Council sues new mayor; judge scolds both sides
August 6, 2009 | The HillsiderSTAR-LEDGER:
A judge hearing initial arguments in a lawsuit filed by the Hillside council against the township’s mayor spoke sternly to both sides yesterday.
This week, the council sued Mayor Joseph Menza, arguing that he illegally hired a business administrator, attorney and auditor without the body’s consent. The case also contends that Menza improperly barred township department heads from attending council meetings.
After nearly an hour of arguments yesterday, Anzaldi issued a temporary injunction preventing Menza from restricting township department heads from attending public meetings…MORE
Filed under: » Township Hall
41 Responses to “Council sues new mayor; judge scolds both sides”
By The illegitimate D DeLane on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
Go get them Joey !!
By m on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
Does Menza think he is a dictator- retricting people from attending meetings and appointing people without going through the proper legal process to do it. If he wants to be mayor maybe he should actually learn and understand how to do the job. Maybe he is only familiar with the government of Berkley Heights- the town where he really lives!
By Barbara Butch on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
Hey Menza I guess “Butch” R. was wrong! Judge says you cant always get your way. You must think you are the King of Hillside by 6 votes? Some team of advisors you got there Joe!
By republicantruth on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
The Hillside council has all these educated fouls Angela Garretson, Frank Deo President Carlisle Mr. John Kulish yet they aren’t allowed to use the brains they should have been born with why? Because they are sale outs that would do anything to get ahead. Who’s going to pay the lawyers you got it the tax payers
By David DeLane (sort of ..) on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
I agree !!
By Barbara Butch on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
Mr. republicantruth you are correct. The council members are indeed better educated than the mayor. I guess he will get his education in a court of law. The operative question is: who will pay the mayors lawyers if their not hired by the town? looks like Joe has a lot to learn aabout how to work cooperatively
By Connee Boswell on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
And while this mess drags on in court Hillside continue to be the town that use to be and not the town that is. I just hope when I am ready to sell, someone out there will buy the house, if not I am renting it out to section 8.
By helphillsidenow on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
A joke, right? “The council members are indeed better educated than the mayor.” Please! Anyone who has been at council meetings lately knows this is not true. Better grandstanders - oh yes. And certainly better at spouting nonsense, yes again.
The council started this. We can only guess that they are under orders to block anything Mayor Menza tries to do. Their boss clearly does not want any interference.
Shame on the council majority; big shame on them! They were all elected to serve the people, not the boss. How does yet another publicly funded lawsuit serve the people?
And the anti-Menza folks who post here can yammer all they want about Mayor Menza, but he was elected by the people as well. It takes a whole lot more diverse support and a lot more hard work to get elected when the machine is not paying for your campaign, so Menza deserves extra credit for getting in when they threw everything they could think of at him and had new (expensive) glossy say-nothing, self-promoting mailers out nearly every day.
Let this man do what he was elected to do. If the council and their boss think that the people who support Mayor Menza will gradually stop coming to council meetings, they are badly mistaken. The people have had enough! They will be there to support the mayor.
By Jack May on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
What are the Menza supporters going to do when they don’t have King st. to blame? He seems to be starting of just like you know who. Someone needs to tell him you get more with sugar then you do with vinegar.
By David DeLane (sort of ..) on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
Menza equals lower taxes via reduction in spending through analysis and the open book approach, why would a typical Hillside resident not support this after the years they have had under a Democratic controlled administration (property tax increases @ double the Union County rate) ?, give him a chance !!
By george on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
the most disturbing thing was that menza thinks “department heads should tell him when they are going to PUBLIC meetings out of respect for HIM” who does he think hes is the “DON Menza”. do they have to kiss your pinky ring too?
By correction on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
correction david delane.. menza equals “thinking he will lower taxes by CUTTING PUBLIC SERVICES! paying the same for less!!!!
By The illegitimate DeLane by Injection on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
The services will not change, however the cost to provide them will, keep an eye on salaries and the management structure of these so called public service groups (eg HFD) the make-up will look very different a year from now.
By itsme on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
We’re getting flashbacks!I hope you are not listening to Barbara’s regime,you see where it got her. We’ve got too much work to do without you *ucking up the first month! Come on Menza, respect yourself. The township deserves better, and you do to. Remember you only won by 6 votes, so you got to get it right the first time!What this with the “mother may I attitude? You should be glad your dept heads are attending town hall meetings. If you are on the same accord there is nothing to fear. Be a CEO, not a dictator.
By republicantruth on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
It doesn`t matter how many votes he won by 1 or 1000. He won get over it.
By helphillsidenow on Aug 7, 2009 | Reply
“When they don’t have King st. to blame?” Do you know something we don’t, “Jack May?”
By itsme on Aug 8, 2009 | Reply
Rpublicantruth, I’m not sure if you were responding to my comment. I am saying that because he won by a slim margin, he has to work twice as hard to get his agenda through. Menza has a difficult job ahead of him. I’m supportive of him but he can’t let ego or outside influences affect his decisions.He needs everyone’s help and support to turn Hillside around. He has only been in office 1 month with 8 years to clean up. Sorta like Obama.
By onlyhillside on Aug 8, 2009 | Reply
are you people nuts? first, Menza won the suit!!!! this was a suit filed by the township committee for a restraining order! The judge REJECTED IT! that means that the B.A, Auditor and township attorney that he appointed STAY UNTIL THE COURT DATE. It also means that the king street rat lost yet another round. The judge scolded both sides for their inability to come to an agreement.
