1/22/20 Caucus
By: Carolyn Maxwell
Stephanie
Márquez-Villafañe
PERTH AMBOY – At the beginning of the 1/22/20 Caucus Meeting, Rebecca Robles came up to be interviewed by the Council for the position of Assistant Prosecutor. She gave a brief overview of her professional and personal experience. She stated she had been in business for 15 years and has a vast experience in accounting. She is the mother of 3 children, graduated from Perth Amboy High School, and had lived in Perth Amboy for over 18 years. “As an attorney, I have been interning in the Prosecutor’s Office as an observer for 4 months. I recently passed the BAR in October 2019. I specialize in Immigration Law and have been practicing law for 2 months.”
Robles responded to a question as to whether or not she would be moving back into town. “I’m in the process of moving. If all goes well, I should be here in a couple of months.”
Council President Bill Petrick spoke up, “I’m glad we’re hiring someone who lives in town.”
Councilman Fernando Irizarry questioned, “How does immigration law prepare you with other parts of the law such as dealing with violations, summonses and DWI’s?”
Robles responded, “A lot of times, immigration overlaps with other aspects of the law. I may have to those accused of certain violations what is their immigration status. In some cases, they may have to go back to the person who is handling their case to make sure they have the correct consultation.” Robles concluded with, “I felt that I have never left Perth Amboy. Education is very important. I’m trained to do the job and ask questions. People have been very helpful to me.”
Council Members Helmin Caba, Fernando Irizarry, and Milady Tejeda applauded Robles for having her own business and being a mother of 3. The Council was pleased to have someone come back to serve the community.
Councilman Helmin Caba questioned if we should have waivers of the residency requirement for certain positions for people who live out of town. “I want people who are successful to come back. Collectively, we are on the same page and appreciate you coming here.”
The council decided to have the public portion after Robles’s interview. The first person who came up to speak was Jeremy Baratta. He questioned why Prosecutor Billy Delgado is getting paid $66,000 for 20 hours of work a month, yet the assistant, who will be full time will only be getting paid $40,000. “So, Delgado gets more for 25% of the work. If Delgado can’t handle it, then we should get someone else.” Baratta then questioned Robles’s qualifications, “Nothing against her, but you have to know what you are doing and not have to call to ask questions. This person has not even been a lawyer for 90 days. Immigration is worlds apart from other aspects of law. This person failed the BAR exam the first time. We need a first-string player – not a rookie who knows what they are doing. They are not qualified.”
Ken Balut came up next and asked if the person applying for the Assistant Prosecutor Job had any kind of relationship with anyone in the court system. “It’s illegal to ask someone’s legal status.” Balut also wanted to know if the City got $30,000 from Kushner (to pave part of Rector Street). He then mentioned the Police Contract, which was handwritten. “Your lawyers wrote it up and he (Law Director King) signed it. You can’t give the police $6,000 towards their raises? The cops can file an illegal labor practice (suit) against the city. I’m still waiting for the OPRA results on 2 cases. Stop trying to stop the Mayor from testifying. Government money was spent on stopping her from testifying in the Kushner trial. There are 3 cases (lawsuits) that so far have been given to a law firm for political contributions.”
Law Director King responded to the statement made by Jeremy Baratta, “As a prosecutor, DWI’s can trigger an investigation. The person accused may have to go back to their immigration lawyer. The police cannot question the (immigration) status of a person.” King then addressed Balut’s question regarding how much money was spent on the lawsuits. “I don’t know what fees are involved in 2 of the cases. I know they already went to the insurance companies.”
Business Administrator Frederick Carr then addressed Balut’s statements concerning the PBA Contract, “It was written by the mediator. We (the B.A.’s Office) were instructed by the Mayor to sign off on it. The labor attorney and the mediator were there, but not (Law Director) Peter King.”
King then spoke up and addressed Councilman Caba’s concerns about residency waivers, “You can’t put any restrictions on that.”
Carr then addressed a concern that Councilman Irizarry had regarding banning of plastic bags in the city. “Recyclables are gumming up the machines.”
Irizarry then stated he had asked at a previous meeting what are the pros and cons (of banning plastic bags)?
Law Director King added to his comments, “Some towns have exceptions such as sandwich bags which are not banned. It’s more of a ban on grocery store plastic bags.”
During the regular public portion, Ken Balut came back up to speak. He mentioned the 2 late-starter resolutions that were added to the agenda: R-43-1/20 – Consenting to the Reappointment of Kenneth L. Gonzalez, as Presiding Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Perth Amboy for a 3-year term, effective retroactive to January 1, 2020 and terminating December 21, 2022. R-44-1/20 – Consenting to the Reappointment of Michelle Roman as Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Perth Amboy for a 3-year term effective March 2, 2020 to March 1, 2023.
Balut brought up the fact that Gonzalez had misused handicapped parking plates and also misfiled paperwork (regarding a first-time homebuyer application) which caused a woman’s taxes to be raised. “He was in charge when there was trouble involving Adam Cruz (Former B.A.) and a former court clerk. He is still parking illegally and still doing first-time homebuyer contracts.”
Jeremy Baratta came back up to speak, “The public should be allowed to comment on judge’s appointments.” Baratta then turned his attention to Resolution R-31-1/20 – Consenting to the Appointment of Maria Manigbas to Library Director and waiving the residency requirement.
Baratta stated that the Library Board of Trustees is a separate entity that appoints its own employees and that the Library Board had no meeting regarding this appointment. “There are things on her (Mangibas’s) resume that are not mentioned in the books and you need to look closely at her qualifications. My understanding is the Library Board controls the library.”
There was a discrepancy between Law Director King and Council President Petrick on who has the responsibility of hiring a Library Director. King stated the Library Board is autonomous, and they hire the Director and Petrick stated that the Mayor makes appointments to the Library Board of Trustees. King was surprised, “Usually the Board is autonomous.”
B.A. Carr then spoke up to clarify some of these statements, “The Library Director is a civil service employee and the city pays them under a salary ordinance.”
Baratta who was still standing at the podium stated, “The state statute is the same (The Library Board of Directors is autonomous).”
Stephanie Márquez-Villafañe came up to speak with reservations about the Library Director candidate, “The Board of Trustees has not met in months due to lack of quorum. They had no idea that someone was being considered for hiring. I agree with what Councilman Irizarry said earlier about needing a Library Director. We need to make sure they address our (the community’s) needs. The applicant lied on her resume about creating a specific program. Her resume also has too many inconsistencies. She has moved around from state to state. In 2018, she also ran for Council in Piscataway. You should be questioning this.”
Billy Delgado came up next and wanted to clarify the first-time homebuyer program. “The buyers and sellers have their own documents that are prepared by their own attorneys.” He then talked about 2 late-starter Resolutions. He stated, “I’ve worked with Judge Gonzalez for 2 years. He is flexible, compassionate, and brings people into his chambers if necessary. Michele Roman is an excellent judge. We have nothing but compliments by people from other towns. You (the council) should go to court to observe Judge Gonzalez. He is an excellent assignment judge.”
Delgado then addressed statements concerning his working hours. “I work an average of 40 hours a week. I probably do 60 hours some weeks that I don’t put down in overtime. I have not billed the city for some of my services.”
Council President Bill Petrick then asked Law Director King to see if the council can make appointments to the Library Board of Directors.
The council then convened into closed session.
