Mayor Accardi concluded the appointments of committees at Thursday night’s Mayor & Council meeting. At the end of the meeting there were still eight (8) vacant positions for various committees and board:
- Morses Creek Flood Control Commission (2 positions)
- Technology Sub-Committee (1 position)
- Community Development Committee (2 positions)
- Municipal Land Use Board (2 positions)
- Union County Air Traffic Noise Advisory Board (1 position)
Mayor Accardi again asked for anyone interested in serving the community to notify him through Borough Hall.
Additionally, the mayor appointed members of council to various committees, giving each member two (2) positions and each senior council representative an additional chairmanship position.
For the second year in a row, councilman Modesto Miranda was appointed as council president. This decision by the mayor breaks with tradition where that position went to the council representative whose seat was up for election that same or the following year.
After the appointments fifth ward councilman Yakubov expressed his concerns with being appointed the Chair of the Budget & Finance Committee.
“I foresee major time constraints for myself in the evenings, potentially in the spring, ” Councilman Yakubov explained as to one of the reasons he felt he could not chair the committee; citing weekend and weeknight obligations as well.
The mayor stated that he chose the councilman, the senior Republican member on council, because he felt that Mr. Yakubov could use his leadership to direct the committee. Mayor Accardi also stated that there are options available to the councilman such as contacting other council representatives, or even the mayor himself, to step in should Mr. Yakubov be unable to attend a meeting due to a conflict in schedule, “People understand that you have a life outside of council but as a public servant we owe it to the community to do the best we can for them.”
“I appreciate you laying it on very thick, however, if I also may backtrack to the conversation we had, did you not say – you’ll probably deny it – but you also indicated that because I voted no on the budget last year, ” councilman Yakubov continued, speaking upon his reasons for not approving the 2010 budget, “If I don’t give you the budget do you guarantee me you’re going to vote yes on the budget and I was a little taken back by that.”
The mayor responded that if the councilman was not capable of chairing the committee, that he himself would do so, “I will make sure that it happens properly. We will not accept any eleventh hour e-mails from you stating that you think that things could have been done better when you missed more than half of the budget meetings as you did last year.”
Councilman Miranda interceded and stated that the meeting should move forward after which the mayor gave his final statement and ended the discussion.
“Is there anybody here that remembers being at the budget meetings, remembers me bringing up ideas and different things that I may have said?” the councilman asked the governing body. When there was no resp0nse from anyone on the dais, Mr. Yakubov answered himself, “I think there are.”
The entire seven and a half minute discussion can be heard here:
[display_podcast]
Below is a listing of all appointments made at the January 20, 2011 mayor & council meeting.
MAYOR’S APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
| Marc Caswell | Larry Dinardo | Carl Hokanson | Modesto Miranda | Tanya Torres | Michael Yakubov | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Safety Chair | ||||||
| Police | ||||||
| Fire | ||||||
| 1st Aid | ||||||
| Municipal Services Chair | ||||||
| DPW | ||||||
| Construction & Transportation | ||||||
| Code Enforcement | ||||||
| Finance & Administration Chair | ||||||
| Municipal Budget & Finance | ||||||
| Public Buildings & Facilities | ||||||
| Commerce | ||||||
| Public Services & Administration Chair | ||||||
| Technology | ||||||
| Human Resources | ||||||
| Legislative |
BOARD OF HEALTH
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioner | Margaret Schaffer | 3-year |
JOINT SEWER REPRESENTATIVES
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Representative | Joseph Accardi | 1-year |
| Alternate Representative | Modesto Miranda | 1-year |
LIBRARY BOARD
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Member | June Stark | 5-year |
MORSES CREEK FLOOD CONTROL
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Commission Alternate | VACANT | 1-year |
| Commission Alternate | VACANT | 1-year |
| Commission Alternate | Donald Hellhake | 1-year |
| Council Representative | Larry Dinardo | 1-year |
| Alternate Council Representative | Carl Hokanson | 1-year |
POLICE DOCTOR / PANEL PHYSICIAN
| Position | Selection | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Police Doctor / Panel Physician | Multi-Care, Inc. | 1-year |
ANIMAL CONTROL BUREAU
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Member | Carl Hokanson | 1-year |
CABLE TV FRANCHISE RENEWAL COMMITTEE
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Member | Saul Qersdyn | 1-year |
TECHNOLOGY SUB-COMMITTEE
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Member | Sean Kinney | 1-year |
| Committee Member | Derek Czernikowski | 1-year |
| Committee Member | Vincent Paoella | 1-year |
| Committee Member | Andrew Casais | 1-year |
| Committee Member | VACANT | 1-year |
| Council Liaison | Marc Caswell | 1-year |
LOCAL ACCESS TELEVISION SUB-COMMITTEE
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Member | Ellen Bachert | 1-year |
| Committee Member | Nick Florio | 1-year |
| Committee Member | Donna Corrigan | 1-year |
| Committee Member | Nancy Caliendo | 1-year |
| Committee Member | Jesse Rineer | 1-year |
| Council Liaison | Michael Yakubov | 1-year |
CLEAN COMMUNITIES
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Council Liaison | Carl Hokanson | 1-year |
COMMITTEE ON STREET LIGHTING
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Member | Joseph Signorello | 1-year |
| Committee Member | Patrick White | 1-year |
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Member | VACANT | 1-year |
| Committee Member | Karen Intile | 1-year |
| Alternate Committee Member | Antonette Signorello | 1-year |
| Alternate Committee Member | VACANT | 1-year |
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Member | Alex Huluszcak | 3-year |
MUNICIPAL LAND USE BOARD
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Member, Class IV | John Velasquez | 3-year |
| Committee Member, Class IV | John Stephen | 3-year |
| Alternate Committee Member | VACANT | 1-year |
| Alternate Committee Member | VACANT | 1-year |
SOLID WASTE ADVISORY COUNCIL OF UNION COUNTY
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Designee | Vincent Cahill | 1-year |
UNION COUNTY AIR TRAFFIC NOISE ADVISORY BOARD
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Member | Jacob Magiera | 2-year |
| Committee Member | VACANT | 2-year |
UNION COUNTY TRANSPORTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Committee Member | Vincent Cahill | 1-year |
| Alternate | Larry Dinardo | 1-year |
| Alternate | OPEN | 1-year |