Montclair Construction Official Robert McLoughlin’s services were recently terminated by the town. In a letter to Township Manager Marc Dashield (verbatim below), McLoughlin states that he intends to take legal action against the town for their attempt to terminate his employment. He states that he believes he has a moral obligation to report the mayor’s efforts to “influence and politicize code enforcement” to the NJ Attorney General and the Department of Community Affairs for investigation. He alleges that he was pressured in his construction decisions, and cites The Faulkner Act, which says that council members may not “seek individually to influence the official acts of the municipal manager or any other officer … or to interfere in any way with the performance by such officers of their duties.” According to state statute, he says, any elected official who violates this law “shall be disqualified as a council member.”
Baristanet filed an OPRA request for the letter on Monday and received it this morning.
Re: Termination of Employment
Township Manager Dashield:After 31 years of service to the Township of Montclair I was shocked to receive your recent letter stating that my employment as Construction Official will be terminated effective May 14, 2011.
Since I received your letter, it has become apparent to me that this action on your part constitutes political retaliation against me for not complying with the frequent attempts by Mayor Fried to control my decisions as construction official and the actions of the construction department, and his constant political interference with my responsibilities to protect public safety by enforcing construction codes in the community. Prior Township Managers and Township Attorneys would not have allowed this to happen, but you, as the Mayor’s chosen replacement, have allowed and actively participated in these actions.
As the latest victim of the Mayor’s actions, I insist that the political interference and political retaliation stop, and that your attempted termination of my employment as construction official be rescinded. Also, in light of my duty to protect the health, welfare and safety of the residents of Montclair, I have a moral obligation to the community to fight against these political attempts to interfere in public safety issues and the enforcement of state building and safety codes.
Since receiving your letter, I have verified that Mayor Fried’s political interference can be documented and easily proven. There are numerous incidents where the Mayor attempted to influence or control my decisions, including as just one example, his attempts to influence fire and public safety issues regarding the Wellmont Theatre (whose ceiling recently collapsed). And it is certainly no coincidence that Ira Karasick, the Mayor’s hand-picked replacement for Township Attorney, has as his client and landlord one of the local developers who repeatedly was cited for working without building permits and who frequently, and in writing, attempted to control the construction department to his personal benefit and demanded that I be fired.
The fact that you would allow this political interference to take place is truly disturbing, especially considering Montclair’s form of government. Over the past 31 years, I have worked for every Manager this town has had, and none of them would have ever allowed this to happen. However, these actions are consistent with the Mayor’s ongoing disrespect for Montclair’s chosen form of government and with your own failure to protect the form of government and your participation with the Mayor in violating it.
Based on many things that have occurred over the past year, it is obvious to me and many other Township employees that the Mayor, not the Manager, is “running the show” and “calling the shots” at Town Hall, and that you seem to act more like the “Mayor’s assistant” than the Township CEO. I believe this violates The Faulkner Act which says that the Manager is the Chief Executive Officer and that the municipal council can only act as a legislative body. The law also says that council members may not “seek individually to influence the official acts of the municipal manager or any other officer . . or direct or request the appointment of any person to, or his removal from, office; or to interfere in any way with the performance by such officers of their duties.” I am told that the state statute also says that any elected official who violates this law “shall be disqualified as a council member.”
Unfortunately, it seems to me and many other Township employees that neither you nor anyone else is monitoring the Mayor’s actions or protecting the town from an over-reaching, politically-motivated elected official. Regardless of my personal situation, I believe it is very important to the town that these matters be fully investigated by the Township Council so that other Township employees do not unfairly lose their jobs due to the Mayor’s interference.
I believe I was inappropriately and illegally terminated and that you should rescind your attempted termination immediately, and no later than May 11th. You should also immediately put an end to the Mayor’s attempts to influence and politicize code enforcement and other Township departments. If these matters are not dealt with and rectified by May 11th, I believe I have an obligation to report these issues to all appropriate state agencies, including the NJ Attorney General and the Department of Community Affairs, and to demand that the Council and other agencies conduct a thorough investigation of the Mayor’s conduct under state law and the Montclair ethics code in order to protect Montclair’s form of government and the public’s right to have a non-political construction department.
