RobbinsvilleWeb News

In light of a $1.2 million shortfall in 2010, mostly due to a large number of tax appeals, Mayor David Fried will be cutting the township’s staff, as well as reducing pay for employees that retain their jobs. About 10 of 127 positions will be eliminated beginning immediately, with those losing their jobs being given 30 day notices and pay through January 15. (Editor’s note: even Scrooge didn’t fire Bob Cratchet)

“Two employees in the engineering department have been laid off and one additional cut is expected later this month in the same department. Other employee-layoffs will include two firefighters, a bailiff from the police department, two vacancies in the public works department that won’t be filled, one employee from the clerk’s office, the economic development coordinator position will be eliminated and a full-time employee in the finance department was downgraded to part-time.”

Employees staying on will see a pay cut or furlough time, and beginning next year all employees will begin to pay more more their health care. These cost cutting measures, which also included selling two police cars, are estimated to save the township nearly $1 million and come close to breaking even.

The Mayor attributes most of these fiscal problems to the tax appeals due to the recent revaluation. As a way of protesting the tax problems,  “Last month Fried withheld $347,168 due to the county. He said he will hold it until he gets approval for a townshipwide reassessment of property values. In a letter Fried sent to County Executive Brian M. Hughes on Dec. 3, Fried also requested that the county order the municipalities that have not yet conducted revaluations to do so. He believes that a countywide revaluation would start all municipalities on even ground.”

County Executive Hughes responded by saying that he believes Mayor Fried doesnt understand how government works. “If it weren’t so silly, I think it would be sad,” said Hughes, adding that the county doesn’t have to continue to educate the mayor on the Mercer County Tax Board.  For somebody to have the kind of problems he’s having, cutting staff and services in his own town he’s not the right person to tell the other 12 towns when to do their revaluation”.

Source: nj.com

Leave it to the third grade reading level of the Trentonian to pick up this story. Playgirl magazine’s 1995 Man of the Year,  John Holliday, a 1983 Hamilton High West graduate and current LAPD cop, is suing the Township, Police Chief Masseroni, Mayor Fried and former Business Administrator Mary Caffrey for discrimination. Holliday alleges that that in 2007 the township agreed to hire him as a police officer, only to rescind the offer about a week later after learning of his nude modeling. The township contends that Mr. Holliday did not disclose this information.  According to the Trentonian, “While in California, Holliday also worked as an actor, appearing in television roles and low-budget films like “Real Stories of the Donut Men,” a spoof of the reality series COPS.”

Source: trentonian.com

While unemployment continues to rise and the economy continues to limp along, Robbinsville town council has decided that this would be a good time to raise their salaries. Township Engineer/Business Administrator Tim McGough will be paid $155,000 for his role, however while Mr. McGough fills both positions, their separate salaries have been proposed at $116,000 for engineer and $99,000 for business administrator for a combined total of $215,000. It’s unknown as to why separate salaries have been proposed since one person is filling both positions.

If the proposed ordinance goes into effect, the following salary increases would be:

• Police Chief Martin Masseroni: $123,000 up from $120,000 (+2.5%)
• Public Works Director Dino Colarocco: $92,000 up from $87,000 (up from $84,000 the previous year – a 9.5% increase)
• Chief Financial Officer Debra Bauer: $78,00 up from $83,000 (up from $76,000 the previous year – a 9.2% increase)
• Municipal Clerk Michele Auletta: $81,000 up from $79,000 (+2.5%)

While our property taxes continue to skyrocket, the town council feel that they are entitled to larger and larger salaries. Does this seem right?

Source: centraljersey.com

Former Pond Road Middle school technology teacher Daniel Corvino, 33, was sentenced earlier this week to a suspended four year sentence for for sending live images of himself masturbating over a Web cam to a 14 year old girl from Robbinsville. Under the plea agreement, Corvino must forfeit his teaching credentials and will be subject to lifetime parole supervision. He must also register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, continue mental health treatment,  is restricted from all social networking sites, and must make restitution in the amount of $1,069 for a computer to replace the one seized from the victim for evidentiary purposes.

Mr. Corvino was the third Robbinsville teacher arrested in three years. In 2005, Scott Copperman, a then 35-year-old Robbinsville High School teacher and coach, pleaded guilty to third-degree endangerment of a child after police determined he had kissed a female student and sent her romantic e-mails. A year later, Daniel Finn — Mr. Copperman’s replacement — resigned after he was charged with possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and serving alcoholic beverages to persons under legal age. And most recently, Sharon elementary school computer technician Carl Alb was charged as a peeping Tom for allegedly using hidden video cameras to spy on female Sharon school employees.

