Seems as though last Friday, October 4th, was Middletown CFO Nick Trasente’s last day on the job.
There was a resolution ( see below) adopted at the Township Committee’s Workshop meeting this past Monday night, October 7th, which states that he has agreed to work on an interim basis – at $80 per hour for up to 10 hours per week – until January 31, 2014.We are told that Trasente, who had been Township CFO since March 2010 and was earning close to $143K a year, resigned to take a job with Somerset County.
There was a sugary article in Tuesday’s APP about it with accolades from the mayor for Trasente, whom we are told simply left for an opportunity that better suited him.
However, there’s reason to suspect there may be more to the story than just the usual departure for greener pastures.
It was recently revealed on this blog that Trasente lied in a May 10, 2013 memo he sent to Township Committeeman Fiore. Trasente implied that the Township’s accounting system had been updated timely to reflect accurate library reserves when it was not. Trasente’s claim was repeated by Fiore himself in an email Fiore sent to the library board on May 14th, an email Fiore has done his best to downplay.
In a comment submitted to my Sept. 12, 2013 blog post “No Action Taken At Last Night's Library Board Meeting”, Linda Baum stated:
“It has occurred to me that when he wrote his May 10th memo to Committeeman Fiore implying that the Edmunds accounting system was updated in 2012, CFO Nick Trasente had to have known that wasn’t true. He had to have known because this year’s delay followed similar lengthy delays for at least the two prior years. He had to have known because repeated appeals from library staff to move the money into a spending account visible on the accounting system would have tipped him off. He had to have known as a result of the late April communication between his office and the library which led to the system update. So when he wrote his May 10th memo implying the system was updated in 2012, he knowingly lied. He lied to an elected official no less.”
Baum questioned why we weren’t hearing anything about Trasente’s firing given the seriousness of his offense.
And now just a few short weeks later….
RESOLUTION NO. 13-246
TOWNSHIP OF MIDDLETOWN
COUNTY OF MONMOUTH
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING INTERIM CFO APPOINTMENT AND AGREEMENT
WHEREAS, the Township’s Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) has secured employment with another large government entity commencing effective October 7, 2013, and has offered in the interim to assist the Township on a limited part-time basis while seeking a new CFO; and
WHEREAS, the Township Administrator has negotiated the terms of an Agreement with the Township’s former CFO to continue to serve as the Township’s CFO for an interim basis through January 31, 2014; and
WHEREAS, the services of a certified municipal chief financial officer are required until the position can be filled on a permanent basis.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Township Committee of the Township of Middletown in the County of Monmouth, State of New Jersey that the Mayor is hereby authorized and directed to execute an Agreement with former Township Chief Financial Officer Nicola Trasante to serve as the Township’s Interim Chief Financial Officer on a part-time basis for up to 10 hours per week at a rate of $80 per hour for a term commencing on October 7, 2013 and ending on January 31, 2014 unless and until extended by mutual agreement, if needed, subject only to certification of the availability of funds for the same.
38 comments:
What an interesting bit of news to be revealed yesterday in the APP. Amazing that this township's library director had to be accused of wrongdoing and mismanagement of funds which ultimately led to her forced resignation. She had written statements showing that the library had no funds left to spend and yet was told that she somehow failed in her duties as director. Now all of a sudden Trasente, who as CFO should have been on top of library finances, decides to resign to take another position. How convenient. Article in APP was nauseatingly glowing as to his excellent service to Middletown. Somewhat of an oxymoron, don't you think?
This shows how the current administration spins news. They can put someone on a pedestal if they want to or abuse their power to tear someone apart, the truth be damned.
Watch your last taped meeting. The CFO clearly states that the money was available in the audit that was given to the library director back last September. Is he responsible for her not reading it?
WHEN are these idiots in administration going to APOLOGIZE for the attacks on the GOOD PEOPLE who do serve the people of this township? For example Susan O 'Neal and Randall Gabrielan and former TC committeemen, Sean Byrnes and Patrick Short.
