Former Mayor Questions How Administrator Can Be A 'Whistleblower'

To the Editor:

I have read with interest on this site and in various other media outlets about a whistleblower suit being filed against Cinnaminson Township by the suspended Township Administrator and Director of Public Safety in Cinnaminson, Michael King.

I find the suit rather ironic. At a September 2017 Township Committee meeting that I attended, the Township Committee’s special legal counsel indicated that all matters related to Township business were to go through the office of Mr. King. It was one of the charges brought against Township Committeemen Brauckmann. They accused him of not following this protocol when speaking to Township employees.

Basically, the former Township Committee had revised our government structure into a strong Township Administrator format which is known as a Faulkner Act form government without going to the voters for approval as required by law.

Therefore, if Mr. King was designated as the funnel for all of the various work silos (their terminology not mine) within the Township, it is his obligation to come forward with information regarding any Township matters. Wasn’t he just doing the job that he was being paid to do? By all accounts, this appears to be a frivolous lawsuit.

The toxic environment that I believe was created in this township between 2015 and 2017 by former Committeeman Minniti, former Committeeman Young and others within the Township fostered a handful of employees to invoke whistleblower protection status. While some may be justified, I can’t see how the employee that the Township Committee gave all the rights and responsibilities to run this Township on a daily basis can file a whistleblower suit.

While Minniti and Young are gone, I believe the stench of their selfish and self-serving agendas along with the missteps by others involved in this whole three year time frame will haunt and cost this community for years to come. They created the problem that this Township Committee faces today.

I applaud Mayor Evans, Committeemen Horner, McGill, and Segrest for taking their time to perform the due diligence necessary to sort out the mess passed onto them from the previous Township Committees. Getting to the right answer is more important than responding with a knee jerk reaction or impulse that would undermine your desired goal.

Also, I want to say kudos to the 2018 Township Committee for bringing back civility to our local governing body in 2018. Additionally, when last year’s Committee said they wouldn’t honor two Cinnaminson fallen local heroes, this Township Committee came up with the right answer by dedicating two fields in Memorial Park for fallen firefighter Chris Hunter and fallen State Trooper Sean Cullen. Thank you and keep up the good work in helping Cinnaminson move forward.

Bill O’Connor
Cinnaminson Township