I also intend to take appropriate legal action to address your attempt to terminate my employment.
Very truly yours,
Robert McLoughlincc: Mayor Jerry Fried
Township Council
Township Attorney Ira Karasick
Below is a pdf of the actual document:
It’s very upsetting. If his allegations are true, it’s a very serious scandal.
“I believe I was inappropriately and illegally terminated and that you should rescind your attempted termination immediately, and no later than May 11th. You should also immediately put an end to the Mayor’s attempts to influence and politicize code enforcement and other Township departments. If these matters are not dealt with and rectified by May 11th, I believe I have an obligation to report these issues to all appropriate state agencies, including the NJ Attorney General…”
Isn’t there an obligation report these things even if “these matters” are “dealt with”?
(kudos to Bnet for beating Patch on publishing this letter)
Why did he wait to be terminated before he spoke out?
” or direct of request the appointment”
Should be ” or direct or request the appointment”
“employees do not unfairly lost their jobs”
should be
“employees do not unfairly lose their jobs”
“constant political interference with my construction codes in the community.”
should be
“constant political interference with my responsibilities to protect public safety by enforcing construction codes in the community.”
Baristas, not for nuthin’, and I know it just takes a little digging anyway since property ownership records are public, but couldn’t you have crossed out the man’s address?? or would that violate OPRA?
Dag, I am wondering the same thing.
And to be terminated in a letter…real class, Mayor Fried.
Was an OPRA request made for the Manager’s termination letter? What about the correspondence from the developer?
The man may have a distinguished record of service in his long term as building inspector, but he has blown his credibility to smithereens by essentially calling for an expose of the illegal practices by the mayor, et. al, to be contingent upon the recession of his termination. By choosing to word the letter as he has, he cannot avoid being cast as the proverbial disgruntled employee. His request for reinstatement appears entirely self serving, and the threat of an expose can be viewed as precisely what it is, a threat. However, now that the skeleton is out of the closet, shouldn’t it be incumbent upon the Attorney General, whose powers McLoughlin has threatened to invoke, to independently begin an investigation and subpoena this individual and any others who may have knowledge of illegalities? Where there is smoke, there is fire…
That’s recission, not recession
There are numerous incidents where the Mayor attempted to influence or control my decisions, including as just one example, his attempts to influence fire and public safety issues regarding the Wellmont Theatre (whose ceiling recently collapsed)… the Mayor’s hand-picked replacement for Township Attorney… has as his client and landlord one of the local developers who repeatedly was cited for working without building permits and who frequently, and in writing, attempted to control the construction department to his personal benefit and demanded that I be fired.
Interesting details.
Seems like blackmail/extortion.
Wasn’t it Mr. McLoughlin’s duty once an alleged incident occurred to report the incident?
What say Dashield about all this? Town Hall seems conspicuously quiet.
The whole appointment of Ira was entirely political and appeared motivated entirely by Ira’s relationship to BlueWaveNJ. If anyone else attended or watched the meeting where Ira was hired and Trembulak was fired, constituent after constituent spoke positively of Alan and how a-political he was. There was at most, one vote of confidence for Ira. None of the Fried 3 said a word as to why this change was needed. Then the council voted on what clearly appeared to be a failed motion, but Renee stunned the crowd by supporting the motion. Since Renee too was silent during the deliberations, one must assume that Fried appointed Rene to the Planning Board in exchange for her vote on this motion which occurred less than a week later.
Fried’s arrogance, frequent hypocritical and inconsistent decisions, as well as his continued ignorance of the pleas of the majority of his constituents lends one to believe that our building inspector is telling the truth, regardless of his lack of tact in choosing to out these issues in an effort to get his job back. Both Jerry and Robert are misguided, but this does not surprise me at all. This town council and the BOE is run so poorly that nothing surprises me anymore.
