Questions Arise About Moonlighting Township Employees

Questions about how two full-time Woodbridge employees can fulfill their duties to the township and still work for other municipalities during business hours were batted about at Tuesday night's council meeting on Oct. 11.

Christopher Struben, a local attorney who is r on the Republican ticket in next month's election, wanted to know if Woodbridge's tax collector and building subcode official are giving taxpayers their money's worth.

"Why can't Woodbridge function with a part time tax collector like Edison does? They have our tax collector one day a week," Struben asked during the public portion of the meeting. He also noted that Woodbridge employs an assistant tax collector as well as four other people who work in that department, while Edison makes do with the services of a tax collector once a week.

Richard Lorentzen serves as Woodbridge's tax collector as well as sewer utility administrator. He also works one day a week in the same position for the township of Edison.

"Does Mr. Struben really want to compare us to Edison?" said Business Administrator Robert Landolfi incredulously. "Read what goes on in Edison and read what goes on here."

Landolfi said that Struben was using a "broad stroke" to represent the business activities of the two townships. "You cannot compare the two," he said.

"This isn't a broad stroke. It's a small paintbrush," Struben insisted. 

The tax collection system, Landolfi said, works in Woodbridge, pointing to the "multitude of problems" he said Edison is afflicted with.

He didn't specify what those problems were.

"We are structured very comfortably. We believe we have a reasonable tax rate in Woodbridge," Landolfi said.

Struben shot back that if Edison's tax department is so terrible, it must mean Woodbridge's is, too, since Lorentzen works for both townships as tax collector. 

The business administrator insisted the situations of Edison and Woodbridge were very different. The two neighboring townships, in fact, have very similar populations: Edison, with 99,967 people as of the 2010 census, has slightly less than 400 more people than Woodbridge does with its population of 99,585 residents.

Originally carved from parts of Woodbridge and Piscataway, Edison is slightly larger in overall size compared to Woodbridge, with 30.7 square miles to Woodbridge's 24.2 square mile size.

Several weeks earlier, Struben had asked Mayor John McCormac at a council meeting about Lorentzen's moonlighting. McCormac explained that Lorentzen's work for Edison was part of a shared services agreement between the townships.

Laurentzen is paid approximately $134,000 plus pension and other benefits by Woodbridge, Struben said. 

"How can it be a 'shared services' agreement, since Edison pays him directly for the day he works there. Edison doesn't reimburse Woodbridge for his salary," Struben said.

Landolfi defended Lorentzen's employment in Edison by saying the tax collector works long hours in Woodbridge. "I work 50 to 60 hours a week, and Mr. Lorentzen puts in as much time as I do," he said.

Struben wasn't done. He questioned Landolfi about construction official Thomas J. Kelly, who, like Lorentzen, works for other municipalities while he holds a full time position in Woodbridge.

Kelly, Struben said, conducts inspections for Clark and South Amboy. "I understand he conducts inspections [for Woodbridge] from 8 am to 2:30 pm weekdays, and that that's common in the profession," said Struben, who wondered how Kelly could be working for other towns if he kept the same hours with them.

"Are we tracking his time? Are we sure he's working in Woodbridge [when he's supposed to be]?" Struben asked.

"Yes," Landolfi replied resolutely. He explained that Kelly conducts his work for the other municipalities on nights and weekends, so it doesn't conflict with the time he puts in in Woodbridge.

According to Struben, Kelly is paid approximately $58,000 a year for his work in Woodbridge, plus a pension and other benefits.

The business administrator said at one point he was glad that Struben had brought the issue up, since it gave him the opportunity to tout savings the township had made with personnel based on "streamlined efficiency."

As an example, Landolfi said that Woodbridge had economized on the number of Public Works employees, and through McCormac's efforts, the police department with its new civilian police director now had fewer police officers employed, but more of them were out from behind desks and on the street instead.