With Middletown Budget Now Re-Introduced, CFO Richard Wright Resigns

Now that the proposed FY 2009 Middletown budget has be amended and re-introduced to residents by former CFO Bob Roth, who the township committee hired on May 18 as a consultant, to assist the township as it prepared its 2009 budget after Township CFO Richard Wright went on sick leave, comes word that Richard Wright has officially handed in his resignation.

Wright developed a mystery illness shortly after informing the Township Committee that he had made a clerical error which resulted in a $2.4 million hole in the budget back in early May, after it was introduced on April 20th and has been on sick leave ever since.

In earlier posts on the Middletown budget, I had stated that Richard Wright would never come back to work because in actuality the man was not sick and that in fact he had been fired.

The Republicans that control the township committee made a face saving deal with Wright, they constructed a story that had Wright coming down with some serious and somewhat chronic condition, which prohibited him from performing his duties as CFO and a had him take time off as sick leave, until a sufficiant about of time had passed (several weeks and the township budget re-presented) in which then would hand in his resignation.

The one thing that I have to say about this situations is this, for once the republicans in charges, in my opinion did something right and did not throw the man under the bus. From all accounts Richard Wright was a decent and likable guy who did a good and capable job. However, what got him in trouble with his bosses at times was his honesty at answering questions, he was too honest and clearly not practiced enough in the political ways of the Middeltown GOP.

After all this I hope that he lands on his feet and I wish him well in his future endeavors.

You can read the official version of his resignation HERE from the Asbury Park Press.