Mayor Carl Hokanson, at the January 19th Mayor & Council meeting, asked for any resident interested in fulfilling the unexpired term as Roselle Park’s Commissioner to the Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority (RVSA) through December 31, 2020 to contact him.
The position – a mayoral appointment – was vacated when Fourth Ward Councilman Michael Connelly resigned as Roselle Park’s commissioner to the RVSA. He was appointed last year when Councilwoman-At-Large Charlene Storey resigned after an article was published reporting on the conflict the councilwoman had with meeting times (link).
Mr. Connelly was elected last year in November. Due to meetings for the sewerage authority conflicting with municipal meetings, he formally resigned his position last Thursday.
Roselle Park is a member of two sewerage authorities – RVSA and the Joint Meeting of Essex & Union Counties (JMEUC) – and has a representative for each one. The JMEUC, although not restricted to council, has always been appointed to members of the governing body. RVSA used to have resident Attilio ‘Sonny’ Venturo on its committee for at least a decade before Councilwoman Storey was appointed in January of 2016.
The appointed commissioner will be responsible for making decisions on how the RVSA uses the fees that Roselle Park and other member municipalities pay for budgets, the payment of bills, and the hiring of contractors and professionals. Last year, in 2016, Roselle Park taxpayers paid $504,610.00 to the RVSA.
An RVSA Commissioner is paid $30 per meeting attended for a maximum of $600/year. In comparison, a JMEUC Board Member receives close to $6,500 for the year, whether they attend meetings or not.
Regular meetings of the RVSA are held on the third Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. in the boardroom of the RVSA Administration Building located at 1050 East Hazelwood Avenue, Rahway.
Anyone interested in the four-year position can contact Mayor Hokanson at (908) 666-7817.