Former tax assessor said mayor overstepped bounds
By
Carlo Davis
Weehawken taxpayers will have to pay $120,000 for a legal settlement
with the town’s former tax collector, Joseph Fredericks. The township’s
agreement with Fredericks closed the book on a federal lawsuit in which
he alleged that Mayor Richard Turner overstepped his authority to
control every aspect of Weehawken’s daily operations, including the tax
assessment of certain luxury properties at “higher than legally
permitted rates.”
David Corrigan, Weehawken’s labor attorney,
said Fredericks’ lawsuit was “without merit” and denied that any
improper actions had been taken by Weehawken or its leadership. In
exchange for the settlement, Fredericks retired from the job. Corrigan
said the settlement agreement embodied “extraordinarily favorable terms”
for the township.
In addition, Corrigan noted that Fredericks’
attorney, Louis Zayas, who is based in North Bergen, has a history of
filing exaggerated claims against Hudson County municipalities. Zayas is
handling a number of cases of employees of local towns suing mayors.
But
according to Zayas, the lawsuit demonstrated that all decision-making
power in Weehawken ultimately flows through Turner, in contravention of
the town’s charter.
Turner has declined to speak on the record
about the case. The mayor is extremely popular in Weehawken. After being
appointed township manager by the state to help save the town from near
bankruptcy in 1982, he was elected mayor in 1990 and has held the post
ever since, running unopposed in the last three elections.
Twenty years
Joseph
Fredericks served as the tax collector of Weehawken from 1994 until
2014, when he resigned. In his 2012 complaint filed in federal district
court, Fredericks alleged that he regularly complained of unlawful and
improper activities undertaken by the township and Mayor Turner during
his tenure.
In particular, Fredericks asserted that Turner
interfered improperly in Weehawken’s assessment of property taxes. In a
sworn certification submitted in support of a lawsuit filed by Weehawken
Police Lt. Richard DeCosmis in 2010, Fredericks alleged that Turner had
told Tax Assessor Paul Sadlon to assess luxury waterfront properties at
a rate roughly 35 percentage points higher than was allowed in the
state formula.
Hugh
McGuire, Weehawken’s former real estate appraisal expert, also said
that Turner had pushed for higher added assessments, in a deposition in
the DeCosmis case. (DeCosmis was suing the township for what he said was
a longtime pattern of harassment against him).
According to the
complaint, Fredericks said he brought his concerns to Director of
Finance Richard Barsa and Town Manager James Marchetti numerous times.
In response, Fredericks alleged, Marchetti would always shrug and say
“It’s not up to me” or “What do you want me to do?”
Corrigan said
any allegations of illegally high taxes were plainly false. “The mayor
and council play a role in setting the tax rate, and frankly the tax
rates in Weehawken are moderate and that’s why [Turner] has been
reelected so many times.”
Back pay payback
In the
complaint, Fredericks said that when he gave a sworn certification for
Richard DeCosmis’s lawsuit against Weehawken in September 2010, this
triggered a barrage of retaliatory measures against him.
He said
the funding he had been given annually to attend tax collection seminars
and conferences was allegedly cut. Barsa allegedly required that all of
Fredericks’ future correspondence be approved by him or Weehawken CFO
Lisa Toscano.
Fredericks said he was allegedly excluded from
across-the-board raises given to Weehawken employees in 2010 and 2012.
In addition, Fredericks alleged that he was never paid the extra salary
he had been promised for taking over management of Weehawken’s tax
abatement program starting in 2009.
Finally, Fredericks said he
was told by Marchetti in a meeting that he was overpaid and that his
salary should be reduced. All of these actions taken together created a
hostile work environment, according to Fredericks.
Zayas said his
client had never been disciplined in his decades of service prior to
the retaliation that followed his deposition in the DeCosmis suit.
Mayors and managers
Behind
the allegations is a broader accusation about the level of influence
Turner exerts over the governance of Weehawken. According to Zayas,
Turner controls the town’s government in direct violation of Weehawken’s
municipal charter.
The township of Weehawken is organized as a
council-manager form of local government under New Jersey’s Faulkner
Act. The mayor serves concurrently as a councilperson-at-large, but
retains relatively few mayoral powers in addition to his legislative
responsibilities. A town manager appointed by the Township Council
serves as the chief executive of Weehawken, overseeing the day-to-day
operations of the government.
The Faulkner Act under which
Weehawken’s government is chartered forbids council members from seeking
“individually to influence the official acts of the municipal manager,
or any other officer… or to interfere in any way with the performance by
such officers of their duties.”
Corrigan said Turner has never
acted improperly as the mayor of Weehawken. “If he had ever done
anything improper, he would not be reelected,” said Corrigan.
Corrigan
confirmed that Turner had been involved in discussions with the tax
collector and tax assessor regarding the town’s tax rate, but said this
activity was not illegal, and directly benefited the city.
“There
is nothing that would preclude the council from working with a tax
collector to do what’s best for the town,” Corrigan added.
According
to Corrigan, Turner “lent his expertise…to ensure that taxes are
uniform and productive for all” and should be applauded “rather than to
be besmirched for working regarding the tax rate.”
Settlement terms
In
his settlement agreement with the city, Fredericks received a $15,000
salary increase back-dated to 2011 and 153 1/2 days of paid terminal
leave. Weehawken’s insurance company paid Fredericks $30,000 and Zayas
$45,000 in attorney’s fees.
According to Corrigan, Fredericks was making around $117,000 per year prior to his salary increase.
The
settlement granted to Fredericks is also notably smaller than the
amount of damages requested in the lawsuit. In a 2012 NJ.com article,
Zayas said that his client was seeking $1 million in punitive damages
and $250,000 in back pay.
In exchange for the payments,
Fredericks agreed to retire immediately once the agreement went into
effect and give up all future claims against Weehawken. The township
admitted no liability for the claims advanced in the lawsuit, which the
agreement described as “doubtful and disputed.”
The agreement was approved by the Township Council on May 14, 2014.
Since
Fredericks’ departure, said Corrigan, Weehawken’s tax collection has
been overseen by a part-time outside contractor at significant cost
savings to the town. When the town ultimately hires a new tax collector,
Corrigan said he or she would receive a significantly lower salary than
Fredericks, in part due to Fredericks’ seniority.
“I think we’re going to recoup the money within a year,” said Corrigan.
