Council Moves To Make Deputy Clerk Position Full Time

Washington Township councilmen introduced an ordinance Monday to make the position of deputy clerk full time at 35 hours per week after they said the mayor failed to live up to her end of .

Diane Grimaldi, who serves as the deputy clerk and acting secretary for the Planning and Zoning boards, currently works a total of 27 hours between the two positions, 15 as deputy clerk and 12 as acting secretary.

Members of the council had put enough money in the 2011 budget for the deputy clerk to work 25 hours per week instead of 15, saying that the clerk's office is unable to get all work done with the current system. They said in the past that meeting minutes and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests were not getting done in a timely fashion.

Mayor Janet Sobkowicz opposed making the position full time and increasing the deputy clerk hours to 25 per week because Grimaldi would be eligible for benefits in both cases. Since she was hired prior to May 2010, making her eligible for benefits if working 25 hours or more per week in the position.

Council President Fred Goetz said Monday that no personnel action form was issued to increase Grimaldi's work time to 23 hours per week in the two weeks since the last council meeting, which was the agreed-upon compromise.

Sobkowicz said she had a different suggestion for Grimaldi that would ensure her total hours weren't cut. She said she could give Grimaldi five additional hours in the clerk's office instead of eight and have her continue working nine hours as the acting Planning and Zoning Board secretary, which would total 29 hours per week.

"I think it's a reasonable compromise at this point," Sobkowicz said.

But Goetz disagreed. "This is not a compromise. It's another ploy to extend this," he said. "Frankly, I'm quite tired of being lied to."

Councilman Richard Hrbek said the point of the compromise wasn't to cut the deputy clerk's hours. He said it "wasn't clear" at the last meeting that the compromise would have that effect.

Sobkowicz said she would allow the deputy clerk to work 23 hours per week in the clerk's office and work 10 hours weekly on a blue voucher, which is a temporary measure that doesn't count toward the eligibility of health benefits, for Planning and Zoning Board work. She added that she had advertised for a new, permanent Planning and Zoning Board secretary after the last council meeting but only received one application.

The councilmen unanimously voted to introduce the ordinance making the deputy clerk position full time, however.

"I say we introduce the ordinance," Councilman Joseph D'Urso said. "Let's go forward with it and let it go from there."

The next regular council meeting, which will include the public hearing on the ordinance, is scheduled for Sept. 12. There will be a special meeting to discuss best business practices only Aug. 23.