By Lev D. Zilbermints OP/ED
NEWARK – Kareem Adeem, the man in charge of Newark’s Water and Sewage Management Department, has no resume on file, sources have told Local Talk. Nor does Mr. Adeem have a college education. He does, however, receive a salary of over $143,000, all paid by Newark’s taxpayers.
Shakima K. Thomas, an activist and Newark resident, told Local Talk that she filed her Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request with Newark’s Department of Administration on July 7, 2020. Ms. Thomas wanted to know if there was a resume on file for Kareem K. Adeem, the Director of Water and Sewer Utilities. According to the OPRA request, Ms. Thomas asked for a “copy of job description, including required and preferred qualifications and skills for Director of Department of Water and Sewer; name and salary of current Director for Department of Water and Sewer; copy of licenses, certifications, academic transcripts and degrees awarded to the current Director for the Department of Water and Sewer.”
The Baraka administration took five months, from July 7 to December 4, to respond to what should have been an ordinary, simple request. The reason for the delay became clear when the response came.
According to a Memorandum from Aondrette Williams, the Director of the Division of Personnel, Kareen K. Adeem, Director of Water and Sewer Utilities earned a salary of $143,893.13 per year.
Regarding the job description, transcripts and degrees, the city’s response was, “The Division of Personnel has no other information available responsive to the above request,” stated the Memorandum. In other words, there is no resume on file for Kareem K. Adeem with City Hall.
Reason
Kareem Adeem started working for the City of Newark 20 years ago, filling pot holes. Since then, he worked his way up the ranks to become Director of Water and Sewer Utilities about 10 months ago. While this is quite an achievement, according to sources, the department has not improved since then.
A September 24 internal email from Thomas Chisholm, a New Jersey Civil Service Commission Human Resources Consultant 5 to Thomas Moriarty, a Newark lawyer, explains that the job description is based on statute. The statute in question is New Jersey Statutes Annotated 40:69A-43.
The statute says, “Each department shall be headed by a director, who shall be appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. Each department head shall serve during the term of the mayor appointing him and until the appointment and qualification of his successor.”
The statute goes on to say that the mayor can remove any officer or department head for cause. These causes can include but are not limited to, bribery, criminal record, incompetence, abuse of power and other reasons. However, nowhere in the statute does it say that a department head should have a resume. It mentions “qualification” but does not explicitly state what these qualifications are.
City Council Silent, Activists Respond
Attempts to contact members of the City Council went nowhere. Local Talk was able to send an email to Councilwoman LaMonica McIver, the Central Ward representative. However, attempts to contact other council members were met with the same response: “Something is wrong with your message. Please try again.” The response was the same, regardless whether the council member was at-large or represented a ward.
As of press time, no answer was forthcoming from Councilwoman LaMonica McIver.
When contacted for comment on the matter, Anthony Diaz, an activist with the Newark Water Coalition, said he had no comment.
Sabre Bee, a co-founder of the group, had plenty to say. Ms. Bee was very surprised to hear that Kareem K. Adeem had no resume on file.
Speaking via text messages, Ms. Bee said, “Wow. Just wow. There are some hands-on jobs where on the go skills learning is appropriate. This isn’t that kind of work. The admin(istration) needs experts and leaders. In the worst case, even if you were hired underqualified, then get the qualifications! Finance your education with your salary so that when you are called on to problem solve you can show up professionally and with solutions. This water crisis is urgent and endangering lives still. It is embarrassing.”
Regarding the mayor appointing employees, Ms. Bee said, “If you appoint your crew, then support them well and prepare them. Don’t leave them hanging out to dry with a title and nothing else. The folks affected by this Newark Water Crisis need to be able to give a report card for the progress that has been made.”
