Washington Twp. Hires Attorney to Review Terminal Leave Payments
Ronald Mondello will provide opinions on terminal leave payments from 2010 and 2011 and the status of a township employee.
Washington Township officials have hired special counsel to review terminal leave payments made to township employees in 2010 and 2011.
The township council passed a pair of resolutions last month hiring attorney Ronald Mondello to review the payments and provide the council with a legal opinion.
Council President Steve Cascio declined to comment due to the ongoing investigation.
The township paid retired police officers $38,184 for terminal leave in 2010 and payments of $55,521 and $66,828 in 2011, NorthJersey.com reported.
A new PBA contract approved this year eliminates all terminal leave as of December 31, 2011.
Mondello will also investigate the status of an unnamed employee as a contractor or full employee to provide the council with a legal opinion on that issue.
The council has previously discussed the employment status of township attorney Kenneth Poller, and whether he counts as a contractor or a full salaried employee. Whether or not the attorney was the position the council sought an opinion on was not immediately clear.
A report released by the state comptroller's office released last year found "widespread improper participation in the state pension system among attorneys and other professionals working as independent contractors for local governments" in violation of a 2007 state law.
Officials previously said they were waiting from a ruling from the IRS to determine Poller's status.
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resident
1:32 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Of course the council is seeking an opinion on Poller.. This position has been nothing but a joke that the taxpayers fund.. there hasn't been any enforcement on ordinances, permits, etc. etc. etc. He collects a check, medical and a pension, and sit at the council meetings and smiles all the way to the bank. Two years for a cell tower negotiation. Let's hope he doesn't bill by the hour.. Time to go!!
Carey Grant
1:14 pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The best thing he ever did was stall the cell phone tower. And now that we know he might have been acting improperly, we should hold off on that deal and investigate it further! I smell a rat in the workings of that cell phone deal. I always did. It got moved from one side of town (affluent) to another side of town (less affluent). I think the whole thing should be on hold until it can be properly investigated for wrong doing. Follow the money.
Jim Leggate
1:16 pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Just to clarify- this investigation is only about whether the employee counts as a contractor or full salaried employee of the township. They're not looking at performance issues.