JACKSON – As the Township Council moves forward on its own DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) effort which one resident referred to as DOJE (Department of Jackson Efficiency) Council President Jennifer Kuhn discussed upcoming performance reviews concerning key township departments.
Last month she called for an internal review of the Police Department, Department of Public Works, Code Enforcement office and Building Department.
The council president read a prepared statement during a recent meeting, “Department heads have been asked to provide details and a breakdown of staff, salaries and daily operations allowing us to identify areas for cost saving and better resource allocations. We are investigating why some departments are overstaffed while others are under resourced.”
“Our priority is to ensure that every tax dollar is spent wisely,” Kuhn said noting that some of the township’s ordinances need to be reviewed and that some haven’t been updated since the 1960s. “It is time to modernize today’s Jackson Township. Government moves slowly and change isn’t always popular but progress requires action.”
“One issue we are addressing is ordinance enforcement. Passing laws without enforcing them is unacceptable. Recently a department admitted that they were not enforcing the landlord registration ordinance adopted on February 27, 2024,” Kuhn noted.
She added, “no requests for an extension, no explanation, just inaction. That is not acceptable. If ordinances are on the books they must be upheld and we will strongly request that the administration hold those departments accountable.”
“We are working with the administration to ensure that employees fulfill their daily responsibilities,” Kuhn said that she has been busy reading the township’s employee handbook.
The township is currently without a business administrator. Terence Wall who served in that role for six years left recently. He had been serving as interim chief financial officer in the absence of the CFO who retired and deputy CFO who also left recently. The township also replaced its clerk of two years when she left to become township clerk of Red Bank Township in January.
A new clerk was hired a few weeks later and last week the Council voted to enter into an agreement with Barnegat Township for financial services.
Criticizing The Chief
Kuhn took aim at one department in particular, the police department of which she serves as liaison to. “After a year ago, this council approved the creation of the position of public safety director – a decision that has strong support for the men and women of the Jackson police department. This position was allegedly necessary due to concerns raised by nearly two decades of leadership under Chief Matthew Kunz who some believe may have hinged the department’s efficiency and internal coordination.”
“We were informed by officers of all ranks about ongoing disarray within the department. Allegedly there has been no staff meetings since August of 2015 and Chief Kunz reportedly failed to attend or engage any efforts to improve communications within the department,” the council president added.
Kuhn also said mentioned allegations that the chief “did not adequately address a critical staffing shortage including unfilled patrol and supervisory positions. Some have questioned his decision-making regarding staffing changes such as reassignment of personnel from specialized roles such as a traffic safety sergeant without justifying it with leadership.”
“The chief shows little interest in hiring additional officers – a process that has largely been driven by Director (Joseph) Candido, the administration and council,” Kuhn said. She also claimed the chief of failing to take steps to secure funding for “bulletproof vests for the officers leaving them vulnerable. Many officers continue to wear expired vests.”
She said under Candido’s leadership, the vests are being secured and she praised the director’s efforts concerning budgeting, addressing efficiencies “that were left by the previous leadership.”
Chief Kunz is suing the township for hiring a public safety director. At the time of Candido’s hiring the position was stated to have a maximum yearly salary of $200,000 but he is currently being paid $235,887.76 while Kunz, whose last raise was in 2019, is making $216,178. The lawsuit accuses Candido of taking authority that belongs to the police chief.
RICE Notice?
The council president was asked during the meeting’s public comment session if a RICE notice was issued to Chief Kunz given his job performance was discussed publicly.
A RICE notice is a notification from a public body that it is going to discuss an individual’s employment in an upcoming meeting.
Under New Jersey’s Open Public Meetings Act, known as the Sunshine Law, generally speaking meetings of public bodies should be open to the public. The purpose of the Sunshine Law is to avoid secrecy in governance, and to give citizens advance notice of, and the right to attend, meetings of public bodies at which topics of interest to them are going to be addressed.
There are some exceptions to this requirement, one of which is that discussion of personnel matters affecting specific individuals should be held in closed session. This exception allows the individuals being discussed to avoid having their employment and, often, their flaws, discussed in public.
Some workers prefer to have their “dirty laundry” aired in public, so that they can know what was said, rather than learning only the final outcome of the discussion. Chief Kunz was not present in the audience at that meeting and The Jackson Times contacted him to ask if he had received a RICE notice. He responded that he could not comment on this matter.
Council President Kuhn was also asked if a RICE notice was issued. She sent The Jackson Times a message from the township’s legal counsel stating the,“agenda simply listed council member comments, it is not required that the subject or content of those comments be posted in advance.”
The statement added, “all comments were made in public, there was no discussion of the terms or conditions of Chief’s employment, no discussion of discipline and there was nothing hidden from the public. Council President simply reported to the public concerns she has about the department and its leadership currently. RICE Notice not required.”
