NAME THAT PARTY: Paterson Mayor Jones reveals his $17,000 vacation day payment; says he will give it back

03/05/2014


PATERSON – In a shocking revelation, Mayor Jeffery Jones on Tuesday disclosed that he had received $17,300 for his unused vacation days in 2011 and 2012. But Jones said he now realized the payments were inappropriate and promised he would return the money to the city.

FILE / TYSON TRISH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Paterson Mayor Jeffery Jones

In a statement addressed to the City Council and the “Citizens of Paterson,” Jones said he thought the payments were “proper” at the time he received them, because “precedence was set when former mayors received such payments.”

“Since then, a clear policy and consensus has emerged which declares such payments as improper,” said the mayor, who is running for re-election in two months. “Further, in the absence of an ordinance approved by City Council, these payments are clearly improper. I fully understand and agree that elected officials are not entitled to such payments.”

Read the full statement from Jones.

The $17,394 roughly amounts to about eight weeks of vacation pay for Jones.

During the past eight months, Paterson government has been engulfed in controversy over the $74,000 severance payment for unused sick and vacation days issued to former mayor Jose “Joey” Torres on his last day in office in 2010. In fact, the City Council has drafted a resolution that would call for Torres to repay that money.

Meanwhile, Paterson Press last month reported that Torres also received a $3,169 payment in 2009 for unused vacation days. Torres, who is running for mayor, announced on Tuesday that he would repay the $3,169.

Torres said he had requested that money as an advance on his regular vacation pay.

But after Paterson Press reported on the payment, Torres said he did additional research and realized he had gotten the money on top of his regular pay, and therefore plans to repay it.

Torres said he has no plans to repay the $74,000.

Seven City Council members said they had been unaware of the checks issued to Jones for his unused vacation days until the mayor made the announcement on Tuesday.

“It’s shocking really, given all the discussion that has gone on,” said Councilman William McKoy.

“You can’t get paid for your vacation days,” said Councilwoman Ruby Cotton. “If everybody did that, we’d be in trouble.”

“I wonder why he didn’t know it was inappropriate earlier?” said Councilman Kenneth McDaniel.

“I’m still of the opinion that elected officials don’t get paid vacation,” said Councilman Kenneth Morris.

Just about every council member interviewed commended Jones for his willingness to repay the $17,000. But several of them also questioned the timing of his disclosure.

“It just came to light, actually,” Jones said, when asked why he was revealing the vacation payments now.

When asked how he could have received so much money without realizing it, Jones clarified his explanation.

“I never asked for a payment of days or time, I never did that,” the mayor said.

But Jones said a staff member told him he had accrued vacation days that he was in danger of losing and that previous mayors had received payments for such days. Jones said he could not recall who the staff member was, only that “it had to be someone in finance.”

Jones said he signed the requisition forms for his $17,000, but he said he did not check city ordinances or policies to see if they provided the basis for such payments. “I wasn’t thinking about it,” said the mayor. “I’m still trying to figure out how it happened. This is really bothering me.”

Jones said he recently realized the money he previously had gotten was similar to the controversial payment made to Torres.

“I have stepped up to rectify this matter as quickly as I could gather financial resources,” Jones said in his statement. “I encourage Torres to do so in a timely matter as well.”

It seems likely that Jones’ vacation payments would have come to light without him disclosing them. The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs had asked Paterson on February 24 to provide copies of all checks issued to city elected officials for unused sick or vacation time from 2009 until the present, along with supporting documentation for them.

Also, Paterson Press on February 21 had submitted a public records request with the city seeking all so-called off-line checks issued to Jones since he has been mayor. Off-line checks are those issued outside the regular payroll process.

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