Fair Lawn is far, far too political for such a small town,
Your police are in disarray , your government is so politically biased, it's a wonder there isn't more chaos. To have been declared the 49th safest community certainly speaks poorly of the competition .

Get a good grip on reality and eliminate the political party system in your council election process. Get your elected
Officials off their county jobs and just run your little community.

Complete BS. No one person is uniquely qualified to be manager. Additionally given that Metzler settled with town and collected our tax dollars after the car fiasco, he should never have been brought back, not ever. This whole extension was nothing more than a stunt to shift blame because Big Tom, found another job.

I for one am very disappointed that Cosgrove has become such a politician. I miss Mr Fair Lawn. John, sleazy doesn't look good on you. Its time you live up to your old reputation.

OH MY. Its easy to write about details and rteally not have the actual facts. Car fiasco? NOT! That car was purchased by Boro Funds thru a dealer who sells cars. It was a Dodge and the boros Managers office used that vehicle. Do you recall the Crown Vic that was the Managers? It was a old hand me down. Political issues come down to who is on which side. Our town needs to end issues and get to making Fair Lawn #1 in NJ. I for one served under Tom. I will miss him. PA

With which agency did Mr Metzler take a job?
@Zak....have you heard anything yet?

Funny how Mayor Cosgrove was so eager to give that revolving door a good solid push not so long ago to fire the standing manager even before his contract was up in order to hire Metzler. Former mayor Baratta said at the time Metzler made no bones about which party he stood for and that is why he was asked to resign the first time. Perhaps if Mr Metzler wasn't so partisan he wouldn't have to worry his job security, if he was really thinking Fair Lawn First.

Metlzer term one, began with a mutimillion dollar defecit. Metzler managed to balance and come out with a $4-$5 Million budget surplus. Metzler out, Town spends the surplus and then some. Metzler balances the budget agaion and creates a surplus... Can citizens do math?! I am sure your year to year contracts, lack of job security due to the political winds of any given year will not be attarcting the best and brightest, Who would sign up for that crap? Maybe his past positions of Fire Chief, and many years as department member, and OEM cordinator, plus his other countless areas of voulnteer service. Yeah sure, cut him loose. One day, you be able to discern the forest from the trees. But apparently not now...

http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/PressClipsPDF/012308fa.pdf

From our divider in chief in Wash DC right on down to small town politics, nothing will ever change. You point a finger at one side and there's ten fingers pointing back at you. Neither side is innocent and until people can move beyond the finger pointing and come together to solve real issues, nothing will ever change. You ALL deserve each other...

The Mayor stated in his letter that the borough would have to "look long and hard " to find someone as capable as Tom Metzler. Good luck! With the political BS and the lack of job security in this town, Fair Lawn would be hard pressed to find a prisoner to do the job. I'm sorry to see the best Manager Fair Lawn has ever had leave. I wish him the best with his new position.

simple questions:
why was the revolving door policy ok when the first thing the republican majority did was switch borough managers?
we all knew baratta and trawinski were leaving council after this year, if metzler wanted a job with security why did he accept the position in the first place?

BOTTOM LINE
we should look at the job the person is doing not what party.I am not a writer for any party but feel this town is going in the wrong direction. we had holes in the budget used what cash we had saved over the years to hold down tax increases and a police dept that was going out of control under one partys control. records show this. then the other party comes in changes boro managers yes we go over cap on the first budget but it was due to surplus accounts being used and everyone knows you need cash on hand for problems, this town needs a manger who is his own not to any party and we the people let performence speak not the local county party bosses out for their own gain.

Well said, John.

Do have to laugh at the nom-du-plume of one of the no votes posting here on the attack, and the other paid operative with the "double-dipper" fixation trying to put a spin on what will be a loss to the community. Are we so screwed up in this town that we need to change attorneys and managers and board appointments based upon which party the wind is blowing from? Seems no one gives a whit about what is best for the public - from towns to Washington, DC it's all loyalty to party, and the taxpayers be damned.

Thank You Mr. Mayor, well before you wrote this letter, most people realized Fair Lawn was screwed up, you helped confirming it now!

And despite all this squabbling, we STILL live in a town that's a great middle-class community...it's too bad there aren't enough people with the moxie (old term for a good thing, look it up if it was before your time) like Cosgrove and Metzler to run this town the way it should be run...politics ueber alles (German, means above everything)...too bad for good old Fair Lawn...

Walter, apparently you pay no attention to the facts.