URGENT: Jim Crow in the firehouse
Montclair’s black firefighters filed a discrimination suit yesterday and you should read it. And there may be a hearing for Stafford after all, on Friday morning.
Hi! I’m your neighbor Mariana Horta, and this is an urgent update about our local government.
Super-duper short update for busy people: the Montclair Local reported that two Montclair black firefighters, Steven Marshalleck and Makkari Sampson, filed a discrimination lawsuit yesterday against Montclair, Chief Herrmann (of MFD), Timothy Stafford (surprise!), our former HR Director, Sharyn Matthews, a test prep firm Herrmann hired to prepare white firefighters only (I found this one hard to believe, but I believe it), and the test prep firm’s owner, Michael Terpak, of the Jersey City Fire Department. The firefighter’s complaint centers on the promotional exam but also exposes other discriminatory practices, like assigning most black firefighters to Firehouse No. 3 and failing to maintain the South End firehouse to the same standards as Montclair’s two other firehouses.
Here is the firefighters’ complaint.
Stafford may have a public hearing after all. Craig Wolff reported for the Montclair Local: “A public hearing, requested by Stafford, has been tentatively scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday morning, April 28, in the council’s first floor chamber, two senior municipal officials confirmed to Montclair Local. The officials, citing the sensitivity of the case and the possibility of a settlement agreement still in play, requested anonymity.”
Call to action: Come to the Montclair Council Meeting to demand immediate action. The meeting is tonight (April 25) at 7 pm, 205 Claremont Ave. It’s ok to arrive late; public comments will likely be open for a while. The council needs to see a full room to understand people care about this issue. If possible, bring a friend, neighbor, or another household member. If you cannot be there, can you help someone else go? In addition, please write to the council. Their email addresses are at the bottom of this newsletter.
Background on the firefighters suit: Remember when Chief Herrmann and Stafford were accused of manipulating an MFD promotional exam to favor Herrmann’s son? The lawsuit is about that promotional exam and other allegations of racial discrimination. Montclair’s affirmative action officer investigated the matter, found in favor of the firefighters, and also discovered that several Montclair firefighters were involved in a scheme to defraud the Township. The council then proceeded to order an “independent” investigation that wasn’t. They hired Kevin O’Toole’s law firm, asking one Cedar Grove Old Boy with connections to the Cedar Grove volunteer fire department to “investigate” another. And it gets worse, the firm was extravagantly over-priced, and their hiring through a non-fair and open contract violated pay-to-play laws (contract, pay-to-play disclosure).
The Black firefighters allege that Herrmann and Stafford changed the goalposts for promotion by increasing the weight of the written test, ignoring seniority, and creating a subjective rubric for job performance evaluation that they fully controlled. Next, Herrmann hired consultants to develop the written exam and its scoring rubric, which he gave to a test prep firm.
Montclair’s white firefighters were invited to the test preparation course offered by this firm, but black firefighters were not. The firm had full knowledge of the test content and its scoring rubric, providing a considerable advantage to course participants. When one of the black firefighters became aware of the test preparation course, he asked to join but was denied access.
Later, when implementing their scoring rubric for the job performance evaluation, Herrmann and Stafford ignored their own rules to include factors that disadvantaged black firefighters, even if they were outside the rubric’s parameters. In addition, they ignored white promotion candidates’ involvement in the timesheet fraud scheme where a firefighter paid cash to other firefighters to work his shifts, allowing him to accrue benefits while not working. None of the white firefighters involved in the scheme were disciplined or penalized in the promotional exam.
Separate and unequal. Other disturbing allegations concerned the differential treatment of MFD’s black firefighters. They are disproportionally assigned to Firehouse No. 3 in the historically segregated South End, where maintenance was neglected, while the other two firehouses have newer and recently upgraded facilities. The Black firefighters also allege that the council authorized $500,000 for capital improvements in Firehouse No. 3 in 2020. Where did the money go? You can ask the council.
The firefighters' complaint is over 40 pages long, so I had to omit important information from this brief summary. Please read the complaint if you can.
