Correction: A story in the September edition incorrectly attributed a statement to Manalapan Town Commissioner Howard Roder. Town Manager Linda Stumpf stated that she did not take both a car allowance and the use of a town-owned car.
By Tim O’Meilia
Manalapan town commissioners approved a new two-year contract for Town Manager Linda Stumpf by a 3-2 vote during their Aug. 27 meeting, which highlighted the discord among commissioners and required a three-minute time-out to restore order.
Commissioners John Murphy and Howard Roder were unhappy with the negotiation process but for different reasons.
Murphy wanted a closed-door session with Stumpf to evaluate her performance. “Never have I been out to publicly criticize anyone,” Murphy said.
Roder wanted to establish an evaluation process before approving a new agreement.
“If the town manager has total responsibility with no accountability, we’re headed for trouble,” Roder said.
Mayor David Cheifetz, who does not vote as mayor except to break ties, negotiated the contract with Stumpf. He said commissioners were free to meet with the manager separately and privately to discuss their concerns over her performance.
Neither the town charter nor the contract requires an evaluation of the manager. Commissioner Tom Thornton said he wanted to see one developed. Both Roder and Murphy voted against the contract, although Murphy said: “It has nothing to do with any evaluation. I am happy with the job you’ve done.”
Commissioners Louis DeStefano, Chauncey Johnstone and Thornton approved the deal. Commissioner Peter Isaac, who has missed the last four commission meetings and all three budget workshops, was absent.
Stumpf’s contract, effective Oct. 1, calls for a 3 percent pay increase, the same as other employees will receive in the new budget, bumping her salary to $113,300 annually.
She also will receive four months’ severance pay if she is fired without cause.
Stumpf will get a $400-per-month car allowance and mileage reimbursement. Previously, the manager was permitted the allowance or the use of a town car, a situation that led to Roder accusing her of taking both, a charge that later was shown to be false.
Roder repeated earlier charges that Stumpf gave the commission false statistics on traffic stops to encourage commissioners to replace the town police force with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Stumpf and Police Chief Carmen Mattox said the statistics were misinterpreted.
The give-and-take among Roder, DeStefano and Murphy led Cheifetz to call for a five-minute recess before the vote. The meeting resumed three minutes later, and the mayor announced: “I apologize for what some people might think is unseemly behavior.”
The repartee among commissioners and the mayor, although never loud and never approaching name-calling, began minutes after the Pledge of Allegiance as Roder and Cheifetz clashed over approval of the July 23 minutes, usually a pro forma exercise.
Roder said the minutes were “incomplete, inaccurate and slanderous” and did not include Cheifetz’s criticism of Roder and town resident Kersen De Jong’s complaints about town actions. When Roder wanted to read Cheifetz’s statement into the record, Cheifetz insisted on reading it himself.
The commission’s experiment with allowing public comments at the start of the meeting rather than at the conclusion resulted in Cheifetz cutting off De Jong after five minutes of speaking, over Roder’s objection.
In other business, commissioners:
• Gave the Eau Palm Beach Resort, formerly the Ritz Carlton Palm Beach, a mid-October deadline to submit a new development plan, including the request for a permanent sign, so it can be considered at the November meeting.
• Postponed a decision at the Aug. 26 budget workshop on setting a final tax rate until the first public hearing on the budget, 5:01 p.m. Sept. 17. Three commissioners favored a $2.94 tax rate, which would balance the budget without taking $41,000 from the reserves. A $2.90 tax rate would save less than $100 for the owner of a home with a taxable value of $2 million.
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