HILLSBOROUGH: Democrats criticize choice of Ferrera

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
   Democratic candidates for Township Committee have criticized the hiring of former mayor Anthony Ferrera as township administrator.
   Michael Goldberg and James Farley wrote in a release that they felt Hillsborough has been “shortchanged” in the “accelerated” hiring of a successor to the retiring township administrator, Michael Merdinger.
   ”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,” read the statement.
   ”This is a failure of leadership of the Hillsborough Township Committee,” the Democrats wrote.
   Republicans hold all five seats on the governing body. They characterized it as fortuitous to have someone as well rounded as Mr. Ferrera come available. He has the “unique combination of significant private sector and local government experience,” they said.
   Committee members said Mr. Ferrera knows the issues, people and community intimately from his 20-plus years as a resident, six years on the Township Committee and decades of volunteer service to many and varied township boards, commissions and community groups. He was mayor for two one-year terms when he served on the Township Committee from 2004 to 2011.
   Mr. Ferrera, 47, said this week that he will be on board Monday, Aug. 20. He leaves a state job after two years as director of the Division of Workforce Portfolio and Contract Management in the state Department of Labor. That job paid him $100,000 per year.
   He said he has had nothing but congratulations on his selection, and business people and residents have told him the job is a perfect fit for him.
   He said he will bring skills in managing relationships and projects, dealing with the public and understanding issues.
   Mr. Ferrera said about 30 people reported to him in his state job, which involved a diverse set of duties that included overseeing many contracts, state and national emergency grants and contracting, among other things.
   Mr. Ferrera, who had a 20-year professional career at AT&T, holds a master’s degree in business administration from Stevens Institute of Technology.
   Democrats focused on a timeline that seemed to show Mr. Ferrera was hired “within days of the announced retirement of his predecessor.” That made it “impossible for any semblance of a comprehensive search for the most qualified individual to have been conducted.”
   The all-Republican Township Committee hired Mr. Ferrera on July 24. That was less than one week after a Beacon article on Mr. Merdinger’s retirement. The July 19 news story was the first he learned about the selection, Mr. Goldberg said, but it was more than one month after Mr. Merdinger’s notice was first noted publicly.
   Mayor Carl Suraci, who is a candidate for re-election this fall, said the Township Committee first announced the news of Mr. Merdinger’s retirement at the end of an executive session that followed the open session of the June 12 meeting. The body reconvened with neither the cable access TV camera or any reporters in the room, he said. The minutes of the meeting should reflect that, he said.
   Mayor Suraci was absent at the next meeting June 26, but he repeated the announcement in the middle of the July 10 Township Committee session.
   Mr. Ferrera said this week that he submitted a cover letter and resume at the end of June, and the Personnel Committee discussed it in July. At the July 24 meeting, Committeeman Frank DelCore said the township didn’t advertise the opening, but went back to resumes from the time of Mr. Merdinger’s hiring in December 2010 before learning of Mr. Ferrera’s interest.
   ”The timing is part of it, but the most important thing is the process,” Mr. Goldberg said.
   He said a listing of postings at some place like the League of Municipalities would have been a clear indication of an opening.
   Mayor Suraci called Mr. Goldberg’s press release “his latest attempt to deceive the residents of Hillsborough.”
   ”The announcement of Mr. Ferrera’s hiring did not occur days after Mr. Merdinger’s announcing his stepping-down from the position,” said the mayor. “In fact, the two events happened approximately six weeks apart.”
   Democrats Farley and Goldberg said none of Mr. Ferrera’s work experience has been in public municipal administration or management.
   ”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,” the statement read.
   Democrats pointed to adjacent Franklin Township, which advertised in July for an administrator with a “minimum of five years in New Jersey municipal government management.”
   ”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,” the statement said.
   Mayor Suraci said that, “after a thoughtful and careful review of individuals’ qualifications, we have hired the most qualified person. He has our full confidence and trust, and we look forward to him joining the township.”
   Other candidates in the Nov. 6 election are Republican Greg Burchette and independent Judd Mandell.