Town officials announced Tuesday that Secaucus may finally get a new supermarket – in addition to the one already opening inside Walmart.
“We are still working on getting a second supermarket in town,” Mayor Michael Gonnelli said at the Town Council meeting Tuesday night, a comment that elicited cheers from residents in attendance. “I believe we’re pretty close to accomplishing that goal.”
Town Administrator David Drumeler added that there is a 25,000-to-30,000 square foot retail space available in the Xchange development and he and Gonnelli will meet with one specific supermarket chain that has expressed some interest in opening a store there.
Mayor Gonnelli declined to confirm a rumor that D’Agostino is the food chain.
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If the deal works out as planned, this development would be welcome news to residents who have complained about the lack of a major supermarket in town ever since Stop & Shop closed its grocery store at Mill Creek Mall last May. The town had previously lost an Acme in the center of town.
Although Walmart is opening a food store within its local outlet, some residents have complained that it won’t be a “real” supermarket.
Tax Office audit ending
Residents also learned Tuesday that an independent audit of the Tax Collector’s Office should end this month.
“This is an issue we have not forgotten about,” Town Councilman Gary Jeffas told residents. “As you know, we’ve had auditors upstairs for a long time looking into the Tax Office. At the next council meeting I hope to have a report to update everybody and we can finally close out this unfortunate chapter for the town.”
The office has been under investigation since early last year when financial discrepancies were uncovered. An in-house audit was launched, led by Secaucus Chief Financial Officer Margaret Barkala and the town’s longtime auditors Suplee, Clooney & Co. But Jeffas, Gonnelli, and Councilman John Bueckner pushed for an independent auditor to investigate as well.
Secaucus Tax Collector Alan Bartolozzi, who has been suspended without pay, was charged last fall by the County Prosecutor’s Office with two counts of theft in the second degree for allegedly stealing more than $75,000 from the tax office. The alleged thefts may date as far back as 2003, officials said.
For the past nine months, Francis “Bud” Jones, an auditor with Nisivoccia & Company, has been looking at records in the tax office to determine how much money may be unaccounted for and how far back the problem dates.
Any financial losses to the town will likely be covered by insurance. Secaucus has $1 million in insurance coverage for losses in the tax office. The first $250,000 would come from a bonding company that insures Bartolozzi; the next $750,000 would come from the New Jersey Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund, or MEL.
The MEL also covered the costs associated with the independent audit.
The outcome of the investigation could have repercussions for Barkala, as the mayoral administration has changed. The Gonnelli administration has already ended the town’s 15-year relationship with Suplee, Clooney. And last month, the council awarded a one-year professional service contract the auditing firm of Bowman & Co.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.
Businesses owe $730K for false alarms
Mayor Gonnelli said Tuesday that the town is owed some $730,000 in false alarm fines that have gone uncollected. The fines have been racked up by various businesses located in Secaucus that have had more than three false fire or burglar alarm incidents, he said.
The town now plans to collect on this debt.
“You have on your ordinance books a provision which provides for fines to be imposed on businesses which cause false alarms to be reported to the town,” explained new Town Attorney Anthony D’Elia Tuesday night. “Apparently, over the last few years, a large number of fines have accrued and have not been collected. The mayor and council are now addressing ways to amend the ordinance to [address] that situation, so that we can be more aggressive in collecting those fines. What they’re doing here tonight is authorizing the director of the Office of Inspections to obtain a settlement of the outstanding fines.”
Gonnelli said these settlements, which will allow businesses to pay a fraction of what they owe, should be viewed as an “amnesty” for the affected companies. –EAW