Related Daniel Corvino news:

• http://www.robbinsvilleweb.com/news/2009/03/05/pond-road-middle-school-teacher-pleads-guilty-in-sex-case
• http://www.robbinsvilleweb.com/news/2008/08/14/former-pond-road-middle-school-teacher-indicted-on-sex-charges
• http://www.robbinsvilleweb.com/news/2008/02/15/robbinsville-township-school-teacher-arrested

Source: centraljersey.com

Like many of you, we took some time off during the summer to catch up with family and relax. Now we’re back to bring you up to speed with some of the recent goings on in our sleepy little town…

Schools Running Out of Space

While this isn’t news to anyone who’s lived in Robbinsville for any length of time, the school population has topped 2700 students, up from 2550 last year. The board of education has agreed to spend over $20,000 to study the population trends and determine if this increase is a trend or bubble. Trailers abound at Sharon school where the faculty room has been converted into a classroom last year. Is a new school (and higher taxes) on the horizon?

Is the Robbinsville Government Set to Self Destruct?

Questionable hiring practices, taxpayer funded health care, disappearing surplus money…what’s going on??

Is Robbinsville’s government corrupt? Some think so, citing actions like firing and rehiring employees at higher salaries. For example, the Township Council recently opposed Mayor  Fried’s plans to hire recently ousted Business Administrator Mary Caffrey as economic development coordinator at a  salary of $70,000. Mayor Fried indicated that he plans to offer Ms. Caffrey the position as a part-time role for $17,000, not $70,000, which would allow him to avoid seeking the council’s consent. The $17,000 would be in addition to a newly revealed $24,000-plus severance package recently given Ms. Caffrey.  Mayor Fried only needs seek council consent for contracts in excess of $17,500. There have been mixed signals as to the salary and how the position was to be filled however there appears to be agreement that in the current economic climate that a new $70,000 position is not acceptable.

Back in early June, Mayor Fried announced that he was hiring Tim McGough as business administrator and engineer at a salary of $155,000, ousting both Ms. Caffrey and Engineer Jack West, months after McGough resigned to spend more time with his family as cost-cutting and streamlining measures. Mayor Fried said the move would save taxpayers $70,000, but just one month later he announced he was spending that same amount to bring Ms. Caffrey back to fill the economic development coordinator position, which had been vacant for more than a year.

So if Tim McGough is acting as business administrator, can someone explain to me why we need Ms. Caffrey?

What Surplus?

Mayor Dave Fried is citing the state’s decision to reactivate the Route 33 realignment project as a reason for the township to hold onto more surplus money than he originally planned in his proposed budgets slated for a public hearing and possible adoption on September  10. The revised budget calls for a 4 cent municipal tax rate increase, which is 3 cents higher than what Mayor Fried presented to council in April.

Former Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Sonja Walter claimed that Mayor Fried’s initial budget was a “political stunt” made as he ran for mayor against her.

Robbinsville Residents – Your Taxes May Be Paying for the Health Care of Township Officials

Former Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Sonja Walter brought up the topic of health care at the July 9 council meeting and noted that three elected officials (the mayor, Rich Levesque, and Christine Ciaccio) this year apparently have opted to take health insurance plans through the township.

Both  Ms. Ciaccio and Mr. Levesque confirmed their coverage while the Mayor refused comment. The exact cost to taxpayers is unknown but is expected to be upward of $22,500 according to minutes of the meeting.

“It’s an extraordinarily bad economic year for so many residents,” Ms. Walter said this week. “It’s difficult for me to understand why, this year, now is the time for residents to pay for their health insurance.”

KABOOM!?

“Where’s the Kaboom? There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering Kaboom!” — Marvin the Martian.

An inept pool installer or PSE&G crew nearly blew up part of town center on Monday when they ruptured a natural gas pipeline. Seven families were forced to evacuate their homes for several hours when a pool contractor, excavating a backyard on the corner of Newtown Boulevard and North Street struck the line with a back hoe. Three fire companies replied to a 911 call when gas was detected in the area. The pool contractor allegedly called for the lines to be marked and said that PSE&G failed to mark the main line but did mark other lines. Tim McGough, township engineer and business administrator, said the gas main did not appear to be on any maps provided by PSE&G.

Sources: http://www.nj.com and http://www.centraljersey.com