01-05-2011 - Bergen Record - Englewood Cliffs Council Declines to Reappoint Employees in Key...

8/7/2019 01-05-2011 - Bergen Record - Englewood Cliffs Council Declines to Reappoint Employees in Key Positions - North Je…

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/01-05-2011-bergen-record-englewood-cliffs-council-declines-to-reappoint 1/3

Screen Name Log in Register | Email A le rt s Lost Password? Mobi le Forums Subscr ibe Place an Ad Class ifieds Legals Garage Sales Jobs Cars Homes Deals!

32.0°F

Search

Home : News

Comments: 4

E-mail this story

Print this story

Decrease Font Size

Increase Font Size

Story tools

0

Share

LikeBe the

first of

your

friends

to like

this.

vote

now

Englewood Cliffs council declines toreappoint employees in key positions Wednesday, January 5, 2011

BY GIOVANNA FABIANOTHE RECORD

STAFF WRITER

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS — Several municipal employees, including the clerk, the

deputy clerk and the attorney were not reappointed by the Republican council

majority at a reorganization meeting — leaving the borough without several key

positions at the beginning of the new year.

Among those cut at Sunday night's meeting — described as a "blood bath" by

Democratic Councilman Ilan Plawker — were Administrator and Clerk Ilene Cohen,

Deputy Clerk Lisette Duffy, Borough Attorney Fred Semrau and labor attorney Fred

Knapp, who was let go as the borough prepares to enter a mediation session with

the police union next month.

Mayor Joseph Parisi Jr., a Democrat, said most of the employees who were not

reappointed were shocked to learn of the decisions, adding that the borough will be

in limbo until new appointments are made.

"It was a devastating blow to all of us, but the worst part is that Ilene [Cohen] —

who did a fantastic job this year — is sitting up there on the dais not knowing this is

coming," Parisi said. "I've been asking them to give me their recommendations for

weeks, and I never heard back from the Republicans."

Parisi said Cohen asked two Republican council people earlier this month whethershe would be reappointed and they assured her that her job was safe.

"It's unconscionable to do that to somebody. … She works very hard and she has a

family to support."

Cohen did not return calls seeking comment.

Money issues

Council President Robert Agresta, a Republican, said the council has a right under

municipal law to confirm or deny the mayor's nominations.

While he would not discuss any specific employees, he said the council's decisions

were made to "save the taxpayers money."

"Tough decisions have to be made and none of them are made lightly," Agresta wrote in an e-mail Monday. "We came upon this borough's budget and found

spending to be at nightmarish proportions."

Agresta added that qualifications will be the first priority as administrative staff is

replaced and "spending will be reined in."

Cohen was serving as acting clerk until she completed her certification this spring,

Parisi said. He added that the borough had received a letter from the state allowing

Cohen to work as clerk and administrator while completing her certification.

Parisi and Plawker said the decision will likely cost the borough more money.

"We're in the middle of negotiations with our police department and they fired the

labor attorney, their appointee last year," Plawker said. "We will have to start from

scratch after spending thousands of dollars in legal fees."

News Towns Obituaries Sports Health Real Estate Arts & Entertainment Food & Dining Community Events Shopping Travel More Traffic

wood Cliffs council declines to reappoint employees in key position... http://www.northjersey.com/news/112920124_Englewood_Cliffs

3/27/11 1



Click here for more news from: Englewood Cliffs

Council meetings in the borough have become particularly acrimonious since the

majority shifted in January 2010, with Republicans and Democrats often shouting

over each other to be heard.

Longtime Democratic Councilman Thomas Manolio abruptly quit at a public

meeting in July, saying he was fed up with the constant bickering since Republicans

took control.

Democrat Melanie Simon, who ran with Plawker in a contentious election in the

fall, replaced Manolio.

In November, Republican Councilman Martin Asatrian abruptly resigned and was

replaced by Carlo Bartolomeo, who had run against Plawker and Simon.

