1/22/20 Council Meeting
By: Carolyn Maxwell
PERTH AMBOY – During the first public portion on agenda items only, resident Ken Balut came up and asked a question on Ordinance No. 1 – Amending Ordinance No. 1870-2017- for renovations to the library in and by the city of Perth Amboy in the county of Middlesex, New Jersey for a total appropriation of $3,496,115.98.
He asked, “How old is this ordinance?”
Council President Petrick replied, “2010.”
In disgust, Balut stated, “I was on the council. This is incompetency,” (indicating how long this problem has been going on).
The next speaker was Brian Ferry who a is a representative for PBA (Police Benevolent Association). “In December (2019), I spoke about the contract negotiations. The document is now signed, but why has it not been voted on?”
Council President Bill Petrick responded, “I can’t answer that question.”
Ferry shot back, “Why not?”
Petrick said, “You have to talk to your consul and the Business Administrator.”
Ferry continued, “Have you seen this?” He held some documents in his hand. “If you haven’t seen the document then are you going to vote? The B.A. is not even looking at me, so he must be feeling guilty.”
B.A. Carr responded, “Unlike you, I am taking notes.”
Ferry concluded, “You (the council) should have been told about bargaining in good faith. The Fire Department contract is also being negotiated.”
Resident Ken Balut came up to talk about the same issue, “Your (the council’s) arbitration is holding it up and Jill Goldy (CFO/Comptroller) got a huge raise. You bargain in good faith and it has to be ratified.” Balut also told the council to ask for Delgado’s timesheet. Balut then turned his attention to the reappointment of Kenneth Gonzalez as a judge. “We have pictures of him in handicapped spots. In the past, he has misused a handicapped sign. The bosses get away with everything. He erroneously misfiled a first-time homebuyer’s contract.” Balut then spoke about the library. “It has taken more than 10-15 years with the library renovations. It’s been 12 years with the YMCA contract. That money could have been used for the police department. It’s incompetency of the Mayor and the people she hires. I’m sure Mr. King (Law Director) dictates his paperwork. I also saw a billboard that in the city that had a picture of someone related to a city employee who got a raise.”
Jeremy Baratta came up next. “There’s no money for cops because she (Mayor Diaz) gives it to people in her administration. Delgado makes more money part-time and says he needs an assistant. The Police Department gets more calls than other towns do. The Mayor’s people have grossly inflated jobs. There’s never money for people who don’t work on her campaign. We pay Delgado $66,000 and he cries about it and says he works 40-60 hours. It’s more like 20 hours. The police have more dangerous jobs and only get $30,000. Then we’re going to have an Assistant Prosecutor with little experience.”
Danny Gonzalez, a Police Officer came up next and questioned, “If we (the police) sign an agreement and if we renege on that agreement, what would you think? We (the police) agreed to a 2.5% raise and nothing more. We just hired 12 officers and there are 4 more in the academy. We agreed and signed the agreement. Chick-fil-A pays better and has better benefits.” Gonzalez then held up paperwork in his hand and said, “There was no insurance adjustment in the contract.” At that point, Councilman Helmin Caba got up and took the paperwork from Gonzalez. Gonzalez continued, “Ratify (the contract) so we can move on. What is the delay?”
B.A. Carr spoke up and stated, “I signed it and the council has to ratify it.”
Gonzalez continued, “The negotiations ended the day we signed it. The lawyer agreed to a 2.5% raise.”
Carr reiterated, “Nothing can be done until the council signs it.”
Stephanie Márquez-Villafañe came up to speak regarding Resolution R-31-1/20 – Hiring a new Library Director. “We need a better library system. I urge you not to hire this person as our new Library Director. Every year, she is in a new library system. It’s a waste of money to hire her. I prefer you hire the person from Edison. We have granted waivers before.” Márquez-Villafañe then turned her attention to an article that stated that Perth Amboy was the 5th least educated city in the state. “We don’t have a thriving library system. The person considered for director has zero experience and has worked in private library systems. She also applied in Metuchen and they were not impressed. She (Maria Manigbas) talked about starting the Dial-A-Book Program, which has been in place for awhile. The Library Board of Trustees hasn’t had any meetings in months. They should be the ones making recommendations.”
When it came to vote, Resolutions R-27 thru R-30 and R-32 thru R-44, were moved by Councilman Irizarry and seconded by Councilman Caba. For R-31, the council decided to table the Resolution. Councilman Helmin Caba moved to table. It was seconded by Councilwoman Milady Tejeda.
