HOBOKEN – Hoboken is in need of a new business administrator.
Arch Liston will be relocating back to South Jersey for family reasons, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. He advised Mayor Dawn Zimmer of his decision on Wednesday.
Liston will stay on for the next few months during the search and transition period, according to the release. Liston currently earns $150,000 per year.
“Director Liston has played an enormous role in reforming Hoboken government and improving the lives of our community,” Zimmer said in the release. “He guided us through major contract negotiations, helped root out corruption, streamlined city government, and has been key to reducing taxes for two years in a row. I am so thankful for his service to Hoboken.”
Liston has been involved in more than business decisions, including earlier this year promoting a new public information policy for the city that said that all city employees had to clear any comments to the press through him first. The policy was said to be modeled after one in Camden.
Recently, Liston zinged one of the mayor’s chief opponents publicly during a council meeting. When Councilwoman Beth Mason was making comments about items in the city budget, Liston said he could have asked him her questions any time before the meeting, like other council members do. They engaged in a heated back and forth and Liston asked how much it had cost to write her lines. Mason responded, “All due respect, I write my own stuff, Mr. Liston.” (The video is here.) — Ray Smith
Our Digital Archive from 2000 – 2016
