May 11, 2010
By SETH AUGENSTEIN
SPARTA -- The Township Council fired Township Manager Henry Underhill Monday night, after a week of closed-door meetings and rumors.
The council's decision was unanimous. Although terms of the separation agreement were not publicly available until today, the council also agreed to appoint David Troast, the township planner, to the role of interim administrator in a separate, also unanimous vote.
Underhill was appointed township manager in 2000. He had previously been business administrator for Irvington, as well as serving a 15-year stint as the administrator for Chatham Borough.
Underhill has faced some recent opposition and apparent disfavor in Sparta,
however.
When state aid reductions were unveiled in March, the council met to discuss how best to cut about $300,000 it had anticipated that had been removed. But those discussions were put off; Underhill was on vacation, and the council was awaiting his suggestions. (Even before the state cut aid, the municipality also had to account for an unexpected nearly $1 million shortfall, due to a drop in collected taxes, among other factors.)
Differences between Underhill and the council were made public when the manager returned from vacation. The council instructed him at the April 12 council meeting to reduce the secretarial staff of the police department. But by the next meeting on April 22, Underhill had not done so -- and instead came up with a separate proposal that he said the "chief would prefer."
After several minutes of discussion, the council overrode Underhill's plan.
In mid-April, too, the council passed an ordinance over Underhill's protests allowing a councilman to sit in on the township's union negotiations. Underhill had balked, saying that it "undermined the position of the township manager." The council assured him otherwise.
Criticism has also come from the candidates seeking council seats in today's local election. One of the newcomers unveiled the firing of Underhill as a prime campaign promise, and he even said Underhill's personal finances were a reason for doing so.
Underhill and his attorney declined comment.
Two years ago, Underhill interviewed for the position of village manager for Islamorada, Fla. The video of the interview was made public at the time on the village's website.
Showing posts with label Henry Underhill Twp. Mgr.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Henry Underhill Twp. Mgr.. Show all posts
20100511
20080520
Sparta gets $200K grant for upgrades
May 18, 2008
By SETH AUGENSTEIN
SPARTA — A $200,000 state grant for emergency dispatch upgrades was a pleasant surprise to the township. It also caught two neighboring towns unaware.
The money is earmarked to revamp and expand the capacity of the township's Public Safety Answering Point — the communication hub where emergency calls are received and then dispatched to police, fire and other departments.
Sparta received confirmation of the grant in April. But two other towns Sparta put on the application as potential consolidation partners were not informed of the funds until after New Jersey's Office of Information Technology's decision.
Andover Township Administrator Jayme Alfano said at Monday's Township Committee meeting that she was surprised by the inclusion of the township on Sparta's application.
"Apparently, there has been some kind of communication gap," Alfano said.
Marianne Smith, Hardyston's manager, said Sparta's "initiative" had been done by Sparta on its own, and "not with any level of authorization" from the Hardyston council. She wasn't surprised by the move, she said, but Hardyston had not had talks with Sparta about the grant, and it is not ready to consolidate with Sparta yet.
"We're not by any means ready to move forward at this moment," Smith said.
Henry Underhill, Sparta's township manager, said the grant was an active attempt to consolidate services. He said there has been some discussion among the police chiefs about sharing services, and that applying for the grant was not done "behind the backs" of the other towns. The money would be used for equipment and training that might eventually provide the means for sharing the Public Safety Answering Point in the future. Underhill said that Sparta already shares its dispatch center with Franklin, Ogdensburg, Lafayette and Stillwater — and that the state could mandate that Sussex County municipalities further consolidate their emergency response systems in the near future.
Sparta Police Chief Ernest Reigstad said Sparta's dispatch center most recently added Stillwater and Lafayette to its coverage area, and it needed capacity for any further expansion. He said there is always the potential of sharing, even if there are not specific talks at any one time.
"We're all always talking," he said. "Everything's kind of fluid."
Smith said the grant money had not created a rift between Sparta and the other towns.
"It's clearly not a hostile situation by any means," she said.
By SETH AUGENSTEIN
SPARTA — A $200,000 state grant for emergency dispatch upgrades was a pleasant surprise to the township. It also caught two neighboring towns unaware.
The money is earmarked to revamp and expand the capacity of the township's Public Safety Answering Point — the communication hub where emergency calls are received and then dispatched to police, fire and other departments.
Sparta received confirmation of the grant in April. But two other towns Sparta put on the application as potential consolidation partners were not informed of the funds until after New Jersey's Office of Information Technology's decision.
Andover Township Administrator Jayme Alfano said at Monday's Township Committee meeting that she was surprised by the inclusion of the township on Sparta's application.
"Apparently, there has been some kind of communication gap," Alfano said.
Marianne Smith, Hardyston's manager, said Sparta's "initiative" had been done by Sparta on its own, and "not with any level of authorization" from the Hardyston council. She wasn't surprised by the move, she said, but Hardyston had not had talks with Sparta about the grant, and it is not ready to consolidate with Sparta yet.
"We're not by any means ready to move forward at this moment," Smith said.