By The Sedated Mimi on Aug 8, 2009 | Reply
Clean house Joey !!, may take some time but its going to happen. The residents have had enough of high taxes and the closed book approach to deal making. Public positions and salary is at risk, those on the gravy train, its time to get off (HFD seniors people), Charlotte is history, its a brave new world !!
By tee-17 on Aug 9, 2009 | Reply
i,m glad that menza won the suit and i hope he keeps moveing towards a better hillside and that this township work with him and not against the people of hillside!!!
By life goes on on Aug 9, 2009 | Reply
First off Jack May get your head out of the queen of king streets -ss cause when she decides to pass gas you might get hurt. Although it is a pretty good place for a coward to hide. Next itsme wow not the sharpest tool in the shed, how can you support the mayor in one phrase, and say he screwed up in another when all he has done so far is defend himself. Personally i am happy to see we have a mayor who is willing to stand up for himself, how else do you expect him to stand up for the town. If you people know one thing about what is going on then you should know it will take a while to have the council and mayor work together. Without someone on that council having the courage to think for themselves its a long road.
By Jack May on Aug 9, 2009 | Reply
Idiot goes on I don’t have my head up King streets butt I was just asking what are you losers going to do when you can’t blame her.
By life goes on on Aug 9, 2009 | Reply
Hey Jack heres one , maybe just maybe your the one who is next in line for blame.Since you refer to others as losers,that must mean you think you are this big time winner, sounds like an ego trip here.And mr ego if you read the comments people dont blame Charlotte its her puppets like you we blame
By Jack May on Aug 9, 2009 | Reply
They were elected just like Menza was and just because you don’t like there views dosn’t mean they can’t have them, and you blamned her in your last post by calling elected officials puppets.
By The Sedated Mimi on Aug 9, 2009 | Reply
How about DeLane with the big contributions; how far is his head up there , LOL
By life goes on on Aug 9, 2009 | Reply
Jack I have no problem calling Charlotte a puppeteer, and part of the council, hfd, and the rest of the skaters, marionettes.I just wish Menza would make these cuts soon, then maybe Charlotte will cut the puppet strings and we can get something done.
By itsme on Aug 9, 2009 | Reply
Life goes on, I support the Mayor, however he is not above reproach. If you support everything right or wrong, then who is the puppet? I believe he made a mistake in demanding that the department heads ask permission to attend the town hall meetings. If you read my second comment you would understand why I said what I said. I still believe in Menza and was surprised that he made that demand. Mayor Menza is in awkward position and he is trying to establish his authority against the odds. Mayor Menza, with all do respect, “Lose your head, lose your as*” Think twice and be objective before you speak, you will win in the end.
By The Bubba Smell ! on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
Sources tell me DeLane will be approached this week !
By life goes on on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
itsme you do raise a valid point with him being notified of the department heads attending the meetings. Seems he is getting attacked at every end and may just be trying to make a point, true it could have been handled differently. But we still need to get the council and mayor on the same page alot can be done, and i would hate to see this turn into a revenge battle.
By Jack May on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
In order to release Delane as you say the town would have to layoff the 35 men he has seniority over.
By The Valuim Packed MiMi on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
Wrong DeLane’s recent promotion has placed him in a spot of vulnerability.
By Jack May on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
You know nothing he has seniority and Hillside is a cival service town.
By Uncle Mikey on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
Watch and see, he will be off the payroll by the start of the 4th quarter, thank God for the taxpayers !!
By itsme on Aug 10, 2009 | Reply
Life goes on, I agree with your last comment. See we can agree to disagree and we made progress. Now if we can just do this with the Mayor & Council. See, I’m not so dull after all. (Smile) and have a great day.
By OJ on Aug 14, 2009 | Reply
I see you delete things that dont fit your personal agenda. Bash Delane OK but bash the LIARS here and you get censored. Whats the matter ya can dish it out but can’t take it back.
This makes your press credientals absolutely worthless like this whinney site. Another boy throwing stones at real men. Ya deleated a couple of posts right away today - gotta insulate your lying crocks of excrement right sonny boy. Be a man and step up to the ring.
By Robert Smith on Aug 15, 2009 | Reply
Charlotte’s hacks are trying to spend court ruling as victory for Council(see Hillside forum on NJ.Com). Her cronies are blaming everyone but the right culprits for Council’s shgameful performance over past 10 years. Grow up. Don’t blame innocent people or try to hoodwink the residents of Hillside into believing that rubbish.
Joe Menza-all the way.
By Robin, Jackie & Tammie H on Aug 16, 2009 | Reply
OJ, guess your upset Section 8 funding will be cut !
By Uncle Jerry, Mimi, Murphy, Rabbie & Sal on Aug 17, 2009 | Reply
I rented to OJ’s mom, she made uo the Sec 8 difference the hard way !!
By The Sedated Mimi on Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
Thats gross, hey anyone see my pills ??
By Joes old friend on Aug 27, 2009 | Reply
What a loser useing someone moms name - you realy are a low life POS. I’m sure the censoring dicktator of this site will wipe this post out as the others as its OK to bash one but not another, What a bunch of chicken s…s you are. Your personel attacks show your pitiful little loser lives aint worth poo
By onlyhillside on Aug 31, 2009 | Reply
go mayor…clean up this town. 10 years of BS has to end! very good start, now eliminate the FAT.