Letter: Council Candidate Criticizes Administrator

The following is a letter to Paramus Patch:

It appears that the Paramus Borough Administrator has been for personal use.  Recently, a town resident accused Mr. Joseph D’Arco of using a borough vehicle to pick up his daughter in Washington Township and drive her home to Bloomfield. D’Arco did not deny these charges, in fact, he responded by stating that he believed he had the right to do so.   

If true, this would be a violation of the public’s trust, if not more. And not only by  D ‘Arco, but by the Republican Council who hired him. While there have been lay-offs and demotions of Borough Employees, D’Arco, a non-resident, has been given a large six-figure contract, on top of an already generous pension. Now we see that they allow him to use the town’s car, the town’s gas, and quite possibly, the town’s EZ-Pass account for what appears to be personal use. Several years ago the Republicans lambasted employees for using Borough cars to perform their actual official duties. They even promised to stop this practice in their campaign mailer! No different than the governor’s use of a helicopter, the hypocrisy is clear and insulting. The Republican Council has definitively perpetuated the cronyism and waste that supposedly existed, and which they attacked and ridiculed for years. This scam is just another reason why things need to change in Paramus and restore balanced government.

Joe Lagana

The author is a Democratic candidate for Borough Council.