Published The Sentinel of Gloucester County Weekly Newspaper- Print Edition Week of October 17th- 23rd, 2019
Franklin Township residents are still awaiting the arrival of their official 2019 tax bills which should be mailed out this week. Normally, tax bills are sent on a timely basis and arrive before August 1st of each year, however Franklin Township had not adopted their budget and had to apply to the states Local Finance Board for a CAP waiver in the amount of $701,533. In a recent meeting (August 2019) between Franklin Township Mayor Dave Deegan and CFO Katie Coleman with the State Local Finance Board, the Mayor stated that the Township was out of cash and not paying their bills. According to the official transcripts from that meeting, Deegan also stated that he was told that there was an ethics complaint being filed against him and that he was advised by the administrator to step down from the finance committee and not have any communications with the CFO.
Franklin residents had been calling the tax office the past two months inquiring about the delay in receiving their tax bills and until the release of the transcripts from the State Local Finance Board, their was no official information from the Mayor or Township Committee members about the serious financial situation the township was facing.
According to documents obtained by the Sentinel last week through the Open Public Records Act from the Township Clerk regarding the resignation of former Township Chief Financial Officer Charles Owens, he had warned Franklin Twp officials in 2018 that their overspending would lead to financial disaster
Owens submitted his letter of resignation on April 9, 2018. His letter is written to then Mayor Leah Vassallo and Township Committee members. Owens was appointed as the part-time Chief Financial Officer for the Township in July 2016 for a four year term. His letter states:
“When I was hired a couple of years ago, it was with the intent to straighten out the financial mess that existed in Franklin Township. That was my mission and until recently I felt that I had achieved that mission. Our surplus has increased, we have taken steps to ensure that we would have revenue going forward to maintain a reasonable tax rate and spending was very much under control.” Owens continued:
“However, in recent months, it has come to my attention that the Mayor and Committee have taken their financial goals in a completely different direction. The overspending of the budget is not only allowed but encouraged. That is not the type of accounting that I was brought into the Township to oversee. I realize that I am just an employee and that the Mayor and Committee make the decisions and I must follow them. However, this new type of spending is driving the Township to a financial disaster. When that happens, it is always the fault of the CFO. I will not be blamed for out of control spending that I have opposed,” Owens continued.
“In addition, there was recent discussion about a bond ordinance being put together. Bond ordinances are all about spending, yet the CFO wasn’t consulted on this bond ordinance because it was to be put through in a hurry. The problem is that the CFO must file a Supplemental Debt Statement with the Division of Local Government Services prior to the ordinance being introduced, which is required by New Jersey Statutes Annotated, N.J.S.A. 40A:2-10. I am unable to perform my duties if I am not included in the process. Apparently the Mayor and Committee no longer have confidence in their CFO and are excluding him from financial decisions. Therefore, I am tendering my resignation effective May 9th, 2018 which is the required thirty(30) days under the terms of my expired contract. Thank you for the opportunity to serve Franklin Township. Respectfully, Charles J. Owens, Chief Financial Officer.
Nine days after Owens submitted his resignation, Mayor Vassallo and the Township Committee appointed Katie B. Coleman effective April 18, 2018 who is presently employed as the part-time Township CFO and is also a private practice attorney who has an office in Elmer.
In January 2019 David Deegan was appointed as Mayor by the Township Committee. According to his testimony at the State Local Finance Board last month, Deegan stated that the administrator informed him of an ethics complaint being filed against him.
The Sentinel has confirmed with Franklin Twp CFO Katie Coleman that she sent a letter with enclosures as a complaint against Franklin Township Mayor David Deegan earlier this year to the Local Finance Board, Division of Local Government Services in Trenton alleging that the Mayor violated several local government ethics laws.
Her complaint details several pertinent facts surrounding the alleged ethics violation which includes that the Mayor also serves as Commissioner of Star Cross Fire District and that Deegans son is a current employee of Franklin Township. According to Coleman, on the local government ethics law financial disclosure statements filed in 2017 and 2018, Deegan’s son lists FD Testing Services, LLC as a source of income in excess of $2,000. On March 23, 2017, and on June 26th, 2018 the Franklin Twp Committee voted to adopt the 2017 Budget with Deegan voting ‘Aye.” The 2017 Budget contains funding for ‘Uniform Fire Safety Act salaries and Wages, which directly funds the salary of his son which creates the ethical conflict. The budget also contains funding for Supplemental Fire Service Program Fire Districts payments, which goes directly to his fire district in addition to the local tax funding that supports the Fire Districts and is discretionary. Also on January 26th, 2017 the Township Committee approved a Resolution authorizing annual salary increases for unrepresented employees where non-union employees received a salary increase of 2% and Deegan voted ‘Aye’ which allowed his son to benefit from the salary increase.
The Sentinel has contacted the State Local Finance Board in an email regarding whether they received the Ethics Complaint. Their response was: “Per the Local Government Ethics Law, we can’t confirm or deny ethics complaints that we may or may not have received.”
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