MANY of the REPUBLICANS IN MIDDLETOWN ARE A DISGRACE...a DISGUSTING EXAMPLE OF THE LOW LIFE THAT DOES PERMEATE GOVERNMENT IN THIS TOWN !!!!!
True about apologizing to the Good People who really care about their positions in this township. The current administration has a main goal of destroying all of the people who work hard and want this community to shine and prosper and encourage people to move here. For instance, Mr. Gabrielan is the primary authority on Middletown history and now that we're celebrating the 350th anniversary next year he has been alienated and will have no part in this major event that revolves around his specialty. The same for Ms. O'Neal who was actively participating in the 350 committee. The way that the twp. committee behaves at their meetings mirrors the behavior of the current library board - think of a bunch of kids arguing on the playground and all speaking at once to be heard. Adults don't behave in this manner, especially those given the honor of serving the public. Enough said . . .
How could the audit have been given to the library director in september 2012 when it wasn't voted on by the township committee until november? Also the audit wasn't posted online until early 2013.
But we're getting off topic again. The issue here is what the CFO's job was.
Since when does the Township Committee have to vote on accepting the library audit? Try again.
Maybe the CFO has decided to move on because he's either inept,incompetent or tired of being a pawn for the low life in government in this town !!
It has been a LONG, LONG time since the people of Middletown COULD TRUST those elected to serve or some others in administration. HOW SAD !!!
This Middletown MOB serves itself ..... make no mistake about that......
Why is Middletown Mike the only person in media who is logically connecting the dots here? The Asbury Park Press is not doing its job, as their investigative reporters are not looking at this situation critically and they are painting the rosy picture the township wants them to portray.
FACT: The township desperately needed the library branch buildings to house their departments displaced by Trinity Hall.
FACT: The Trinity Hall lease, at $281,250 for 30 months ($9,375/month) could not support the township leasing office space for these departments at the current market rate for commercial property leasing.
FACT: CFO Nick Trasente sat in a meeting with the Library Board Finance Committee in December 2012 where they presented a draft budget with an estimated surplus balance of $50K. At this point, the CFO should have pointed out that the surplus amount had to be increased by $156K and adjusted to $206K to reflect an error in the 2011 audit.
FACT: The township's Edmunds Financial system which Susan O'Neal relied upon to determine the balances in accounts available to the library reported $0.00 in the Surplus account from 2012 until May of 2013.
This demands an investigation...why was the money not reported on the Edmunds System? The township pays all the library's bills---they should be updating the Edmunds system in a timely manner. Had the $206K been included in the budget, it would have been enough money to keep the branches operating, perhaps on a more limited basis. BUT the township would be looking for a place to house their displaced departments and paying more for that space than they were receiving in income from the Trinity Hall's lease.
CONNECT THE DOTS and it all leads back to the dirty politics of Fiore, Scharfenberger, Settembrio, Murray, and Massell.
The CFO leaving has nothing to do with the library. He got a better job closer to home. End of story.
Anon 10:14 a.m.....
YOU ARE ONE OF THE FIVE TC MEMBERS !!! or Majestic Motormouth......
EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES !!!!
TRY BEING HONEST IF THAT"S POSSIBLE FROM THIS MOB
OF DIRTY POLITICIANS ...... and their mouthpiece who is no better, maybe worse because he's supposed to be an "officer of the courts". Always wonder if he's whispering or blowing in their ears from his seat next to the gavel holder...
And 4:22 you must be that looney old lady on Swimming River Road. Was that a garbage truck that just went by?
Anon at 9:16
You have at least one, and maybe two of your "FACTS" wrong...
I am not at all certain that the CFO "sat in on a meeting with the Library Board Finance Committee In December 2012..." Can you give us your source for this "FACT?" Thanks!