He is not saying he bent the rules to accommodate the Mayor, he is saying that the Mayor “attempted to” interfere. I am assuming he prevented the interference and his being fired is another, and final, attempt to interfere with codes by dumping the guy who won’t bend.
Got that gurl, but the troubling part is that these alleged overt attempts and influencing him seem, by my reading of his letter, ONLY worthy of reporting IF he was not rehired by May 11th.
Interesting to see parallels between the Mtc mayor and Blmfd’s. Dysfunction appears to be endemic to both towns. And there’s Glen Ridge where the only worry is the traffic getting in and out of Bottle King during rush hour.
Go take a look at Glen Ridge’s debt. It’s startling how much much better that town is run. I move in at the end of June.
One can only find it interesting that Ira is Dick Grabowski’s attorney. Isn’t there some type of conflict of interest when the Mayor/Township Manager is supposedly getting legal advice to fire the Construction Official from the Township Attorney, who’s client was cited for Code violations over the years? Sounds like retaliation to me and should be investigated by the highest authority possible.
And Mrs. Martta, I agree, classless to fire someone via a letter, but then again, look at the class of people we are dealing with in our town…
Correct, JG. Complaints about inappropriate conduct were made. But the termination takes things to another, new level requiring complaints to higher authorities. While Bob M. was/is there, no “corruption” of the construction code office or effective interference is occurring or is possible because he’s preventing it… he’s “in the way.” That is precisely why they want him out. If he’s successfully terminated, the suggestion is that they’re more free to control the office. Thus action by some outside authority does become desirable/ necessary based on the past behavior, because Bob is not there to protect the public interest anymore, ergo his perceived need and duty to report it to another authority. (Note: This does not address all of the alleged improper conduct in the letter, such as the violations of Montclair’s form of government, but only the issue of attempted interfering with construction code enforcement.)
I think the whole business seems mighty fishy.
Bob Mcloughlin is a no nonsense straight shooter who is an extremely honest, hard and dedicated worker. I’ve dealt with him for many years and his reputation is solid. He’s good guy who I don’t believe is the sort of person that would make reckless accusations.
These allegations are very alarming. Montclair is a Faulkner Act form of government where the Mayor and Council have little to say about the daily operations. Staffing decisions are only the town managers responsibility. Residents should be very concerned if this going on especially behind closed doors.
When a person that has been employed by a town for 31 years with a good record makes these sort of accusation, be sure it will get the attention a lot of people and reputable lawyers will be lining up to take his case. Unfortunately for the Montclair taxpayer, I believe the town will be cutting Mr. Mcloughlin a nice check on this one.
It shouldn’t be long again before Mayor Fried finds it necessary to call in the swat team to inspect his mail.
Bob Mcloughlin is an arrogant municipal worker who has been running without regard to anyone but himself for years. He is the typical “small man with big power”. Finally someone put him in his place – - – and surprise! he’s not happy about it. I hope he spends his entire savings on legal representation and then loses. Since when are jobs guarrantteed? People get fired – that is life – too bad for him. Maybe he should have behaved liked a “civil servant” instead of an arrogant ass.
Rightwingdem your the only arrogant ass around here. Spending time correcting grammer. Why don’t you get a real life outside of this website. When everything come out and the mayor and his cronies are exposed maybe then you’ll shut your mouth.
Mr. Hartnett.
It seems from his letter he is alleging some kind of wrong-doing or interference which is either illegal or at the least unethical prior to his termination.
“investigation of the Mayor’s conduct under state law and the Montclair ethics code.”
Prior to his termination either the alleged interference was illegal or unethical or it was not. If it was, his duty was to report it immediately. If it was not illegal or unethical then, how is it now? In my opinion it simply can’t be both ways.
If his letter only addressed his termination as the alleged illegal or unethical action, then he would be, I think, on firm ground. But his letter alleges much more than that.
Shouldn’t attempted corruption be reported as well as actual corruption, if either took place?
