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Code official quits following allegations of misconduct
(by Karen F. Mrnarevic - September 10, 2008)
Montvale Construction and Building Code Official Raymond Dressler recently resigned to take a new job as the
Bergen
County parks director. Dressler’s resignation comes more than eight months after the borough council voted unanimously on Jan. 15 to not reappoint him to the positions of property maintenance officer and zoning official, making what was a full time position with a benefits package a part time position. In May, after three members of the borough council contacted the governor’s office to report that they thought Dressler was falsifying his time cards, Dressler filed a tort claim against the mayor and council, alleging harassment and defamation.
In February, Mayor Roger Fyfe met with Dressler to discuss “potential discrepancies in [his] work activities for 2007.” The “discrepancies” were detailed in a report composed by council members Martin Kent, Lorna Scully and Chuck Wehrle. The report contains a list of dates and times when Dressler was on the clock in Montvale, but was physically in a different municipality (as verified by cell-phone records). The propriety of Dressler’s employment as a code official in other municipalities was also called into question.
The report contains other examples of what the council members believe are misstated work-hours and falsified inspection reports, such as one from Nov. 13 that stated he had conducted an inspection while he was actually at the League of Municipalities Conference in
Atlantic City . The report concluded, “the facts unearthed clearly suggest that the DCA needs to delve more deeply into this matter to protect the taxpayers in the other towns that employ him.” He was asked in writing to produce a written explanation of the discrepancies no later than March 10.
Dressler provided the mayor and council with a response to the report on March 9. In his response, he pointed out that many of the times during which he made or received calls from somewhere outside the borough, the occurrences coincided with his free time during the work day. He also reminded the governing body that as a full time employee he is required to work a total of 1,827 hours per year, but during 2007, he actually clocked 1,879 hours. The response went on to explain why Dressler clocked his hours served on the Planning Board (it was permitted according to his hiring agreement) and why he sometimes conducted roof inspections from his car (the street provides a better vantage point from which to see the roof).
Fyfe seemed satisfied with the explanations and thanked Dressler in an April 16 letter, but , Scully and Wehrle were not appeased by Dressler’s response. On April 21, the three council members sent a letter to the office of Gov. Jon Corzine, claiming, “[We] have uncovered what we believe is a serious matter and we seek your guidance as to the vest way to resolve the issue… We believe our Construction official, Mr. Raymond Dressler, has falsified government documents regarding work hours and inspection reports… We have reviewed at length Mr. Dressler’s responses to ensure to the best of our ability that we have been accurate and fair. Our contacting you clearly indicate[s] we are unsatisfied with his responses.”
Dressler’s attorney, Arthur Carmano, said that his client has a right to be disgruntled with how things have proceeded. “This was never handled in the right way,” he said. “These people decided to undertake on their own an investigation without going to the proper authorities… There are many competent investigators working for the state, who have the resources and the experience to do things the right way. [Instead,] they just started throwing mud, hoping that some of it will stick.”
Carmano went on, “If you have a problem with an employee you don’t take away their post, destroy their reputation, without sitting down and personally going over this with him… To throw hand grenades like these people is unprofessional. I don’t think anyone would like to be treated this way.”
Dressler opted to file a tort claim against the borough following the persistent accusations by the council members. The borough has been allowed months to respond, but has not. According to Carmano, “The most likely next event if they don’t respond we will be filing a lawsuit. It will be a multi count lawsuit covering various counts of alleged misconduct.”
Fyfe emphasized in a phone interview, “We [the borough] have no investigation going on… As far as I am concerned all the questions that were raised about him, he presented answers. Whether other council people were satisfied by his answers, I don’t know… In terms of the borough, we wish Mr. Dressler well.”
He added, “I personally think it got a out of hand. There is a lot of gray in those jobs. They all work in more than one town. At the end of the day you have to say, you know, as long as the work is getting done… At least that’s my opinion.”
Karen F. Mrnarevic's e-mail address is Mrnarevic@northjersey.com.
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