And, more importantly, as the CFO explained in his memo that was posted here earlier, the account numbers on the Edmunds system CHANGE EVERY YEAR with the change of the first digit to reflect the year. For example, the 2012 account starts with a "2," and the 2013 account starts with a "3."
The CFO verified that the 2012 account had the additional $156K put in it in September -- JUST AS HAD BEEN DONE IN PREVIOUS YEARS -- years when Ms. O'Neal HAD SPENT MONIES FROM THAT ACCOUNT.
Yes, the money was moved into the 2013 account when the budget was adopted, BUT IT HAD BEEN AVAILABLE TO THE LIBRARY BEGINNING IN SEPTEMBER!
Ms. O'Neal had known that in year's past, had spent money from that account in years past. There was no reason for her not being aware of the amount in that account except through either negligence or design.
Anon 1:05p.m., 10:14a.m., 7:22p.m,
Why do you insist on justifying the unjustifiable ?? How many cards are missing in your deck, motormouth ??
Common decency and integrity escapes you and perhaps you should realize "thou doth protest to much" !!
The money was moved in May. The budget was adopted in July.
The funds should have been adjusted/corrected during the December library budget meeting.
The money was moved from the 2012 account to the 2013 account in May perhaps, but what of it? It was in the 2012 account in September.
Face it, O'Neal either failed to do her job properly or she purposefully kept the LB in the dark. Either way she was wrong (either incompetent or lying).
She's gone now and let's hope she ddidn't do too much damage for her successor to fix.
To Anonymous 5:45pm.
We would all like to hear your speculation on why an esteemed Library Director with an impeccable career would damage her own reputation by purposely overlooking budget money? Who in this situation had more motive to hide the money---the township committee who needed the branch buildings or the library director who looks for the most money possible to maintain a successful institution that has built her excellent reputation? Why would she want to harm something she spent 13 years building up? Use common sense and make a logical conclusion here not an outlandish one.
Don't you ever give up with the BS,Motormouth. You are a specialist in character assassination and have been for the last twelve years or so!
Someone should start to investigate you and your antics and assaults on other people. Good people who deserve better than this mob of republican thugs dish out.
Bet there's plenty of dirty linen in you and yours closets. Suggest you shut your vicious mouth before someone shoves your foot down it one of these days.
Sure hope Susan O'Neal sues the individuals who have wrongfully attacked her reputation and her character. She deserved much better from a town she served admirably for many years.
Administration in Middletown is a disgusting example of everything government should not be !!!
Anon at 6:51
Why would a supposedly "esteemed" Library Director plot behind the Library Board's back to create "political theater" in an attempt to cow them into doing what she wanted?
Why did that same Library Director with the alleged "impeccable career" suggest closing the branches to the LB? (Hint: because SHE wanted the branches closed)
The facts are the facts. Ms. O'Neal either negligently failed to know about the additional funds or purposefully withheld that information from the LB.
As to why, you'll have to ask her.
And for Anon at 7:02, this is a political message board on the internet and posts are placed here anonymously. Nobody should take this BS seriously, especially public figures with thin skins. If anybody should sue, it should be Trasente. He should sue Mikey for posting this slanderous article.
The guy takes a promotional opportunity and Mike claims he resigned under some kind of cloud. Sounds like the basis for a defamation lawsuit to me...
Anon 3:43.... you suffer from diarrhea of the mouth and perhaps the time has come for you and motormouth (maybe one and the same) to post your opinions on More Monmouth Musings where they might share your stupidity. The rest of us are GD tired of the slander and assaults on the characters of others.You don't know any better !!!!!
This is routine behavior for the sorry ass republicans in this community and their gutter politics.
Not one of them has any conscience...not one !!!
It would thrill many of Mike's loyal readers to see the library director sue the low life that has wrongfully attacked her !!!
As for the CFO...good luck and God speed !!!