If he was silent because he was afraid to lose his job and now reports it all because he’s been terminated that would be one thing. But in my opinion, the plain meaning of the letter is: hire me back or else I will report. Considerably more shaky ground, I think.
Now, if these allegations are true, McLoughlin’s letter is much less important than what may have been occurring. I think a full and complete investigation by an independent body is warranted.
First of all, Bob was not fired. His contract expired and was not renewed. In my opinion Bob may have thought that he ran the town and everyone else reported to him. In my opinion it was Bob that abused his power under the guise of “protecting the residents of Montclair”. In my opinion if his job included alienating every single business owner in Montclair and scaring every potential business away from town, then he is correct, he should be rehired because he did an outstanding job. In my opinion if arrogance, lack of communication and unprofessionalism were a job requirement, his contract should be renewed immediately. If speaking with the Town Manager or other public officials about the frustration in attempting to obtain a comprehensive detailed list of building code violations from an employee of the people of Montclair, then in my opinion, Bob has a point. The public official that his letter refers to may have mentioned to Bob that businesspeople were complaining that he should be more user friendly. I doubt that anyone ever ask any official in Montclair to ask Bob to look the other way when it came to public safety. Simply they more then likely ask for him to be a bit more polite, communicative and to do his job in a complete and professional manner. If Bob feels that he was doing that then he is justified in asking why his contract was not renewed. Perhaps the simple answer is that the Township is being fiscally responsible and trying to combine some resources with nearby towns to control costs.
GrewUp
Um…. Grammar
That dept makes money for the town. Not only does the dept generate income through fees, it generates income from fines from the people that are doing illegal work. The same people the mayor is in bed with.
Lol sorry jinx my spelling ain’t so goodly.
I’m a product of the MTC public school system
we do realize, don’t we, that not a single solitary fact has been advanced in the article above, the letter quoted in the article that alleges misconduct or in any of the fine comments here?
ok, back to the mudslinging, hectoring and misspellings…
No, I’m sorry Grew. I thought you were chastising rightwingdem for posting with bad grammar! That’s what I get for trying to read the tiny print on my phone. I am glad you received a goodly amount of educating at MHS
)
RoC nails it well. The letter reminds me of Gertrude Stein’s description of Oakland” “There is no “there” there.
If Mayor Fried took any action that put anyone’s safety at risk, Mr. McLoughlin had an obligation to expose it immediately. He did not.
So either Mayor Fried did nothing wrong, or Mr.Loughlin was willing to tolerate it. He only threatened to make accusations IF HE DIDN’T GET HIS JOB BACK! His credibility is almost non-existant.
Again, speculating anonymously, Mayor Fried probably encouraged Mr. Loughlin to speed things up, perhaps get over to a site to make inspection before an owner had to wait too long. Mr. McLoughlin probably took offense at being told how to do his job, and chafed at political interference. But Mayor Fried might even be praised for trying to respond to the needs of a constituent.
Get back to me when you can convince me something unlawful took place. Fried’s intransigence, fiscal illiteracy and misplaced priorities are enough problems for now. We don’t need to waste time with groundless accusations of criminality.
Nice scoop, B’net! No, jcunningham, no “fact has been advanced” by this post, but as they promised, they filed an OPRA request and got the letter and published it so that we can all see what is actually being alleged, instead of going on hearsay about what was in the letter. Of course, these are merely allegations, and it’s an evolving story.
RoC and Waltermitty are right – the way the letter is worded makes it seem like he’s only going to expose the violations if he does *not* get his job back. Another shining example of Why Writing Skills Are So Important!
I work with people every day who have advanced degrees, yet can’t write a coherent sentence to save their souls. Shameful and embarrassing.
“Again, speculating anonymously, Mayor Fried probably encouraged Mr. Loughlin to speed things up, perhaps get over to a site to make inspection before an owner had to wait too long. Mr. McLoughlin probably took offense at being told how to do his job, and chafed at political interference. But Mayor Fried might even be praised for trying to respond to the needs of a constituent.”
