and every one of you (the Council). I have full respect for the Police and Fire Departments. Bring them up to par with other towns. Honor my kids.”

Pastor Bernadette Falcon-Lopez came up to show her support for the Police and Fire Departments. She said a special prayer for all, especially our Fire and Police Personnel. “Who provide for our needs and provide for their families. Find the funds to give them what they deserve.”

Before voting on R-42-1/19 there were a couple of questions that were asked of Mr. Fehrenbach regarding his salary. 

Councilman Helmin Caba requested that Resolution R-42 be pulled to be voted on separately. He commented, “Because of all the layoffs and taxes, valid points were made. We have a very qualified new Business Administrator. Mr. Fehrenbach has done a good job, especially when he first came here. 

Councilman Joel Pabon had a few comments, “This is a hard decision and we have talked about the police and their low salaries. I feel we need Fehrenbach, but only for a short period of time. I feel the need to keep him on.”

Council President William Petrick spoke next and asked Fehrenbach about his rate of pay. Fehrenbach told the Council, “I’ll leave whenever you want and you could limit my stay. I’ve offered to cut the hourly rate in half.”

Petrick spoke again and remembered when he was a Member of the Board of Education. He suggested to eliminate the number of steps for the teachers to get to the top rate of pay.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda said, “We can amend R-42 because the new B.A. Carr needs to catch up.”

When it came to R-42, Councilman Joel Pabon moved to amend it and it was seconded by Councilwoman Tejeda. When it came time to vote on the Resolution, it was moved by Councilman Fernando Irizarry and seconded by Councilman Helmin Caba. When the Council was polled separately, all voted “Yes” except for Councilman Helmin Caba who voted “No.”

Resident Alan Silber came up to speak to applaud the Council for explaining the way they voted on R-42, “I remember when Mayor Vas was still here, and he said that Mark Blunda and Greg Fehrenbach (who were the Law Director and Business Administrator to the City in 2008) that their reputation preceded them.” Silber continued, “Mayor Diaz talked about how she reduced the debt, but we knew who did it. The Police Department is getting younger and the contract is not good. Other people get blamed for what’s not their fault. I remember 2008 and what Greg Fehrenbach did for the City.”

Balut came up to speak regarding how the Council voted on R-42. He told the Council, “You gave a lot of money away for PILOT’s. “Fehrenbach has taken all the garbage for the Mayor. The Mayor has spent taxpayer’s money. Who are all these people surrounding the Mayor? Because they are using the Joe Vas playbook. It’s up to you to hold the Mayor accountable. The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and Tax Assessor should know all the details regarding PILOT’s. The Council should also investigate how a City Employee got a house from the Jewish Renaissance.”

Law Director King suggested to the Council, “If you want, you can get the Attorney General’s Office involved.”

During the Council Comments, Helmin Caba told Fehrenbach that he should not take the comments he made earlier personally.

Fehrenbach responded, “None taken.”

Caba also welcomed the new B.A. Frederick Carr.

Councilman Irizarry spoke next. He wanted to thank Greg Fehrenbach for the consistent service that he provided to the Council and that he was impressed by Fehrenbach’s professionalism. “Thank you for everything you did to bring us to where we are today. I also want to welcome the new B.A. Carr. I’m impressed by his credentials. I also want to thank the Mayor for her cooperation.”

Irizarry then was dismayed that freshly paved roads are already messed up again. “This happens over and over despite having an ordinance in place. Amboy Avenue between Washington and Neville Street is always cut up.”

Councilman Pabon congratulated Mr. Carr on his appointment and stated, “If you fail, we fail. When the police came up to speak, they kept it real. We have to be concerned about all groups. I know they’re looking at one person to point their finger at. We should have stopped the hiring. I don’t think Fehrenbach wants to be here as much as we want him here. We fought for one year regarding one hiree. This has to be looked at, but I haven’t heard about any layoffs coming. We were just replacing police officers.”

Councilwoman Milady Tejeda spoke next and welcomed Mr. Carr. She stated she was impressed about the presentation Carr made. “Mr. Fehrenbach is important. Sometimes people don’t know the reasons why we make decisions.”

Council President Bill Petrick said he appreciated the work that Greg Fehrenbach has done for the City.

Fehrenbach then requested to make a few statements. “The last six months have been the most difficult of any time that I have worked in City government. I tried to get back to the years between 2008 – 2010 when the Mayor and Council operated as one. I want to thank the Mayor for running the search for a new Business Administrator in a different manner. About four years ago, there was a lot of interests in the City looking for their slice of the pie. People said, “Yes” too much. The Department Heads have to have the strength and the knowledge as does the Mayor when explaining their budget to the Council. We asked for an analysis of the Police Department’s budget. We never said anything about layoffs, and I have never said, “It’s not my fault!” I ran ideas by the Mayor and the Council. There were some hurdles. In the past, there were some limits as to contract negotiations, and now those limits are gone. We’re looking at a 15% increase the first year, 9% the second year, and 8% the third and fourth years. I’m not saying they don’t deserve a raise. We have to look at the consequences.”

Councilman Helmin Caba spoke next. He disagreed with some of Fehrenbach’s statement, especially when it came to not placing any blame on the Mayor, “She has to learn to say no. We are in this mess because of some of her hiring practices, but we are to blame for voting for some of them.”