Council President Bill Petrick made a comment regarding Communication No. 5 – Mayor Wilda Diaz appointing Jacqueline Littlejohn to the Library Board of Trustees for a 5-year term to expire on December 31, 2024. Petrick stated, “We should be appointing people who live in town.”
During the last public portion, Ken Balut came up. “At the next meeting, the PBA Contract should be put on the agenda or the council may be looking at an unfair labor contract issue. Balut continued, “On August 28, 2019, buses were supposed to cease parking on the streets in the Budapest section. They were given a 30-day waiver.” He then addressed the overcrowding conditions in the city. “There are more people living in the city than there is housing stock. People are living in places with no permits to change the house. When a person dies in illegal housing, it will be a big problem for you. The Code Enforcement Director can’t do anything. You just reappointed a judge who misplaced paperwork. A Director’s wife was on a billboard. Why didn’t taxes go up on a building that was appraised higher? If you don’t want to give a 2.5% raise to the police, then just don’t do it.”
Stephanie Márquez-Villafañe, who was recently appointed to the Handicapped Parking Committee questioned some of the procedures that the committee has to take into consideration. “A patient has to get a doctor’s note and a handicapped ID. A registration has to be submitted. A generic letter was handed to us and some doctors are charging the patients to fill out these forms. Handicapped licenses have to be reviewed every few years. We shouldn’t be forcing applicants to submit certain paperwork. Accepting the handicapped placard and ID should be enough.”
Petrick responded, “The Handicapped Parking Committee was supposed to root out abusers.”
Councilman Fernando Irizarry, who is also on the Handicapped Parking Committee stated, “Certain handicapped disabilities must be addressed, for instance, how far they can walk. The handicapped placard doesn’t have much information on it.”
Márquez-Villafañe disagreed, “It’s nobody’s business. It’s a HIPPA right. The applicant has the needed information. The court mandates what is required. There is no need for constituents to put this on the placard. We are not doctors.”
Irizarry countered, “We are following the criteria of the ordinance. We are not looking at medical records.”
Council President Petrick suggested, “We can amend the ordinance. Is there a checkbox that states the distance a patient can walk to receive a handicapped placard? Can we expand the checkbox conditions?”
Irizarry answered, “I never asked to see a letter I get from an applicant.”
At this point, City Clerk Victoria Kupsch stated, “In the past, there were extensive medical conditions that were added. It was ridiculous.”
Márquez-Villafañe continued, “The application is a city form and has the city seal. The form seems very redundant.”
Law Director Peter King suggested to have the committee make recommendations to the council.
Irizarry spoke again, “The decision will be based on having a placard and a doctor’s letter. Sometimes a doctor’s letter has more information about the condition.”
Márquez-Villafañe stated, “There’s no space on the application for doctor’s comments.”
Kupsch then stated, “We can add a section for physician’s comments on the application.”
Irizarry stated, “Maybe the doctor doesn’t want to do that.”
King in his frustration stated, “Just bring the recommendations to the council or you may take suggestions from the council.”
Petrick then stated, “Pass the ordinance for us to work with.”
Irizarry said, “At our handicapped meetings, we told Stephanie this is per the council’s ordinance.”
Petrick then suggested, “We have to get some kind of consensus.”
King said, “We need to have written comments from the Handicapped Committee. If you have a more beneficial form, have the committee review it.”
Council Comments:
Helmin Caba thanked all who came, especially the Police Department, “My contract is also up. We can’t say much at this point.”
Irizarry was next. “I thank the police for being here. We appreciate what you do.” He then asked B.A. Carr if he had any updated information about the Rte. 35 Bridge improvement.”
Carr replied, “We’ve contacted the DOT (Division of Transit), but we have not received a response, yet.”
Irizarry also thanked Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez for getting a grant to make Washington Park safer. He had a question about the new sewer liners being placed.
Petrick responded, “The liners are being put in place to prevent the sewers from collapsing.”
Irizarry finished his comments by thanking everyone who helped getting some of the city lights fixed.
Councilwoman Milady Tejeda wanted to thank the police who came out tonight. “We can’t comment right now (the police contract). It is important to get this settled.” She also thanked Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez for getting the grant for Washington Park. She concluded by thanking everyone who came to bring their issues forward.
Council President Petrick asked for a copy of the crime stats for 2019 and a list of employees that are not using timeclocks. He suggested the Prosecutor and Assistant Prosecutor should use timeclocks to check their hours. He concluded by wishing everyone in TV-Land, and those who came in person. “Have a healthy, happy new year. I’m, looking forward to making progress.”
Councilman Joel Pabon was absent from both meetings due to a family emergency.
