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Joe Malinconico | Paterson Press
PATERSON — Days before leaving her city position, Business Administrator Kathleen Long has reassigned her two assistants to jobs outside City Hall.
The reassignments caught City Council members by surprise, and they questioned whether it was prudent to move out the two assistant business administrators — Lydia Rosario and Jennifer Hirschmanner — at a time when the top job will be vacant.
Mayor Andre Sayegh has not yet announced where he stands in finding Long’s replacement. Long notified city officials in December that she was leaving at the end of January to take a job at the state Department of Community Affairs.
Councilman Luis Velez said the timing of the reassignments of the assistant business administrators was troubling, since Jan. 31 would be Long’s last day.
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Velez said the mayor should intervene to prevent the changes.
“We have no people left with any experience there,” Velez said, questioning why Long would make the moves. “If you’re leaving the city, go in peace. Don’t do damage.”
Assistants were sent to fire division, economic development
Sayegh did not respond when asked for comment about the situation. Long said the tasks performed by Rosario and Hirschmanner have been reassigned to other city employees. The two assistants have been given “special assignments,” Long said.
Rosario will work at the Fire Division, overseeing the shift of administrative tasks from firefighters to civilians, processing payroll, creating a system for tracking grants and handling other duties, Long said.
Hirschmanner will work at the economic development department. Long said her tasks will include addressing the backlog of payments to professional service providers, which have forced the cancellation of several Board of Adjustment meetings.
Long said the assignments were temporary, for six months to a year. But she acknowledged they could be extended if need be. Long said applicants to fill the business assistant positions would be apprised of the assistants’ reassignments.
“These are incredibly important projects, and we are utilizing some of our current staff to make them happen,” Long said.
Mike Jackson, the president of the union that represents Paterson’s supervisors — including Rosario and Hirschmanner — said he plans to file a contract violation grievance regarding the reassignments.
Council members react
Councilwoman Maritza Davila, chairperson of the Finance Committee, said she had just learned of Rosario and Hirschmanner’s reassignments five minutes before Paterson Press contacted her Thursday about the moves.
Davila said no one from the Sayegh administration had notified her about the changes, but she noted that her job as a legislator does not involve the day-to-day operations of the city.
Councilman Michael Jackson, who is not related to the union president, said Rosario and Hirschmanner have handled a heavy workload in the business administrator’s office and that moving them made no sense.
Rosario and Hirschmanner declined to comment on the situation.
Long starts work for the state on Feb. 10 and will be handling special projects as a government representative with a salary of $135,000. She has been making $160,000 as Paterson’s business administrator.
In a memo to administration staff, Long said she would be working in Paterson one day per week in her state role. She also said Sayegh would fill the role as Paterson’s chief operating officer until an interim or permanent business administrator is selected.
In December, Sayegh’s chief of staff, Habib Kader, also left his City Hall job. He and the mayor had been going through a growing number of disputes in recent months. Sayegh said he fired his chief of staff, but Kader said he resigned.
The mayor has named his public information officer, Dacil Tilos, as interim chief of staff.