Anon 1:05,7:38,10:14,5:02,7:22,5:45 and 3:43,
Appears you have "hoof in mouth" disease,probably contracted in the gutters of this town's republican politics, a serious,contagious,dangerous viral infection so maybe you should change your style and MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. How refreshing that could be!
Connect the dots..........yes!
It is OBVIOUS that the plan by the TC was to DE-FUND the library by TAKING over 500k and then 336k to FORCE the previous Director, Susan Oneal to close the branches. There was no other choice, other than to decimate the Main branch, which would have been stupid.
The excess funds were HIDDEN from Ms. Oneal, and they wouldn't have been enough to keep the branches open anyway. Perhaps one of them could have been kept open, but services would have to have been cut at Main. A hard choice. And the NEW library board didn't want to keep the branches open because they were serving their Masters over at the TC. Face it, Tony the Hood wanted those buildings, and he was going to take them, as he said, "because he could".
Also, Stephanie Murray said that "We are not going to be blamed for closing the branches. We have a plan" which intimated that she knew that they were going to railroad Ms. Oneal. In a very thuggish, and stupid way, they did, but anyone would half a brain in their head could see that this was all a plan of the TC to steal from, and de-fund the library, and possess their branch buildings. And what? Not get blamed for it? Only if you are a totally moronic fool, would you believe their story....or maybe just an everyday voter that doesn't keep up with their evil machinations....and doesn't connect the dots....
The library also wanted to manage their OWN budget but was DENIED by the current puppet regime of a library board. Now why do you think that they wouldn't let the library manage its own budget? I'm sure you could connect the dots...
Why do you think all is quiet now over at the library and there hasn't been any attempt to hire a new Director, or anything? It's kind of a ship without a rudder..so to speak.
They can't possibly be waiting to after the ELECTIONS this NOVEMBER..less than a month away, now could they...??? Hmmm..connect the dots?
I think what they have done to this library is an outrage and an example of theft, lying, and malfeasance in the highest form, and that these carpet bagging scum, Settenbrino and Scharfenberger should be VOTED OUT OF OFFICE, and that this shoule be a campaign slogan for the opposing party....1st our Schools, then our LIBRARY...What next Middletown?
Et tu, Fiore...?
Connect the dots....
Justice for Susan Oneal...
So the Library dipping into reserves almost $200K has no place in this argument???
Even if the library broke even with the $156K (ie- use no more reserves and put no more money into reserves) The money would have not saved the branches, unless you are in favor of TOTALLY depleting any library reserves...
You guys talk out of one side of your mouth without realizing what you are actually pushing out the other side. Saying the 156 would save the branches, is saying you favor spending down reserves completely. That may be good for this year, but not long term. Shouldn't the library and town live within its means?
Anon 11:52.... Motormouth and the rest of the low life republicans ,
DON"T YOU EVER QUIT TRYING TO JUSTIFY THE UNJUSTIFIABLE????????
This ethically compromised bunch of political thugs should be investigated and charged if they are pilfering municipal funds or acting with malfeasance. This town
doesn't live within it's means (political patronage costs money) and the lying and cheating goes on and on and on.........
Anon at 3:30
"The library also wanted to manage their OWN budget but was DENIED by the current puppet regime of a library board." WTF?
The Library Board IS "the Library," and they DO "manage their own budget!"
Oh, I see, you thought that the Library Director was "the Library." Well, so did she apparently. More's the pity.
But you also mention that you only have half a brain... That explains a LOT!
ANON 8:25,
Kathleen, just what is your stake in all of this ? You are on a fool's errand ! Quit while you can because slandering others can and will get you in DEEP TROUBLE. It's called libel and slander and it's going to bite you back !!!
Hey Jackass Anon at 3:30pm...
No, the library has NOT managed their own funds EVER...
Everything has to go through the Township and get signed off on in TRIPLICATE....
