Dear Editor,
I am a long-term resident of the City of Orange. I had, for many years, steadfastly set in of our town’s council meetings, attempting to be an informed resident, and with some regularity posing public questions about the resolutions and ordinances of the agenda, to also benefit other interested residents who did not have the time to follow those in writing.
This way, around year 2013, I became aware that our City Clerk at the time, Dwight Michell, who was noticed having been absent from work for a couple of years, was still receiving his regular salary. Upon questioning the Council, I was told that those were disability payments. I wanted to know more and requested further information under our state’s Open Record Act, or OPRA. When the City refused my inquiry, I dug my heels in and complained to the Government Records Council, the state agency tasked to resolve OPRA-related complaints.
Long waits and what I deemed unfair decisions followed, and the case has been litigated ever since through different courts, back-and-forth. At least, under litigation the City acknowledged that the prior Clerk has not been awarded disability payments. The city, to my knowledge, has never attempted to request or litigate back the several hundreds of thousands of dollars it has paid out of our tax money to the absent Clerk. Partially because the residents should have an insight how our tax moneys are being used, and also because along the long litigation process, I have gained a lot of insights about the acting of the state agencies I have come in contact with.
I would be interested to share my story in a step-by-step manner with the readers of this paper in the future, upon your permission. My oral argument in the case, in front of the Appellate Court, is going to be held on May 11, 2022, at the Veterans Courthouse, Part G, 11th fl, 50 W Market St, in Newark. Time: 9:30 am. All interested are welcome to provide support or to listen to the proceedings.
Sincerely,
Katalin Gordon
Orange, NJ, 07050
