Mayor needs a break from too much R&R

Everybody deserves a vacation. In fact, after an election season like the one witnessed last November in Brick, no one could fault Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli for taking a little rest and relaxation before gearing up for a fourth term in the mayor's seat. But the mayor has been sort of scarce at Township Council meetings lately.

Scarpelli estimates he's taken approximately three weeks vacation since last November.

"In two, three weeks, I'll be taking more time," he said.

When asked for an official tally on the mayor's vacation time, Township Business Administrator Scott MacFadden said no one keeps track.

"I make my own schedule," Scarpelli said. "I'm not on a clock."

No, but he is on the public payroll. As of Feb. 15, 2000, Scarpelli has been earning $52,000 annually. Scarpelli has said more than once that he doesn't punch a clock because he is mayor 24 hours a day - even in Florida.

Democratic Councilwoman Kathy Russell said the mayor is an invited guest to council meetings. The mayor has no obligation to show up. To his credit, Scarpelli does attend council meetings regularly. So when he's on vacation, his absence is that much more glaring.

Scarpelli said technology keeps him connected to the township when he's on vacation.

"I am in constant communication wherever I am either using the cell phone, computer or fax machine," he said.

So if Brick residents find themselves in a real emergency, should they wait for the fax machine to dribble out a message from the mayor? If technology was all it took to keep a mayor connected to his constituents and employees, R2/D2 could run the town.

Earlier this year, the residents in the Laurelton Mobile Home Park were afraid to walk outside their doors because the ground they walk on could be contaminated with possible cancer-causing agents.

When the news broke that the soil used to fill their potholed dirt roads could be contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), residents there complained they never heard a word from the mayor.

Perhaps none of them owns a fax machine.

Yes, everyone deserves a vacation, but Scarpelli's laissez-faire approach to his "24-hour job" seems to leave some Brick residents out in the cold.