The money is put into the library's accounts at the discretion of the CFO of the Township. It's not like the library gets a pile of cash (their BUDGET that is 1/3 of a mill based upon State Law)that they get to manage as they see fit. Never mind paying the bills on time. They don't seem to care. That seems to be a theme with you Repugs, you don't like to pay your bills, and you like to steal the taxpayer's money..
It's already been proven that the TC and CFO had hidden 156k from Susan Oneal from the Library's 2013Budget. There is some VERY creative accounting that goes on by the Town, and who is looking at their books?
The library has been audited multiple times by the Town and has come out clean as a whistle....
Who audits the Township of Middletown?
The prior board didn't want to manage their own money and let the town manage their bills because they didn't want the TC trying to levy slanderous claims that there was mismanagement of funds, and malfeasance..that is a laugh. That is the pot calling the kettle BLACK!
With all of the shenanigans going on recently, Ms. Oneal requested that the library manage it's OWN funds. That is, the Budget for the year gets put into the library's account without having to be filtered through the Township...
That was my point! The current board said NO!!!!
I'm sure they got their from Herr Fiore and Herr Scharfey not to let the library manage its own funds.
Why is that, do you thin...Anon 3:30...is it so the TC has control over the libray's money even further no that an honest library director was fired so that they can further STEAL from the library's coffers...?????
hmmmmmmm????
I say, connect the dots, fathead.
THIS "library board is NOT the library" as you alluded to, it is an extension of the corrupt TC...
How they behave from this point remains to be seen. But no one is falling for your bullcrap slander that Susan Oneal and the previous libray board "mismanaged funds"....
That is an outright LIE.
Now, YOU guys mismanaging funds is a LOT easier to believe based upon your past behavior....
Anon at 4:01
Aren't YOU "Anon at 3:30?"
So are you calling YOURSELF a "fathead?"
LOL
Yup, it explains a lot...
Anon at 7:16
I am posting anonymously on the internet, so I'm not really worried about something "biting me back..."
Besides, the truth isn't (legally) slanderous.
(Oh, and I don't know who your "Kathleen" is, but I'm not her...)
Anon 4:01,
Read what anon 3:30 had to say again and you will see that person is on the side of the library director and the library and is with all the rest of us in support of of Susan O'Neal and the former library board.
Again Anon 8:25....just what is your agenda,Kathleen ?????? What is your stake in this anyway that you persist in defending this town's lying,cheating political scum ??
Libel will most certainly get you exactly what you always seem to look for...trouble !!
I think you meant anonymous at 8:25 not 3:30 when you said "Jack***"
Anon 4:20,Motormouth,etc.
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF SUBPOENAS ???
Any smart ass know it all can be held responsible for what they say...even on the internet!!!!!!
Of course you will never learn until you find yourself in deep trouble now will you ? Will dear ole Peter defend you then???
Doesn't Matt have enough for you to do and wonder how he would view your lack of integrity on the internet, and all your aliases ?
Motormouth @ 4:20 p.m. 10/17,
Not so sure you know the difference between fact and fiction and your bulling tactics are going to get you just what you deserve... a libel suit for your vicious,slanderous tongue.
Truth is something you don't comprehend ...and morality and character and decency are foreign to you, period!
Anon at 10:25
What the hell are you talking about? "Subpoenas?" What lawsuit has been filed?
You should tell your Mommy before you post something on the internet sweetie...
Come and get me big talker!
LOL
Anon at 7:53
You're funny...
You say: " ...that you persist in defending this town's lying,cheating political scum?"
Then you "warn" me about "libel..."
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Ooooh, I'm scared now... Thanks for the warning...
LOL
Just one of the political scum,Anon 6:10 p.m.,majestic motormouth , but we all already knew that !!!!!!!!!
ANON 6:01 and 6:10,
Keep shooting off your vicious mouth and attack the wrong person and a law suit will be your problem! Too bad YOUR MOMMY did not teach you that ratchet mouth. There are laws against bullying and libel.
What are your punk political friends going to do for you then, huh???? They won't even want to know you!
Post a Comment