Borough Appoints Disciplinary Hearing Officer

The borough hired attorney William D. Sayers Tuesday as disciplinary hearing officer for the rest of the year.

At the recommendation of borough manager Timothy Stafford, Sayers will adjudicate any disciplinary action in respect to borough employees at a cost of $100 per hour, not to exceed $10,000.

Since civil service employees have rights to their jobs and are not employees at-will, the New Jersey administrative code prescribes circumstances under which a civil service employee can be disciplined.

If discipline is warranted, the disciplinary hearing officer commences a departmental disciplinary hearing with informal rules of evidence and witness testimony, examines that evidence and testimony, and renders an impartial decision.

His decision serves as a recommendation to the borough manager, who has the ultimate say in meting out disciplinary action.

Stafford said Sayers was hired after the disciplinary hearing officer who had been appointed earlier in the year could not honor his commitment because he had switched law firms. His new law firm could not comply with the borough’s strict pay to play ordinance, which forbids the borough from awarding no-bid public contracts to political contributors.

Stafford said that there were ongoing disciplinary issues that the new disciplinary hearing officer would be inheriting but declined to comment on specifics.