Politics & Government
Ethics Hearing Not Scheduled for Hopatcong Mayor
Finance board has meeting on Wednesday, but Hopatcong mayor's case is not on the agenda.
No hearing is scheduled Wednesday on the finding that Mayor Sylvia Petillo violated state ethics law when she spent $2,316.11 of borough funds on a mailing to borough residents urging them to vote "yes" to a referendum last November.
While the Local Finance Board, a division of the state Department of Community Affairs, does have a scheduled meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Petillo’s case is not on the agenda.
“This matter is not on the board's agenda for [Wednesday's] meeting. It may appear on the November agenda if the mayor decides to pursue the matter,” said DCA spokeswoman Lisa Ryan.
“There is no hearing,” Petillo said Tuesday.
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The Local Finance Board issued a notice of violation in July, declaring that Petillo attempted to use her position as mayor "to secure an unwarranted privilege or advantage for herself or others," which violated N.J.S.A. 40A: 9.22.5(C).
She was fined $100, but the fine was waived because the board determined that “no personal financial benefit derived from this action,” wrote Thomas H. Neff, director of the Division of Local Government Services, and chairman of the Local Finance Board.
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Neff wrote in the board’s July decision that the violation occurred when Petillo included in the letter the sentences which said, “I recommend that you consider answering the municipal proposal on the election ballot with a YES, which would consolidate the boards,” and “I recommend that you consider answering the municipal proposal with a YES, which would consolidate the boards,” statements he concluded “were set in bold typeface, statements that do not have an objective factual basis.”
Petillo, in her second term, in July said she would fight the decision.
"They did not explain what the violation was or how I profited by it," Petillo said in July. "They have not explained how it personally benefited me and that's the issue. There was no personal benefit to me or anyone else."
Petillo also defending the mailing, saying she's sent out others that have helped Hopatcong residents over the years.
The referendum passed 1,493-479, and the boards were combined this summer.
The original complaint was filed by Randall Paulenich of Hopatcong.
