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Paterson council members at odds over hiring of secretary at city clerk’s office | Paterson Times

Paterson council members at odds over hiring of secretary at city clerk’s office

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The hiring of a woman who previously worked as a campaign worker for council president William McKoy sparked controversy among council members on Tuesday night.

Councilman Luis Velez raised questions about the hire at the meeting. His primary issue centered on the secretary not being a bilingual speaker, according to sources.

Velez did not respond to a call for comment on Thursday morning. The discussion at the meeting was a heated exchange between McKoy and Velez, according to sources.

McKoy declined to comment on the conversation that occurred at the meeting late Tuesday night. The clerk’s office is hiring Sabrina Robinson-Curry as a secretary for the city council office which has been severely understaffed over the past year or so.

A typical secretary at the city makes $35,000.

The council president confirmed Robinson-Curry worked on his campaign as a volunteer. “That is not a relevancy factor,” said McKoy. He said what is relevant is whether the individual hired is qualified and whether she meets the job requirements.

Council members Maritza Davila and Velez recommended hires to the clerk. Neither of their candidates were hired.

Velez’s candidate was rejected leading to the heated exchange. City clerk Sonia Gordon declined to comment on the matter. She said the hiring process has not been finalized as of yet. She said she’s waiting for a confirmation from the business administrator’s office.

Business administrator Nellie Pou did not respond to a call for comment on Thursday morning. She has said in previous public meetings the clerk’s office has the ability to fill the vacancies that left the council’s office badly understaffed.

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  • David Davis

    Why do some people have"take over"mentalities?THIS IS AMERICA.

    • Yogi Zuna

      Exactly, and speaking any other language besides English should not be a requirement for employment in any American city's government.

  • Andrew

    Back in the early 1900s we Adidn't have ESL for those immigrants. They seemed to have mastered the English language with no problems.

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