If the Mayor were to release such correspondence of his it would go a long way in dispelling the public’s concern wouldn’t it?
Maybe Mayor Fried never put anything in writing; maybe it was over the phone.
Alternately, if MR. McLOUGHLIN were to release such correspondence, it would go a long way in substantiating his allegations.
Of course, the public’s concern would then shift to why he was willing to tolerate it at the time and continue to tolerate it as a condition of remaining in his job.
Why Doesn’t the long-time construction offical for Montclair live in Montclair?
“Why Doesn’t the long-time construction offical for Montclair live in Montclair?”
Probably couldn’t afford it.
because he can’t afford the taxes! Ba-dum-bump-PEEESH!
I’ll be here all week.
Wait a second here, something just struck me as very odd, very suspicious and something we need to get to the bottom of….has anybody given any thought as to why Mr. McLoughlin is only releasing these allegations of wrongdoing by the Mayor after he lost his job? Let’s discuss! Let’s speculate!
If Montclair is a show (“Montclair Construction Official Says Fried is ‘Running the Show’”) – can I get a refund on my ticket? Seriously, since these people were the ones that must have had to approve building and occupancy of my leaky, black mold growing, problem ridden “new construction” four years ago.
I guess when you can do that with impunity, and line up the same builder for other prominent projects in town, the skies the limit.
From cleaning up after your dog (or even keeping it on a leash) to parking in front of yellow lines, “no parking” signs and/or fire hydrants to constructing buildings that are not rainproof – - it is clear that there are no laws in Montclair, just “suggestions” that one can follow or feel free to ignore with impunity.
Mr Hartnett
You were the Town Manager for a substancial period of time. You must be able to comment on some of these allegations during your tenure.
WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP SAYING HE WAS FIRED. NEWS FLASH TO ALL BARISTNET BLOGGERS, “”"”"”"HE WAS NOT FIRED”"”"”" HIS CONTRACT EXPIRED AND WAS NOT RENEWED. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MAYOR. THE DECISION NOT TO SUPPORT A RENEWAL OF HIS CONTRACT COMES FROM THE TOWNSHIP MANAGER. I DO NOT FAULT ANYONE THAT IS UPSET ABOUT LOSING HIS INCOME. BUT CAN WE PLEASE GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT.
Ummm, Steve?
The construction official is eligible for “tenure” after four years. He was not given tenure. No contract involved. Similarly, the CFO was given tenure after four years. However he resigned soon thereafter.
Bob McLoughlin is a no-nonsense professional with a very serious demeanor that certainly did rub some people wrong. But the responsible builders in town held him in high respect and often told me so, while those who tried to cut safety corners complained. He bent over backwards to help people at least as often as he had to cite others. He did inspections for people on Saturdays and leaving dinner at restaurants with his wife at night, to help people get their businesses open, or to help a homeowner with a serious scheduling problem. He was always open to reasonable requests if he could do something to help anyone who wasn’t trying to get over on him or his staff. To my knowledge, he never lost a code enforcement case on appeal. He never had anything but the public interest and public safety at heart. He is a man of unquestioned integrity. For thirty years, he has served the people of Montclair with honor, distinction, and dedication beyond the call of duty. He has put his life on the line for the people of Montclair (not his “political career”). He is a highly-trained, thoughtful, disciplined professional. He’s not some politician. When he says something, it merits everyone’s attention. When he says something, it merits far more weight than any local politician.
As for more specific facts, I’m sure they will out if and when there are independent investigations.
Bob,
You got what you deserved. You were very mean to the Montclair residents and intimidated the very people that pay your salary. Its a good day because the town got rid of a bad apple.
“WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP SAYING HE WAS FIRED.”
I think when you’ve been on the job 31 years and your contract is, uh, “not renewed” you’ve been fired.
Tudlow, did your Ambien just wear off?
“Montclair is a Faulkner Act form of government where the Mayor and Council have little to say about the daily operations. Staffing decisions are only the town managers responsibility. Residents should be very concerned if this going on especially behind closed doors.”
