the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Palisades Park NJ, the Borough of Palisades Park is launching an investigation into potential overpayments of vacation and sick time to borough employees, raising new concerns about financial oversight. This follows a history of scrutiny, including a 2021 comptroller’s report that revealed significant taxpayer losses due to improper sick leave payouts.
Background of Financial Concerns
In 2021, a state comptroller investigation found that Palisades Park improperly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to employees for unused sick time, violating a 2010 state law. Notable findings included:
- In 2018, $109,000 was paid to 27 employees.
- In 2019, $95,000 was paid to 22 employees.
Most payments ranged from $3,000 to $5,000. The report led to significant reforms, including amendments to white-collar contracts, restricting gas card usage to department heads, and the establishment of an oversight committee.
New Investigation Underway
At a recent Borough Council work session, the borough attorney cited “red flags” in the policy and practices related to salary-related payments. Special counsel Matthew Giacobbe has been retained to review the situation alongside the borough’s chief financial officer and legal firm Ruderman & Roth.
Attorney Scott Krumholz stated:
“Any alleged overpayments to borough employees that occurred during the previous administration are deeply troubling. We are taking action to ensure every cent owed to Palisades Park taxpayers will be paid back in full.”
Krumholz emphasized that the current administration, led by Mayor Chong Paul Kim, has implemented reforms to end taxpayer abuses and is committed to recovering improper payments.
A History of Disputed Findings
While the 2021 comptroller’s report pointed to significant overpayments, Giacobbe’s subsequent investigation disputed the magnitude of the losses. His findings suggested that improper payments ranged from as little as $538 to a maximum of $13,000, depending on whether part-time employees were included.
Next Steps
The borough’s investigation aims to provide clarity on whether recent issues are related to the past discrepancies. If improper payments are identified, the administration has vowed to recover funds and uphold financial accountability to taxpayers.
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Greedy people they should just do what the building departments/ inspectors do there and force contractors to give them Money in all forms to jump the line and get permits first because if you don’t magic things happen that delays your project till you have to sell it to one of his friends. What I’m saying is don’t steel from the Tax payer just squeeze more money out of the people you been already doing it to in all the towns they work in at the same time.
How this Town keeps getting away with what they do on all levels is MIND BLOWING.