Restructuring Veto Override Vote Set for Tonight

The township council is set to consider an override of Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis' veto of a controversial pair of ordinances that restructures township government by eliminating and creating several departmental leadership positions.

Acropolis vetoed the two ordinances, which both passed in 4-3 votes, Oct. 4. The override resolution is included in the agenda for the Oct. 16 council meeting.

In order for the council to override the veto, a "super majority" of five council members must vote in favor of the override resolution.

Council members Joseph Sangiovanni, Domenick Brando and Bob Moore voted against the original restructuring plan. One of those three councilmen would have to change his view on the plan in order to override the veto.

Council President John Ducey has said the plan is designed to save taxpayers $418,000 per year by eliminating several positions in township government. Critics of the plan, including the mayor, have countered that it creates new positions that could potentially go to political appointees aligned with the Democrat-controlled council.

Acropolis has also said some employees whose jobs will be eliminated could "bump" back to civil service positions where they would make more money than they currently do, which could trigger lawsuits by other employees who will be displaced from their positions.

The mayor's veto contained a lengthy legal justification for his action.

Ducey has said since the veto was formalized that he would push for an override.

"I'm disappointed that the mayor vetoed an ordinance that was specifically put in place to give the taxpayers some savings," Ducey said the day of the veto. "The mayor himself brags about how many less employees there are now, compared to ten years ago. By consolidating and eliminating those two departments, the taxpayers would save even more money."

Acropolis has been a staunch critic of the plan since it was initially proposed.

"They are probably the most irresponsible and worst handled pieces of legislation I have seen in my seventeen years as an elected official in Brick Township," he said.

The council meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at the township municipal complex.