I thought it was common knowledge that Fried thinks he is “above” the Faulkner Act. No one wants to raise their hand and say anything for fear of losing their job. Marc does seem more like Fried’s assistant than CEO. But $180,000 plus car allowance and housing allowance when he eventually moves to Montclair isn’t such a bad deal for an assistant position in suburban NJ.
Wow dchnj Bob must have really caught you trying to pull a fast one. You talk about a bad apple, sounds like sour grapes to me. Are you really Grabouski or some other slum lord, no wait your thin skinned bike boy himself.
clearly Grewup is buddies with the now “unrenewed” McLoughlin – maybe a buddy electrician or maybe a buddy fireman, etc. – I’m sure when all the facts are out and the truth is told the plain and simple fact will be that Mr. McLoughlin wasn’t good enough at his job to be rehired. Maybe that was from his arrogance, maybe from his favoring his buddies, maybe because he thought he was “God” and didn’t have to answer to anyone – let alone the taxpayers of Montclair that pay his salary. Sometimes what goes around comes around – and Mr. McLoughlin finally got what was coming to him. Let the bitter man waste his money on lawyers and then vanish into obscurity.
Yes, deadeye, I doubled up. Been a weird day.
Seriously, my interpretation of that letter after a cursory glance is: Dashfeild, give me my job back or I’ma gonna tell on you because you and the Mayor been doing some very unlawful things.
Sounds like blackmail to me.
Dashield. After-effects of Ambien. And I’ma gonna is really I am going to. Whew.
I do know bob on a professional level when he was still working as a private electrician, and he was abrupt, kurt, and to the point. But he did the job correctly, professionally and on time(and not cheap). Having grown up in MTC I do know plenty of F/Fs and police. Most people that are leaving comments for or against Bob are logical arguments but u rightwingdem and dchnj seem like u have personal ax to grind. You are not adding anything but a load of BS.
The logic is simple – which is why probably why Grewup can’t understand it. Mr. McLoughlin favored who he wanted – like old cronies from back when he was an electrician (and not a “cheap” one – like that makes him a better electrician) or FF or police – if you weren’t part of his old buddy list than you were at his mercy – since he was the all-mighty power that be. He must of finally pissed off the wrong person who actually got the ear of someone with power and put an end to his mighty reign. If you really believe all the BS that you are spewing than why don’t you donate some of your own money to the McLoughlin legal fund and put your money where your mouth is.
Am I to understand that Marc Dashield, our new Township Manager having inherited the organizational and fiscal challenges left behind by the previous administration, has made the tough decisions has acted to rationalize the township staff, is now being personally and professionally diminished because one Official’s contract is not renewed?
How can we complain about tax increases and yet condemn our officials when they are taking the very action’s necessary to bring our fiscal and cultural house in order?
It seems incredulous that when Mr. Dashield takes bold and creative action to find efficiencies and improvements through Shared Services with our neighboring town, he is attacked and condemned. I have signed the Concerned Citizens petitions and personally seen and suffered the incompetencies of the previous regime and my inclination is to give Mr. Dashield the benefit of the doubt to try the Shared Services approach and to see if the strategy succeeds.
If I am to understand the articles and comments above, if Mr. McLaughlin’s contract was renewed, his grant of tenure would preclude any opportunity now and in the foreseeable future to achieve a Shared Service arrangement. We should be applauding Marc Dashield for his initiative and efforts to try to improve services, and gain efficiencies, Clearly the building boom is over and I imagine the workload of construction and code oversight can benefit from the economies of scale of a centralized department covering both Glen Ridge and Montclair. Why are the Council Members and the “Concerned Citizens” not more vocal in their support of the very man doing the job he was hired to do? If Mr. McLaughlin believes his performance is so exemplary, perhaps he should consider applying for the position to manage the Shared Service of Construction Management? Any further complaints, threats and attacks seem to be nothing more than a case sour grapes that does nothing to serve our town, or in my opinion, his own best interests.
