April - May 2002 Edition

Rift Between Council Member and Borough Manager   By Chris Neidenberg   Chris is a talented local writer, looking for a job.  If you have a job tip, send him an e- mail at chrisneidenberg@hotmail.com  To read about the most current council meetings, read Chris's postings in Fair Lawn's Discussion Forum.   Sacks, Amato rift rocks council Democratic Councilman Vic Amato, fearing a lawsuit from Borough Manager Barbara Sacks, is urging that his colleagues back indemnifying him from having to pay any legal costs associated with possible litigation. At a recent council work session, the simmering feud between both erupted into open warfare. Amato, citing language in a recent e-mail from the manager, suggested that Sacks was pondering suing him for "slander and libel" based on Amato's criticizing how employees use borough computers.   The feud, lasting almost a year, has put Amato's four Democratic council colleagues in the difficult position of having to publicly choose sides. Democratic Mayor David L. Ganz has historically backed Sacks' managerial efforts. "My reading of that (e-mail) is she intends to sue me," said Amato, insisting that he should be insulated from having to personally pay the costs of any civil litigation launched over official acts. Sacks declined to publicly discuss Amato's concerns. "I wouldn't comment on this," she told the council.   Deputy Mayor Steve Weinstein urged both to try smoothing things over. "Frankly, as a resident and a council member, I'm really upset about this," he said. "And quite frankly, I'm wondering if we can get back to ground zero and get back to (serving) the interests we're here to represent." Yet Amato hinted that the Sacks issue has already caused a serious rift among council Democrats. "The council has five members," he pointed out. "It's not beyond the realm of possibility that four of the five members don't like one member."     Sacks: 'Employees don't abuse Internet' Borough Manager Barbara Sacks, responding to repeated complaints from Councilman Vic Amato, is insisting that borough employees do not misuse work PCs during their regular shifts. For about the past year, a suspicious Amato has prodded Sacks to repeatedly supply him data on how workers use the computers and e-mail on borough time.   The requests have caused friction between both, and Amato recently claimed that Sacks might be threatening a suit over his repeated inquiries and complaints. Amato has alleged that the manager often drags her feet in meeting his requests, a charge Sacks denies. "I'm waiting for a status report (on the information)," Amato said at a recent work session. "That's why I put it on (the agenda). I want to know what progress has been made on this."   Amato noted that just having access to the Internet could tempt some employees to abuse work PCs. The manager told Amato supplying information on employee e-mail use will cost the borough, and that she is reviewing how much having programmers do it will cost. Yet Sacks insisted that workers are not abusing PC usage. "It (access} is very limited," she maintained, saying only 24 of the borough's roughly 240 workers regularly use computers. "People who have access are limited. Most of them use it to log on to state agencies. It's really (done) at the supervisory or above level."     Sacks defends policy on records  Despite scathing criticism from Councilman Vic Amato, Borough Manager Barbara Sacks adamantly denied she has stalled in supplying the councilman information on certain borough functions.   Amato, in trying to analyze expenses, has clashed with the manager over employee Internet use, gas and phone bills. He has carped that Sacks often needlessly delays providing data. Among other things, Amato has questioned whether Fair Lawn's roughly $100,000 phone bill for 2001 is excessive, and also vowed to oppose her 2002 budget request.   "I've been here for four years," Sacks told a critical Don Oliver, "And the only person whoever chastised me for that is Councilman Amato. I am very forthcoming with information." Yet Oliver told the council Amato is "badgered" for wanting to properly review records in making decisions.   Sacks argued that there are often valid reasons why certain data takes time to break down and submit, including having to comply with privacy laws in disclosing phone bills. Additionally, she said she must figure out how much having computer pros write a program on evaluating employee e-mail will cost (from $250 to $1,000).   Amato disagreed that the issue is so complex. He said scanning more "paper" into computer databases will make receiving such information easier. He also said he is not inferring that there is "wrongdoing" by employees in seeking the data. "This isn't something that occurred last month or a few months ago," he said of the alleged stonewalling. "This year, I'm drawing a line."   Mayor Ganz: 'Sacks-Amato rift not hurting Democrats' Democrats Mayor David L. Ganz and Councilman Vic Amato are insisting that their differences over Borough Manager Barbara Sacks' job performace are not causing tensions in the Fair Lawn party organization. The council is all Democrat.   As Ganz runs for Bergen County freeholder, he's had to distance himself from Amato's frequent public attacks against Sacks over providing the council information and her job performance. "It's a clash of principles," Amato said, regarding his view on the need to analyze specific information in making budget decisions. "But we (all council members) still agree on the basic principles we've run on as Democrats. "There's no party problem here," continued Amato, adding that he is leaning toward seeking his party's renomination in 2003.   Yet the comments on party unity contrast somewhat to the statements Amato made a week earlier. At the time, he asked his colleagues to back protecting him from personally paying any legal costs if Sacks tries suing him for libel/slander (based on e-mail language he said the manager used). "It's not beyond the realm of possibility that four of the five (council) members don't like one member," he said then.   Ganz praised Amato for exerting a watchdog role. "I don't have any reason to challenge an elected official's right to obtain any information he or she feels they need in making important decisions," the mayor said. "That's why I'm supporting his request to put this information on line. That way, it will be more readily available."   A council majority agreed to Ganz' request for allocating up to $4,000 for the task. Amato said he does not think it will cost that much. Yet Ganz agreed that both deeply differ over Sacks' overall performance. "I've made myself very clear on this (Sacks)," said Amato. "I'm the only one on the council who feels this way, so why keep bringing it up?"     Click here for background on the role of the Council and Borough Manager.