Henry Underhill, Sparta's township manager, said the grant was an active attempt to consolidate services. He said there has been some discussion among the police chiefs about sharing services, and that applying for the grant was not done "behind the backs" of the other towns. The money would be used for equipment and training that might eventually provide the means for sharing the Public Safety Answering Point in the future. Underhill said that Sparta already shares its dispatch center with Franklin, Ogdensburg, Lafayette and Stillwater — and that the state could mandate that Sussex County municipalities further consolidate their emergency response systems in the near future.
Sparta Police Chief Ernest Reigstad said Sparta's dispatch center most recently added Stillwater and Lafayette to its coverage area, and it needed capacity for any further expansion. He said there is always the potential of sharing, even if there are not specific talks at any one time.
"We're all always talking," he said. "Everything's kind of fluid."
Smith said the grant money had not created a rift between Sparta and the other towns.
"It's clearly not a hostile situation by any means," she said.
20080512
2006 Comparable Township Administrator Salaries
Sussex County Administrator $145,252
Sparta Township Manager $145,020 (Plus $350 monthly car allowance)
Newton Town Manager $137,463
Warren Township Administrator $124,360
Dover Town Administrator $123,750
Roxbury Township Manager $122,549
Mount Laurel Twp. Manager $117,390
Somerville Borough Clerk/Administrator $114,759
Vernon Twp. X-Manager $112,328
Hopatcong Borough Administrator $106,726
West Milford Township Administrator $104,976
See www.nj.com/news/bythenumbers/ , and go to town profiles.
Mr. Underhill's salary for 2007 is $150,096 (plus the extra $350/monthly car allowance).
See " Henry Underhill, Twp. Manager" under the RIGHT TAB on main menu. We wonder why he feels he's due a raise?When compared to other towns with similar per capita incomes, populations, and/or budgets (including the whole of Sussex County), he makes a pretty nice salary! (See http://www.wikipedia.org/ for each township).
Sparta Township Manager $145,020 (Plus $350 monthly car allowance)
Newton Town Manager $137,463
Warren Township Administrator $124,360
Dover Town Administrator $123,750
Roxbury Township Manager $122,549
Mount Laurel Twp. Manager $117,390
Somerville Borough Clerk/Administrator $114,759
Vernon Twp. X-Manager $112,328
Hopatcong Borough Administrator $106,726
West Milford Township Administrator $104,976
See www.nj.com/news/bythenumbers/ , and go to town profiles.
Mr. Underhill's salary for 2007 is $150,096 (plus the extra $350/monthly car allowance).
See " Henry Underhill, Twp. Manager" under the RIGHT TAB on main menu. We wonder why he feels he's due a raise?When compared to other towns with similar per capita incomes, populations, and/or budgets (including the whole of Sussex County), he makes a pretty nice salary! (See http://www.wikipedia.org/ for each township).
20080316
Henry Underhill’s Salary Increases
Year Salary Increase
2007-08 $150,096 4%
2006-07 $145,020 4%
2005-06 $139,442 4%
2004-05 $134,079 3%
2003-04 $130,173 3%
2002-03 $126,383 3%
2001-02 $123,000 10%
2000-01 $112,000 Start
Good Ol' Boys of Sparta Sued over Harassment; Allegations of Cover-Ups, Nepotism
March 5, 2003. Sparta Police Sergeant Gary Scymanski has filed a lawsuit against Chief Fred Geffken and Town Manager Henry Underhill claiming that they had harassed him and conspired to pass him over for promotion thereby violating state Civil Service rules. The complaint further alleges that Chief Geffken orchestrated the cover up of a DWI investigation involving his friend where members of Scymanski's squad were the arresting officers.
The hiring practices of the Sparta Police Department had previously come under scrutiny in July of 2001. Specifically, Sparta Town Manager Underhill had waived the nepotism policy when Sparta Police Chief Geffken's son-in-law, Marc Rubino, was hired by the Sparta Police Department. Prior to this, the township forbade the hiring of relatives of other township employees. Retired Sparta Police Officer Nick Irons son was passed over for a position in the late 1980's as a result of their policy on nepotism. Clearly, Nick Irons son should have been dating Chief Geffken's daughter had he wanted to work for the Sparta Police Department.
20080309
Twp. Manager Henry Underhill-Links/Information
Click on Part 3 for Henry's load of crap! Nice live, streaming video, the kind we need in Sparta!
http://www.islamorada.fl.us/newsite/broadcast/022308scvcm/index.html
Top of Form Not ONE voted for poor Henry!
http://www.islamorada.fl.us/newsite/broadcast/022708scvcm/index.html
Don’t know exactly when this is from--perhaps late 2007--but go down to p.3--where Underhill advised the BOE that we can have a joint venture. WE'LL turf the ball field, and the BOE can pay for it (that would be thru our taxes)--so they don't need to go to public referendum! So, we can pay to do it, and pay to rent it, too! Another great idea brought to you by Henry Underhill!
Underhill and the BOE Joint Venture
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