‘CEO Of Montclair’ Gets The Boot; Council Votes To Remove Stafford

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair has officially cut ties with its former township manager, Timothy Stafford.

On Friday, the town council gathered for a public meeting, unanimously voting for a resolution on Stafford’s removal (watch the video below).

Stafford, through his attorneys, put forth a written request for a public hearing on April 6. He reportedly asked for a $1.2 million settlement from the town – or a $500,000 payment and reinstatement to his job.

However, Stafford ultimately waived his right to a public hearing, town officials announced prior to Friday’s meeting.

Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller and Deputy Mayor William Hurlock were absent from the meeting. Each of the other council members voted in favor of his removal: Robert Russo, Peter Yacobellis, Robin Schlager, Lori Price Abrams and David Cummings.

Yacobellis issued a statement about Friday’s vote, noting that Stafford won’t get any monetary settlement or severance beyond the 90-day one which the Faulkner Act mandates:

“Today, during a special meeting of the council, we took the final procedural step outlined by the Faulkner Act law and permanently removed Tim Stafford as township manager. I have believed for a while, and going back to last October and again earlier this year, that we should have taken direct action to sever ties and exercise the council’s right to choose who we want to be the chief executive of Montclair months ago. I’ve always believed that contract-less, at-will employment gave us the ability to execute this change at any time. But to reconcile different points of view across our government, I agreed to follow this process. Today, we’ve made permanent our majority decision to move on and to go in a different managerial direction. We did so without any monetary settlement or severance beyond the 90-day one which the Faulkner Act mandates. Montclair’s township manager is the CEO of Montclair — a $100 million enterprise with hundreds of employees serving 41,000 constituents. For me, who we choose next must be someone who is going to reflect who we are and protect what we love as Montclair. I’m looking forward to our future.”

Cummings said Friday’s decision was “very serious,” and added that he wished all the members of the council were present.

“I think that when you make a decision such as this for someone at that level, I hope it is a consensus – which we will not know because a couple of people aren’t here,” he said.

Russo agreed with Cummings, mentioning that in order to attend the meeting, he had to find a colleague to cover a class he teaches – coincidentally on government and democracy.

“We almost didn’t have a quorum,” Russo said, adding that he “hated to see us have to wait this long to have this done, but hopefully it’s finally finished.”

Later in the meeting, acting town attorney Paul Burr offered an explanation for Spiller’s and Hurlock’s absence, noting that the mayor is “dealing with a family crisis,” and the deputy mayor has decided that “because he wasn’t a part of the preliminary motion for removal, and that he didn’t vote on that, he recused himself from making that motion.”

Burr added that the town’s legal team is anticipating a lawsuit from Stafford.

Former deputy town manager Brian Scantlebury has now taken the reins as acting town manager.

Stafford was placed on temporary paid administrative leave in October amid accusations that he created an abusive work environment that has cost the township some key female employees over the years. Read More: Montclair Town Manager Put On Leave Amid Accusations

Montclair’s chief financial officer Padmaja Rao has filed a gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against Stafford, alleging that he is responsible for creating a toxic workplace at the top level of the town’s government, including a pattern of “bullying, verbal abuse and threatening behavior.”

Stafford has also been named in another lawsuit from Juliet Lee, Montclair’s former deputy town clerk, who says that she retired early from her job due to verbal abuse, humiliation and harassment. Lee – who alleges in the suit that Stafford singled out women for abuse – is seeking punitive and compensatory damages and legal fees.

Other Montclair community members have since claimed that Stafford’s allegedly abusive management style has negatively impacted the township. Read More: More Women Level Accusations Against Montclair Town Manager

Several people spoke about the council’s decision to remove Stafford during the public comment portion of Friday’s meeting. Watch the video below.

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