E-mail: [email protected]

Reader Comments (4)

Reminder: Our comments section is governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Wednesday January 12, 2011, 11:20 PM - tcsh says:

@ECFD, (BTW your handle is rich considering you're defending people who wanted

to merge the ECFD with Englewood. Who are you really? Not a person involved in

the ECFD I bet.) But I digress, a cold-hearted monster tells someone their job is safe

and that they shouldn't start looking for another job, but a week later makes a 180

and fires that person knowing that the person needs the job for her family. Oh and

just in case you didn't know Mrs Cohen was appointed by the Republicans majority

last year, does that make her a Republican crony? Oh and reckless actions let's see

here: Not paving streets, mishandling the police labor negotiations, overspending on

the legal budget, the constant bickering,playing games with the School Budget,

Merging the PD and FD (talk to your buddy Marty Asatrian about his little email),

shooting down the Mayor's idea to hire civilian dispatchers, not reappointing the

municipal judge at the beginning of 2010, not reviewing the expense for the

borough on month which could have lead to no employees and creditors getting paid

for a month. Truth is this bizarre action by Carol and the boys is going to cost the

borough money that it does not have. They have shown that they would rather play

politics than address the real issues that are confronting the town. But rest assured

ECFD, you won't have to worry about any of this after November when these clowns

are voted out of office because the people of EC are seeing what this "new

generation of leadership" is doing.

1.

Saturday January 8, 2011, 3:59 PM - ECFD says:

Could tcsh provide details on why he/she feels so hostile. He/she seems almost

ready to go postal. Does not reappointing someone make you a "cold-hearted

monster." The other characteristics you use describe one of the Democratic

councilmen perfectly. Is tcsh related to the borough clerk? Is she an "at will"

employee or does she have a contract? Is there a difference between a Republican

crony vs a Democratic crony? What was the basis of Ms. Fehre' suit, and was itsettled or did she get a judgement? Could you detail the rerpeated reckless actions

you refer to, excluding the merger which was initiated by the (Democratic) Mayor

and his cronies. On the other hand, if venting keeps you sane and allows you to be

civil in public, carry on!

2.

Thursday January 6, 2011, 10:17 AM - tompaine says:

While you can feel sorry for those that lose jobs because of politics you have to

understand that it's the nature of the beast when they took the job. More then likely

their appointment was based on politics and someone before them was bumped. It's

going on in the extreme right now in Bergen County due to the change in Freeholder

majorities. Lot's of qualified individuals are losing their positions while new

appointees prepare to fill them. It's just the way it works. Unless they can come up

with a way to leave politics out (LOL) of it you won't be seeing any changes.

3.

Wednesday January 5, 2011, 8:43 AM - tcsh says:

Robert Agresta and Carol McMorrow are cold-hearted monsters who have not

concern for anybody or anything other than their own egos and ambitions. It is

outrageous they fired for political reasons only the borough clerk, a working mom,

who has had stellar reviews by her peers and residents, who is also a resident of

Englewood Cliffs, and who needs the the job to provide health insurance for her kids.

You can mark my words, that they are going to appoint their own cronies who aregoing to need to be trained and it is all going to cost $$$. Not only that, but there is

now a pattern of this with the removal of the previous Borough clerk (Debbie Fahre)

last year, and the settled lawsuit. So this will probably wind up resulting in another

lawsuit that will also cost more $$$. This time the boys (Agresta and Petrone), Carol

and the deli man went too far. Given their repeated reckless actions as the

governing majority, they won't see another reorg meeting in the majority or at all

when they are thrown out in November.

4.

Please report comments that violate the terms of service.

Share your view:


3/27/11 1

01-05-2011 - Bergen Record - Englewood Cliffs Council Declines to Reappoint Employees in Key...

Documents

Transcript of 01-05-2011 - Bergen Record - Englewood Cliffs Council Declines to Reappoint Employees in Key...