Davidgreenbaum
I agree completely. This is exactly the type of thing we absolutely need to do. It has nothing about personality, ability, loyalty, or years of service to the town. We need to restructure — things have to change because the current trajectory will bankrupt the town.
I had the privilege to work with and for Bob McLoughlin for 30 years on the Montclair Fire Department. He may have been the best Firefighter I’ve ever worked with. In the opinion of most of Montclair’s Firefighters that served with him, he is considered to be the best Chief in the history of the Department. There is no doubt in my mind that he deserves that honor. In his short tenure as Montclair Fire Chief Bob accomplished much, he restored the morale of a demoralized department, setup procedures and timelines for purchasing and repairing equipment, implemented training standards that were lacking within the Department, oversaw every aspect of the new Fire Headquarters (the first in over 100 yrs), implemented a new integrated computer system within the Fire Department that has saved the town over $100,000 a year since 2001, ran 2 fair,successful promotional exams and 2 entry exams. After 911, with the Police Department, he took control of Montclair’s Incident Command guided it for the weeks that followed.
As Joe Hartnett said, Bob is a no-nonsense professional when it comes to knowing every aspect of whatever job he is engaged in. That includes Firefighter up through the ranks to Fire Chief, electrician, electrical inspector and Code Official. I doubt that there are many other professionals in these fields that know their subject as well as Bob. In the Fire Department, we referred to him as MacGenius because he seemed to always know the right answers and solutions to any fire and construction matters. He was always teaching the rest of us, particularly the younger Firefighters. Bob can be very tough and a little gruff, sometimes infuriatingly so, but when it comes to his knowledge and performance of his job, he is usually correct. I have personally never met anyone with more integrity. He has a very strong sense of doing the right thing, particularly when matters become serious. The safety of his fellow Firefighters, and the residents of Montclair and Glen Ridge has always been his first concern.
From what I know, Bob became the Construction Code Official and revitalized a department that had many problems. He implemented a new system and brought in a new software program that would help align their permits with the State system. I was told that the revenues in his department increased to the point that Montclair was only second to Newark in Essex County in bringing in revenue. I’m aware that Bob had some problems with some developers and issued fines to those who continuously tried to circumvent the rules. From what I know, Montclair won all of the appeals.
I’m also aware that Mr Hartnett, when he was Town Manager,sent emails (I remember 2 occasions) to all Township employees reminding them of the Faulkner Act rule that Councilors were not allowed to direct personnel without going through the Manager. This can often be a problem, but with the new Council, it seemed to be becoming a bigger issue. Twp employees tell me that it still continues despite the warnings. This is an issue that the current Township Manager should not allow.
Mr.Hartnett, Donato-
I spoke earlier about Bob’s integrity and I applaud you two speaking candidly about his qualities. I have known him for many years and both of you describe him perfectly. Unfortunately there are people that simply look at town employees as the enemy and feel as though they can just take nasty pot shots at people they don’t even know. Many who do so much for the town. It’s nice they can hide behind the anonymity of this board but I highly doubt they would have the courage to say these things directly to the person they attack.
Bob has done so much for Montclair over the years and its disgraceful to see this happen to him. I am hopeful that his supporters will cram the next meeting asking for real answers and stand up for someone that has actually done something for the residents in terms of efficiency of departments and cost savings. Residents should want to know why a quality employee like this was not retained. Political antics like this has led to the quick demise of many towns across the state.
So to prevent “political antics” his “supporters [should] cram the next meeting asking for real answers” ?
Mr Hartnett, I did not know you but what were the circumstances surrounding your departure from our government?
As far as Bob goes, I have not heard anyone challenge the skill set he brought to the table. However, many that have dealt with him including myself found him to be arrogant to the point of being unprofessional.
