Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Cedar Grove Council eliminates annual $4,000 stipend, but leave door ajar for other payments.
When the Cedar Grove Township Council unanimously approved a measure Monday night to eliminate stipends for all council members, they left the door slightly ajar for stipends to return in the future. Although he wished to make the measure permanent, Township Attorney Thomas Scrivo informed the council they do not have the authority to do that. Future councils can reinsert the stipend later on down the road, but it would require a public vote, said Scrivo. “This council might change this years from now but that’s up to them,” said Deputy Mayor Robert O'Toole. During the past several years, the council has approved the stipends when they approved the budget, but have quickly turned around and removed the payments. Led by O’Toole, the …
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Cedar Grove Municipal Offices
525 Pompton Ave, Cedar Grove, NJ
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Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Cedar Grove Township Council ends $4,000 stipends and announces Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony for 4 p.m. at town hall.
Stipends for current Cedar Grove council members are no more. The Cedar Grove Township Council followed through on a promise and unanimously passed a measure Monday night removing the $4,000 annual stipend. For the past few years, council members have put the stipend in the budget only to later remove it with a new measure. Led by Deputy Mayor Robert O’Toole, the council codified the measure put it in place because they have cut spending in other departments and want to show they can make the necessary cuts as well. “We have asked departments to cut down on spending and we need to do the same,” said Deputy Mayor Robert O'Toole. “We have plenty of volunteer organizations who aren't paid and I don't think we should have any kind of stipends…
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Cedar Grove Municipal Offices
525 Pompton Ave, Cedar Grove, NJ
/articles/council-eliminates-stipends-announces-9-11-service
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Friday, August 17, 2012
Board plans to permanently end $21,000 payment at Sept. 10 meeting.
Cedar Grove Council members are sending a message to taxpayers - they are willing to work for free. After refusing to accept $21,000 annual stipends for the last three years, council members are planning on eliminating the stipends entirely at their Sept. 10 meeting. Deputy Mayor Robert O’Toole told Patch Tuesday morning the council should lead by example in a time when they are asking almost every other department to cut back and operate more efficiently. He said the only thing in their budget the council could eliminate to help the township is the stipend. “Each year (for the past three years), I’ve proposed that we don’t get a stipend,” O’Toole said. “Money is tight and we’re asking departments to cut back and be as lean as possible…
40.851304
-74.229316
Cedar Grove Municipal Offices
525 Pompton Ave, Cedar Grove, NJ
/articles/cedar-grove-council-to-vote-on-ending-stipends
743798
/locations/7628109
Fran Hopkins
11:20 am on Friday, August 17, 2012
I admire the Council members for wanting to formalize their practice of the last several years. These are volunteer positions -- although demanding and time-consuming -- similar to being school board members. I agree with Deputy Mayor O'Toole that these positions should be sought based on a person's desire to serve our community and on the ability to commit his or her time, not on any token … more ›