NJ News & Views

[Editor's Note: At 11:45 p.m. on October 17, 2010, this story was edited for style, content and accuracy.]

Jackson constituents of Mayor Michael Reina may have difficulty contacting him.

Three months after the part-time mayor accepted a full-time job with the state Department of Transportation (DOT), his telephone voicemail has yet to be recorded.

He has yet to answer his phone at work either, which a reporter for NJ News & Views called on October 15 after requesting it from the state government operator.

Reina reportedly accepted the $78,000 job of Confidential Assistant with the DOT, which has a hiring freeze for other job applicants, less than a month after being sworn into office as mayor at a salary of $29,500 a year.

Township Business Administrator Phil Del Turco was less fortunate.

During the July 1 Reorganization meeting, Del Turco was not reappointed to the $137,152 position he has held since 2007. He currently works on a per diem basis.

According to sources, Del Turco, who serves at the pleasure of the mayor and council, was not reappointed by them after recommending a fiscally prudent, but politically damaging policy to the mayor.

Del Turco advised a Friday furlough for all municipal employees, who began receiving a reduced government paycheck, while the mayor received two.

Public policy may or may not affect all officials receiving a municipal paycheck.

In a September 27 Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request sent by e-mail, NJ News & Views asked for the annual salaries of the mayor and the township manager, among others. Deputy Township Clerk Janice Kisty referred the request to Denise Fluck in Personnel, who fulfilled the request.

The reporter asked Township Clerk Ann Marie Eden for additional information about the salaries.

"Do those salaries reflect decreases under the township's Friday furlough?" the reporter asked Eden in a September 28 e-mail. "If not, please provide the reduced salaries and the amount of savings under the township's Friday furlough policy since it was enacted."

Eden referred the reporter's question to Fluck. Instead of providing the requested documentation, however, Fluck provided the mathematical basis for determining the financial information in it.

Fluck conceded that the information she had provided was not the information the reporter had requested.

"No, the furlough was not included, they were base salaries," Fluck wrote the reporter. "They were/are being furloughed for 27 weeks, so they would lose 20% of their pay for 27 weeks."

The reporter made an OPRA request on September 30 to inspect all 2010 paycheck invoices, both before and after the township began a Friday furlough policy, including gross and net payments to the municipal administrator, mayor and council members.

Eden denied the reporter's OPRA request.

"Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10 the only information disclosable with reference to personnel is an individual's name, title, position, salary, payroll record, length of service, date of separation and the reason for such separation and the amount and type of any pension received," she told the reporter. "Your request for net pay is denied."

Despite Eden's assertion, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10 does not specifically state that net pay is not disclosable as a public record. Instead, it exempts some government documents according to statute resolution of either or both houses of the Legislature; regulation promulgated under the authority of any statute or Executive Order of the Governor; Rules of Court or judicial case law; any federal law; federal regulation; or federal order - none of which she provided to the reporter.

Eden is not an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of New Jersey.

Jackson Township Attorney George Gilmore, who is admitted to the New Jersey Bar Association, did not respond to the reporter's OPRA request in writing.

Gilmore is head of the Ocean County Republican Party.

Eden did refer the reporter's OPRA request to another township official for response.

"By copy of this email to our Finance Department, I am requesting they provide me with the applicable "disclosable" information relative to your request," Eden wrote the reporter.

The Jackson Finance Department did not respond to Eden's e-mail by providing the "disclosable" information to the reporter either.

Last week, NJ News & Views also requested personnel information from the state.

On October 15, a reporter for NJ News & Views made an online OPRA request with the DOT.

"Please e-mail a job description for DOT Confidential Aide Michael Reina, hired full-time in July 2010, and the name of his immediate supervisor and that person's position," the reporter stated in the request.

The reporter also asked to inspect other documents related to Reina's employ.

"Please provide for on-site inspection all time sheets the DOT recorded to verify Mr. Reina's hours of work on a daily basis by having him punch a time clock. If the DOT did not require Mr. Reina to punch a time clock, please instead provide for on-site inspection all DOT videotapes that recorded his daily arrival and departure times for work with a date and time stamp on them. Thank you for your assistance."

