The mood at the Secaucus Town Council meeting Tuesday night was both agreeable and aggressive. After a private discussion with members of the Secaucus Fire Department Mutual Association earlier in the day, Mayor Dennis Elwell and his administration announced at the meeting that controversial changes to an ordinance governing the town’s Volunteer Fire Department would not be voted on until after further negotiations with the Fire Department’s Mutual Association and a subsequent April 11 public hearing.
Before a crowd of approximately 80 people, including over two dozen Secaucus firefighters, Elwell stated that the day’s earlier meeting had been “very productive.”
The possible changes have vexed relations between the Volunteer Fire Department and the Elwell administration. They attempt to loosen the department’s residency requirement, prevent firefighters from using their community position to win political office, limit donations to the department to under $250, and mandate more physical testing for those hired.
The proposed change to the residency requirement would allow anyone to apply to the department, no matter where he or she lives. Town officials said that they wanted to change the language so that firefighters who move out of town can still volunteer.
The language about running for office was also controversial, since it made it seem as though a firefighter couldn’t say he’d been a firefighter in his literature.
Tuesday night, Elwell said that an agreement on changes to the amendments had been reached on “all points with the Mutual, including the residency, political, and fundraising issues.”
Elwell went on to state that he was “very happy” to see that a compromise was reached in discussions with the Mutual on the age required for a firefighter stress test and cardiovascular exam. The age now proposed in the ordinance is 55, which is exactly in the middle between the current required age of 50 and the originally proposed age of 60.
Fire not out?
It was apparent, however, that some lingering ill will smoldered in Tuesday night’s crowd like a fire not quite put out.
Prominently seated in the front row of the meeting was volunteer Fire Battalion Chief and full-time Department of Public Works Supervisor Michael Gonnelli. Gonnelli and Elwell have waged ongoing political warfare over a number of issues, which have ranged from firefighter fundraising to recent changes in Gonnelli’s job duties handed down by the Elwell.
In fact, at a Town Council meeting last month, members of the public asked the Elwell administration to postpone a vote on Gonnelli’s job changes, which were seen as an attempt to take power away from Gonnelli and put him behind the desk more. Gonnelli himself asked the council to meet with him before voting on the changes, but the council approved the changes nevertheless.
As a result of the political acrimony in Secaucus, there were some angry comments by the public at the latest meeting.
“Mr. Mayor, I was delighted to see that you people saw the light in regard to this firemen problem,” said Board of Education member and frequent Elwell critic Tom Troyer, 73, of Secaucus. “But I don’t know if you saw the light or felt the heat. Could you walk us all through the process of how this came about? Because I just wish you would have handled the Gonnelli thing the same way.”
“Things were worked out with the Fire Department tonight,” added Robert Zych, 48, of Secaucus, who is expected to run for Town Council this year. “I wish things were also worked out with the DPW [Department of Public Works]. If we just use the communication process, things can be worked out with the Gonnelli matter.”
After the meeting, Elwell succinctly answered his critics who seem to feel that he is out to get Gonnelli. Gonnelli is currently suing Elwell and the town administrator, Anthony Iacono, for what he says is political retribution.
“I know that there were phone calls going on all over town telling people to come out in an attempt to get us to back down,” Elwell said after the meeting. “Anything we’ve done here regarding Mr. Gonnelli, we’ve done with full consideration of the entire town.”
As befitting a firefighter, Gonnelli seemed to be handling the ongoing heat between him and the mayor well.
“It’s always nice to hear people stick up for you, and I wish what happened tonight could have happened with me,” he said, referring to last month’s council meeting. “But unfortunately it didn’t.”
While he declined to comment for legal reasons about his ongoing lawsuit, Gonnelli added, “I’m doing my job every day. I’m doing it to the best of my ability, and I’ll continue to do that.”