Suburban Trends - Sunday, April 20, 2008
BY TERESA EDMOND- Staff Writer
Residents suspected foul play among Borough Council members as they questioned whether the borough conducted a fair interviewing process before hiring its new deputy borough manager.
At the council's April 17 business session, residents raised the matter that the borough may have hired Scott Heck because his party affiliation could back up a fully GOP-controlled council. Since Acting Borough Manager/ Borough Clerk Kelley Rohde was absent from the meeting, Heck filled in for her.
Not only was Heck a councilman and mayor from 1994 to 2005, but Heck chaired the Ringwood Republican Club as late as last year, resident Steve Michelin pointed out
"I'm wondering if you can explain to me - better yet, explain to the residents watching Channel 77 (the borough's local cable channel) - what happened?" Michelin asked. "Out goes the old borough manager... and in comes the new one, who happens to chair the Ringwood Republican Club."
After the Borough Council reor-ganized last January, the borough dismissed Kenneth Hetrick from his borough manager position. Bor-ough Clerk Rohde assumed the position of acting borough manager while the borough hunted for Hetrick's permanent replacement.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Heck was tapped for his new post with a yearly $60,000 salary. He's to assist Rohde with municipal issues, including the Upper Ringwood Superfund site, where Ford Motor Company contaminated its soil by dumping paint sludge in the 1960s and 1970s.
Defending Heck, Mayor Walter Davison Jr. said that he "has taken a leave of absence" from his Republican Club post. He also said that Heck has received pats on the back -since starting his new position.
"I can tell you I'm proud of him sitting next to me," Davison said. "He was a mayor and councilman, but he was more than that. He was good and terrific at what he did. Probably no one at this table has more knowledge of the community than Scott Heck does."
Michelin clarified that he's not questioning former borough manager Kenneth Hetrick's qualifica-tions, but wanted to know what the interviewing process was.
"It doesn't pass the sniff test," Michelin said.
Michelin isn't the only person who feels that something might have gone amiss during the borough's search for a deputy manager. Former Democratic Councilman Tom MacAllen asked the Borough Council how many candidates were up for the position.
"I don't have an answer for that because the (acting borough) manager appointed him," Davison said. Later, he added, "I don't know if there were any other applicants. In my opinion, I don't know if anyone else would match up."
MacAllen didn't buy Davison's response.
"I guess we'll never know if you never advertised," he said. "It's not about Heck doing a good or a bad job. It's (about) the process."
Resident Robin Canetti prodded the experience and education credentials with what she called a "prematurely created job" that pays a relatively high annual salary. Despite Heck's extensive knowledge of the borough, political experience and his current pursuit of a certified public works management certificate at Rutgers University, Canetti called Heck a novice in his new position.
"A $60,000 a year job should be where resumes are looked at... You may not like how Hetrick did his job, but I believe he had a Ph.D. in public administration," she said.
Canetti also prodded the likely perks Heck may have received with his new position, such as whether he drives a borough-furnished vehicle. Heck said that he drives his own vehicle.
Teresa Edmond's e-mail address is edmond@narthjersey.com