Dems: Admin's Hiring Short-Changed Residents
Challengers for township committee seats criticize quick selection of former mayor.
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Democratic Hillsborough Township Committee candidates Michael Goldberg and James Farley criticized what they called an accelerated hiring of former mayor Anthony Ferrera as township administrator.
The pair, who are running against current Republican Mayor Carl Suraci and GOP candidate Greg Burchette, said the speed of which Ferrera was hired demonstrates a lack of comprehensive search to fill the position. They also said they believe Ferrera was hired because of his affiliation with the Republican party, as the current committee is entirely Republican.
The following is the statement in its entirety.
As a result of the precipitous actions of the Township Committee, the residents of Hillsborough have once again been denied an opportunity to know for sure that the most qualified individual is, in fact, leading the administration of the township.
The hiring of Anthony Ferrera within days of the announced retirement of his predecessor made it impossible for any semblance of a comprehensive search for the most qualified individual to have been conducted.
It was pointed out in a previous article that all of Mr. Ferrera’s experience in local government has been gained as a result of his affiliation with the Hillsborough Republican Party. None of his work experience has been in public municipal administration or management. His appointment to this position was a direct result of the actions of the all Republican Township Committee.
Our Township Committee obviously believes that hiring a former fellow Republican elected official trumps the need for relevant experience and eliminates the need for any viable search.
Shown below is a listing for a similar position in a nearby municipality. It calls for a “minimum of 5 years in New Jersey municipal government management.” Why should Franklin Township have this requirement while Hillsborough does not?
The residents of Hillsborough are being asked to pay a $124,000 salary, contribute to a pension and provide benefits for this individual when we will never know if he was the most qualified candidate available for this position.
This is a failure of leadership of the Hillsborough Township Committee.
As a point of reference, the listing below was taken from the New Jersey League of Municipalities web site on July 25, 2012:
TOWNSHIP MANAGER – FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, Somerset County. Population approximately 65,000, $55 million budget, 270 employees, 46 square miles. 9 member Township Council. Council-Manager form of government. Seeking experienced, motivated professional with a minimum of 5 years in New Jersey municipal government management to oversee the daily operations including water utility. Must possess excellent written, oral, and computer skills. Must have ability to effectively manage, interface effectively with Township council, employees and professionals as well as meet multiple deadlines. Council may require residency. Interested candidates should submit a 1 page summary of resume, cover letter and resume with 4 professional references and salary history to FTWPMgrSearch@twp.franklin.nj.us .. Information will be accepted via email only. Salary Range $120,000-$160,000. APPLICATION DEADLINE IS July 30, 2012. Entire job posting is available at http://franklintwpnj.org/job_posting.html. Ad Posted July 2, 2012, Ad Removed July 30, 2012
sammy
9:55 am on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
A joke, right, this is a joke. The past elections proved he was respected and an effective leader. Why do we need some overeducated pen pusher admin type with another town under his belt moving up the govt. employee ladder. Anthony is ready made and will do a fine job. Nobody will out work him and nobody will out enthuse him. The dems are just grabbing at straws. Digging for issues is all that they have, since empty store fronts is all they had last time, this is it. Any bets?
Curt Carnes
11:13 am on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
They have a point. Pointless as it is. Anthony was the Township Administrator’s boss for how many years? Seven wasn’t it? He has a MBA and was working in the State Department of Labor. He meets all the qualifications as posted in the Franklin job, plus his untiring, and wonderful work for the betterment of Hillsborough has been previously documented.
Seriously, can anyone here think of a better person to fill this position?
The Dem’s are grasping at straws, like their 1,000 trucks a day. We need wards. The mercury will never go away. Candidates with theft by deception in their background is okay because he PTI’d out!
What is their next move? To complain we only made it to the 23rd position for the best small town in the Nation, where we should have been number one or two?
LTK
9:23 am on Thursday, August 2, 2012
The issue was there was no "search". It was the same crowd picking from within. Perhaps with 11% unemployment they could have found someone equally or more qualified for LESS money? Ever think of that one?
PatchFan
9:44 am on Thursday, August 2, 2012
Considering Franklink Twp. is willing to pay $160,000, to get Ferrera with his experience and ready knowledge for the town at $124,000 is a great aquisition.
I also heard that Ferrera has a combined role. Wow, two jobs for the price of one.
LTK
10:54 am on Thursday, August 2, 2012
Gee, wonder whay Ferrera didn't go for the Franklin job since it was more money and less work? Hmmm?? If he was really the best candidate, then why was an open search not conducted? As dubious stated, "You all seem to think this is about Anthony. It's not. He's a good guy. It's about the process".
dubious
10:12 am on Thursday, August 2, 2012
You all seem to think this is about Anthony. It's not. He's a good guy. It's about the process. When the Township Committee lets us know the details of the search (if there was a search), then this can be put to bed. You can be sure that there would be howls if the school board did it like this for the last superintendent, but they didn't.
PatchFan
9:33 am on Friday, August 3, 2012
It is about Anthony since he's the end result of the process. And, since you all seem to agree that Anthony is a great choice, you need to agree that the process worked well.
However, and more importantly, this is also about the lack of character by the Democrats' leadership and candidates as pointed out in the Mayor's response in the follow-up story.
dubious
10:04 am on Friday, August 3, 2012
What process? Do you even know what the process was? Do you know what the word "transparency" means?
sammy
11:41 am on Friday, August 3, 2012
stick transparency and process up you know where... a waste of time. SPoken like a true apartchick. we need to have a process. blah blah blah. " Man the gates " , they re overunning us... WAIT HWAT IS THE PRCOESS !! Lets take a vote, we need to vet this out and be transparent. BS. it is about who is chosen and if they do a great job and who cares about the result if its good and it was doen without a process.
dubious
4:05 pm on Friday, August 3, 2012
Let's see... no transparency, no process, no vote. I think that's how they do it in Communist China, among other places. In this country, we have laws that try to make sure that cronyism, nepotism, etc. due not creep in to political appointments. If you think that making the selection of our Township Administrator, whoever it is, is not worth this effort, you, and the rest of us will get what we deserve.
PatchFan
10:21 am on Monday, August 6, 2012
They announced Mike's leaving at a public meeting. They voted on Anthony's hiring at a public meeting. Why didn't Goldberg and Farley get up and say something then?
Just like when the BOE replaced the superintendent, you only learned of the final choice. I can appreicate that because I certainly wouldn't want my current employer to know I'm looking to leave.