Arik Samson is a Resident of Berkeley Heights, NJ

Berkeley Heights township hired a top ranking Union County official Joseph Graziano under a shared services agreement with the county and paid him a part time salary to oversee the Department of Public Works while he also got paid salary and full-time benefits from the Union County job where he was the head of the department of public works for many years.

The shared services agreement with the county originally approved at the reorganization meeting of the township council in 2019 was extended with few council members questioning the extension in 2020.

The agreement, which was first signed last year at the Jan. 1, reorganization meeting, provides for the township to employ Joseph Graziano eight hours a week as its DPW director. Graziano is the director of the Union County Engineering, Public Works and Facilities Management departments, and the former director of the Berkeley Heights DPW.

The resolution to extend the shared services agreement was approved by a vote of 3–2, with Council President Alvaro Medeiros, Council Vice President Susan Poage and Councilman Pete Bavoso voting in favor of the extension and Council members Manny Couto and Jeanne Kingsley voting against it. Councilman Stephen Yellin abstained. It is expected that the shared services agreement will be discussed at an executive session at the reorganization meeting,  which will be held on Thursday, Jan. 2…Reference

Interestingly Town councilman Mr. Stephen Yellin who also worked for the Union County Department of Public Works at the time* abstained from the vote to extend the shared services agreement in 2019 but Mr. Yellin did NOT abstain when the initial vote to appoint Mr. Joe Graziano as part of the shared services agreement was voted in during the January reorganization. 

A resident wrote about the impropriety of the vote at the reorganization meeting.

Mayor Angie Devanney touted the success of the shared services agreement with Union County in her mayor’s corner release as win-win for our township and residents due to cost savings and access to additional equipment and services.

Mayor Angie Devanney stated in her 2020 letter. 

As Joe Graziano served in the capacity of DPW director over the last year, it has become evident the Township does not require full-time director at this time. 

Not only does this arrangement save money and provide access to additional labor and equipment, it also has a proven track record that our SSA DPW Director can act in both capacities during snow, ice and rain events that have required an intensive public works presence, with such senior employees at the helm with him.

Mayor Angie Devanney stated

Cost also matters.  The Township is currently realizing a savings of $70,000 in salary plus a savings of approximately $50,000 in health benefits and pension for 2019 – cutting well over $120,000 from our budget.  Moreover, the County has not increased the cost of shared service agreement in 2020. In contrast, if the Township had a full-time director, we would bear the burden of a roughly $100,000/year salary (plus 2-3% increase) as well as $50,000 in benefits and the annual increases that are associated with those costs. You have previously received the 2018 -2019 analysis demonstrating the effectiveness of the SSA plus the 2020 monthly schedule to improve services this year.

Now contrast this with what Comptroller Kevin Walsh reported after a multi year investigation and the outcome:  

Keeping the public informed about the compensation of government officials – especially highly-paid officials – helps ensure that tax dollars are not misused.

In the case of Union County, the Office of the State Comptroller found that the law required the County to follow a public process when setting compensation for top officials.

OSC sent a letter to the Union County Board of County Commissioners’ Chairman last month, advising him that our investigation found the County Manager and two County department heads—the Director of Public Works and the Director of Finance—received $417,772 on top of their six-figure base salaries that did not follow the public process.  

“Giving these top officials extra compensation without going through the required public process was unlawful,” said Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh. “Residents should not have been deprived of the opportunity to weigh in.”

Read the letter and our recommendations to Union County — and other counties in New Jersey that are subject to OCCL.

Now it’s unclear if Mr. Joseph Graziano continues to work for the Berkeley Heights township currently but his name still appears on the roster of personnel for Berkeley Heights township.