All city employees hired after October 1, 2017, are now required to live in Bayonne, except for positionsthat are statutorily exempt, after the Bayonne City Council revised the city’s residency ordinance at a meeting on August 16. The revision, which exempts those hired prior to October 1, will affect new hires moving forward who will be required to live permanently in Bayonne either at the time of, or within one year of, employment.
The revision was necessary after local attorney and former Bayonne Business Administrator, Peter Cresci, and resident, Mike Morris, filed a complaint in April against the City of Bayonne for violating the ordinance. A number of defendants named in the complaint were dismissed by the court because the state statute specifically names their positions as exemptions to the rule. The legal complaint asks that employees in violation either quit or be required to move to Bayonne.
While job titles named in the complaint, such as the law director, are exempt from the rule, the person primarily targeted in the complaint, Business Administrator Joe DeMarco,is now grandfathered in, much to the chagrin of former business administrator Cresci.
“Bayonne must be one Bayonne, and not a political and financial tool run for the benefit of out-of-towners,” said Cresci at the August council meeting during his 15 minutes at the dais. He used a campaign-sounding slogan, “one Bayonne,” a few times throughout his comments, which were directed at city council members. “You have before you the ultimate f-u to the taxpayers of Bayonne.” Voting for the ordinance, he said, “will likely result in one thing – the five of you being out of office.”
Cresci went on to issue a veiled legal threat to the council, suggesting that by voting for the ordinance the council members will take on “individual liability.”
When Bayonne City Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski quipped, “Is that legal advice,” Cresci retorted by calling her a “smarty mouth.”
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“You have before you the ultimate f-u to the taxpayers of Bayonne.” – Peter Cresci
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The meeting devolved from there, with Cresci lodging unfounded accusations against the city council, and Mayor James Davis’s sexting accuser, Stacie Percella,attackingNadrowski for allegedly smirking.
“I can’t believe what just went on,”said resident Rosemarie Bond. “I get it. I understand. We all know the residency ordinance is about one man only. But please, the personal attacks have to stop.”
Law Director John Coffey III agreed. “There’s been a coarsening of our relationship between the general public and those who sit up here,” he said, referring not only to the meeting dynamics, but to the negative social effects of vitriolic Facebook groups that spread rumors and gossip that are increasingly raised at meetings.
As it pertains to the central issue, which is the residency ordinance, Nadrowski said, “I don’t believe that if people don’t live in town, they can’t do their job to the best of their ability. To say that you have a different quality work, it just doesn’t ring true.”
Police officers, firefighters, and teachers are already legally exempt from local residency requirements, and municipalities rarely enforce residency requirements, especially for senior staff. In fact, the system that allows mayors to appoint much of the senior staff usually results in mostly local employees.
The ordinance (20-16.1) is pliable, and acknowledges thatif the City deems the local pool of applicants insufficient, it should look elsewhere according to a list of preferences, which includes Hudson County residency, residents of counties contiguous to Hudson County, and the state as a whole.
An apology amid the mud slinging
Mike Morris, who filed the residency complaint in April but withdrew his name soon after, issued a personal apology to the council. Behind the scenes, inappropriate material was mailed to the families of two high-profile city employees and the mayor, which profoundly disturbed Morris, as well as the employees involved.
“My personal belief is that family members are totally off limits,” Morris said.“There is no reason for it. And because of it, I personally hand delivered a letter to the [Hudson County]clerk in Jersey City, asking that I be removed in this complaint. I have a conscience. I like to sleep at night. I have what I like to consider a good reputation. I just want you to know that I apologize.”
Meanwhile, Cresci, who filed the complaint pro-se, meaning “on one’s behalf,” because his license to practice law was temporarily suspended, continued oral arguments this week.
Rory Pasquariello can be reached at roryp@hudsonreporter.com.
