MapleChimes OP t1_j3w05vo wrote on January 11, 2023 at 1:25 PM

Some local corruption: Wayne, NJ

With only 3 years left in Vergano's 4th term as mayor and after doing the job part-time for about 15 years, the mayor of Wayne is now looking to make his job full-time despite already having a full-time administration that runs the office on a daily basis.

He now wants to make a 140k salary, more than mayors in some of NJ's largest towns like Paterson and Jersey City make. Interesting timing as he is about to retire from his actual full-time job and the pension for retirement and access to health insurance as a public servant is only based off of the last 3 years. He is clearly just looking to retire with a large pension and health benefits at the tax payer's expense for doing what is only a part-time job.

His handling of affordable housing was terrible. He refused to build any, comparing them to places that only belong in Camden. That was until he was hit with a lawsuit. Now developers are taking advantage of that by building a large amount of luxury apartments with the bare minimum of affordable housing. The strip malls are run down with many empty businesses. And now he wants a significant raise?! 🙄 With a mostly republican town council, he unfortunately will get what he wants. 😡

Virtual_Explanation7 t1_j43pigh wrote on January 12, 2023 at 11:18 PM

Don’t forget clogging Willowbrook Mall’s entrances, 2 movie theaters within a 1/4 mile of each other, driving out corporations (because atrocious taxation deals), and replacing staples of the community with franchises that are below standards.

Bro-Science t1_j3x86d6 wrote on January 11, 2023 at 6:13 PM

is there a term limit in wayne? is this his last term? or are people just speculating that he will retire at the end of the term if this is passed?

im just confused on what retirement from his private sector job has to do with his public sector service.

also comparing salaries to other cities is kinda dumb. town pay what they can afford. look at the average salary of a wayne police officer vs a paterson police officer. wayne pays more significantly more for a far less dangerous job.

MapleChimes OP t1_j3xc98c wrote on January 11, 2023 at 6:38 PM

The timing, lack of transparency, and hastiness at which it's being done is what makes it suspicious. I don't think it's dumb to compare the salaries of mayors in other towns. This definitely puts him at the high end. Given that the 2 people who run the daily administrative work of the town are keeping their jobs, I don't see how this changes what he currently does part-time. Therefore, I see no justification for this sudden change. I think voters should get a say.

Virtual_Explanation7 t1_j43ocou wrote on January 12, 2023 at 11:11 PM

He is trying to offset his loses. The mayor of Wayne is only a part time job as the administrator of town does 90% of the work.