This does not mean that he was being asked to do something other then follow the code. This means that as a taxpayer I wanted to be treated with some respect and dignity. This seemed to be difficult for Bob to do. When you are treated with rudeness and at times what seemed to be disrespect, of course you develope a personal dislike for the person treating you like this. It then becomes difficult to separate the professional qualities from the personal attributes.
What Bob failed to understand was that many small business owners had a dream and put every cent they had and then some into developing their business. At best being self employed in this economy is a scary proposition. All anyone wanted from Bob was professionalism and to be treated with dignity. We deserved answers or explanations to questions regarding meeting the building code. Bob would take it personal that you ask a question or challenged him. I can’t tell you the number of times he said “if you don’t like it, go over my head, you won’t win”. Is this the way a professional is supposed to act. Not for my money. How about if he would have explained why something is necessary and how it could affect safety, when asked.
I dont have any personal axe to grind against this person. However, I cannot help but think that he shares some responsibility for the abysmal, unprofessional construction that went on right under his nose in the center of town.
In addition, my personal experience is complete and utter unresponsiveness from him and his office. This has nothing to do with either personality or being anti-government worker. I think government workers should be completely supported in their jobs.
My problem is when that job is not performed, as seems to be the case for so many of the people who are supposed to be protecting citizens and their interests in Montclair.
I would hardly call supporters/residents showing up to a council meeting and asking questions and looking for answers political antics. Similar to residents that support a project like repaving of their road who show up at meeting and speak in support is political antics.
Steve…you are right on. Although he may have been a good ff, he was very arrogant and unprofessional.
I think for him to write that garbage letter after he was fired (yes he was fired), was a joke. Anybody he goes crying to will laugh. Tough guy turned cry baby.
lol
I agree with the reasoning of davidgreeenbaum and Steve, who see the inherent contradictions in this episode. Wild and vicious accusations against both the mayor and town manager not backed up by facts. The man had years to make his complaints know through official channels and local press ever-hungry for a whiff of scandal. No, he only makes his accusations when his services were not renewed. Baristanet is to be criticized for publishing a private unsubstantiated attack without engaging in even a moderately responsible effort at journalism–namely asking questions that dig below the acrimony and selfish interests of McLoughlin. We can thank McLoughlin for his service and empathize with his plight of losing a job, but assuming that he has integrity his letter won’t work very well as proof of it. Those of you who so readily believe McLoughlin’s accusations about Fried betray your own biases rather than any meaningful knowledge of working with the man. Fried can pass along complaints about RM’s way of doing his job and be completely within his responsibilities as a public servant. Residents of northern Montclair have worked with Fried steadily for two years. We have a tremendous amount of detailed specific experience which puts the lie to the angry adjectives and nouns of Mr Mcloughlin. And if I have to follow up I’ll start giving details.
Robert McCrybaby was a mean, hostile, unprofessional, arrogant jerk. In addition, he made things bad by costing business people money by purposely delaying things.
the big baby is crying awwwww. how cute. ha ha ha ha
Now he is unemployed.
Could you imagine right before getting tenure and making future plans, you get fired? What better way to reduce the budget! Now he knows how the Montclair taxpayers feel after he made enemies with everybody.
Is he eligible for a pension AND state unemployment? Can anybody clarify if bob’s eligible for unemployment? This guy has exposed all the unintended loopholes of state benefits.
When he did inspections during our home renovation, I found McLoughlin to be mean, arrogant and condescending, especially to my wife. He tried to impress us with dubious lectures on safety, claiming that engineers knew nothing about real construction. A classic case of someone who thinks he knows much more than he actually does, and demands that people kowtow to his superior knowledge. It’s sad, I think he probably did his job faithfully and by the book; but I’m sure that there would have been a lot more complaints except for his perceived power to retaliate.
I couldn’t agree more about him getting more complaints but since you have to deal with him in the future you can’t do anything or he’ll just make things worse. I hope more people speak out about how McCrybaby treated the taxpayers poorly. His letter explains the type of person he is. He makes threats that if he doesn’t get his job back he’s gonna tell on the town of Montclair who already pays him 95k pension. How sad.