The reporter received an e-mail response from the DOT minutes later.

"We may have to reach out to several units within the Department for assistance in searching for and obtaining these records," the unsigned e-mail informed the reporter. "These records may not be readily available, and therefore we are requesting an initial extension until November 10, 2010. We will, of course, review your request in light of the law governing OPRA requests and the Department of Transportation's document retention policies."

By state statute, no government official may destroy any public record without written approval of the state Division of Archives and Record Management (DARM), even if the records are no longer required for retention.

The DOT e-mail informed the reporter that any OPRA request that required more than four hours to fulfill would be assessed an undisclosed additional fee as well. The DOT stated that 50 percent of the fee was due and payable before inspection of the documents.

NJ News & Views responded to the e-mail by informing the DOT that the information was being requested by a reporter for public dissemination.

The DOT did not respond to the reporter's denial of the request for additional time to comply with OPRA by November 10.

Election Day is November 2. Voting results are certified within one-two weeks following the election.

Reina responded to public criticism of his state job almost as quickly as his state employer responded to the reporter's OPRA request to verify it.

In a September 26 e-mail, the reporter asked Reina to respond for comment to a media report that he offered to forego his $29,500 annual salary as mayor of Jackson at the request of Governor Chris Christie, while continuing to accept a $78,000 annual paycheck from the DOT.

"The Asbury Park Press reported yesterday that you offered to give up one of your two salaries, but not one of your two government positions since accepting a job with the state DOT less than a month after you were sworn into office as mayor of Jackson," the reporter wrote Reina. "Since the DOT oversees and finances transportation projects in the township you oversee as mayor, do you feel you can fairly represent the taxpayers of Jackson and the taxpayers of the State of New Jersey, whether or not you are paid for both positions?"

Reina did not respond for comment.

Five years ago, Jackson voters approved a change of government from a 5-member township committee to an elected mayor and council. In May 2006, the township held its first non-partisan election for representatives of the new government.

Republican Committeeman Mark Seda became the first popularly-elected mayor of Jackson, but resigned two years later.

Reina won election to fill Seda's unexpired term as mayor before winning election in May 2010 to a full 4-year term.

The day after Seda's election victory, he discussed the transition to a new government with NJ News & Views. Seda said he was preparing to meet with his council-elect to put together a transition team.

Seda, the owner of a heating and air conditioning firm servicing corporate clients in New York City and northern New Jersey, said that the position of mayor would be a full-time job. He said his salary would be based on an assessment of similar salaries in surrounding towns.

At that time, full-time Brick Mayor Joseph Scarpelli earned $52,000 annually; full-time Manchester Mayor Michael Fressola earned a yearly salary of $30,000; part-time Mayor Paul Brush of Dover Township earned a salary of $27,753; and part-time Howell Mayor Joseph DiBella declined to accept his $5,500 annual salary.

Despite later financial misfortune, Seda bowed to public opposition and accepted a part-time government salary.

So did Reina - until the state supplemented it at the expense of all New Jersey taxpayers.

The state can no longer afford such gestures of political patronage.

As Lakewood grows into a city, so will the neighboring townships of Howell, Manchester, Toms River, Brick and Jackson. As the number of tax-exempt properties increases in Lakewood, they will also increase within neighboring municipalities. Elected and appointed officials in those municipalities will be challenged to respond to an increased demand for municipal and school district services subsidized by a decreasing number of taxpayers.

So will the state.

In seven months, Jackson voters will once again head to the polls. At no additional cost to taxpayers, Jackson residents can petition their government to place a question on the ballot that would ask voters to approve another change of government, which is permitted five years after the last change.

Instead of a mayor-council form of government, advocates can petition the voting public to approve a council-manager form of government.

Sparta Township interim Manager David R. Troast described the form of government he oversees and his duties under it on the township Web site.

"The Council appoints the Township Manager, who is the chief executive and administrative head of the local government," Troast informed the public. "This position is similar to the chief executive of a corporation. This businesslike form of government reflects a desire for a strong, professional administration and helps to ensure a well-run town government."