What the council can and cannot do. In our council-manager form of government, the council is responsible for policymaking, and the manager is responsible for implementation. So the manager hires and supervises department directors, including the fire chief. Thus, the council cannot fire or even put Chief Herrmann on paid leave.
However, the council is responsible for ensuring Montclair has a qualified town manager to supervise Herrmann and other department heads. A qualified consultant could be temporarily appointed to this role while our council takes its sweet time (six months and counting) dealing with Stafford. We can only hope that a competent manager will appoint a new fire chief and order a new promotion exam to supersede the disputed exam.
The council also has ample investigative powers. First, they could admit that the O’Toole Scrivo investigation was never independent. Next, they could appoint a citizen’s advisory committee or the Montclair Civil Rights Commission to contract a comprehensive and truly independent investigation of the black firefighter’s allegations. This matters because the suit will drag on for years (New Jersey has a severe judge shortage that makes those wheels of justice grind even more slowly than usual). We cannot wait years to ensure that our fire department is integrated, follows the town’s financial and human resources policies, and provides equivalent facilities at all firehouses. Finally, they may pass a resolution to initiate a forensic audit of the fire department's financial records, as they did for the library in 2021.
Currently, Chief Herrmann is accountable to no one, and the CFO and HR director have insufficient access to the information they need to verify the fire department’s compliance with laws, regulations, and township policies.
Some actions within the council’s powers include:
Passing an anti-nepotism ordinance (it’s 2023, and we still don’t have one).
Amending the overly broad defense and indemnity ordinance they just passed, which may now protect Stafford and Herrmann. This case demonstrates how important it is that the council and not the attorney decide (by resolution) when defense and indemnification apply.
Creating a citizen’s advisory committee to investigate whether Montclair would benefit from becoming a Civil Service Jurisdiction. They could order the committee to provide a report outlining the costs, benefits, and potential risks of this change and to make a recommendation based on their findings.
Of course, I cannot think of all the actions the council could take. What else do you suggest?
Coming up:
Montclair Township Council Meeting—April 25, 7 pm, at 205 Claremont Ave.
Timothy Stafford Public Hearing (tentative)—April 28, 10am, 205 Claremont Ave.
Montclair Board of Education Meeting—May 3, 6:30 pm in the George Inness Annex. Public hearing for the 2023-24 school budget.
Montclair PTA Council Meeting—May 16, 7 pm, on Zoom.
Did I miss something? Please email me at montclairweekly@gmail.com.
Do you know anyone who may be willing to share their Montclair photos in this newsletter? I am a horrible photographer, and I would love to post someone else's photos here.
Montclair Elected Officials
Township Council
Bob Russo rrusso@montclairnjusa.org
Peter Yacobellis pyacobellis@montclairnjusa.org
William L Hurlock (1st ward) whurlock@montclairnjusa.org
Robin Schlager (2nd ward) rschlager@montclairnjusa.org
Lori Price Adams (3rd ward) lpriceabrams@montclairnjusa.org
David Cummings (4th ward) dcummings@montclairnjusa.org
Sean M. Spiller sspiller@montclairnjusa.org
Board of Education
Allison Silverstein asilverstein@montclair.k12.nj.us
Crystal Hopkins chopkins@montclair.k12.nj.us
Yvonne Bouknight ybouknight@montclair.k12.nj.us
Melanie Deysher mdeysher@montclair.k12.nj.us
Phaedra Dunn pdunn@montclair.k12.nj.us
Brian Fleischer bfleischer@montclair.k12.nj.us
Monk Inyang minyang@montclair.k12.nj.us
Eric Sherzer escherzer@montclair.k12.nj.us
Kathryn Weller-Demming kwellerdemming@montclair.k12.nj.us
State Legislators (I hear it’s better to call than to write)
Senator Nia H. Gill (973) 509-0388
Assemblyman Thomas P. Giblin (973) 779-3125
Assemblywoman Britnee N. Timberlake (973) 395-1166
Thank you for this. Although we don’t have a town manager, we do have an acting town manager. Would he not have the authority to get involved with this fire department dumpster fire?
Thank you for bringing this to our attention!!