Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN
The Board of Commissioners for the Camden Parking Authority is considering a proposal to buy out Executive Director Anthony Scarduzio's contract at a cost of about $ 138,000, the Courier-Post has learned.
This latest development comes at a time when the authority is under investigation by the state Division of Criminal Affairs and a month after a commissioner called for Scarduzio's resignation.
The commission's chairman, the Rev. Ismael Hilerio, confirmed Tuesday morning that Scarduzio submitted the buyout proposal, which the board discussed during a three- hour closed session Monday.
The board has not reached a decision, Hilerio said.
Scarduzio denied knowledge of the proposal.
"No one that I'm aware of has talked to me about it," said Scarduzio, who earns about $80,000 a year. "No one has presented it to me, and I'm not sure I would take it."
Nonetheless, New Brunswick attorney Leonard Bier already has been approached to serve as the agency's interim executive director.
Bier held that same post six years ago, when the authority was under state supervision. He is also the executive director and attorney for the New Jersey Parking Authority Association.
Bier said he would not comment about specifics of the negotiations "unless and until an arrangement is made."
"It's in the discussion stage," Bier said.
The Parking Authority's financial consultant, Elvis Gooden, told the Courier-Post on Tuesday that he participated in a conference call about the buyout package with Scarduzio and authority attorney Carlos Morcate last week.
"We were discussing what would be best for the authority, from a budgetary perspective, in terms of a buyout for the remainder of Tony's contract," Gooden said.
Scarduzio, however, said he hadn't talked to Gooden in "30 days."
Morcate is on vacation in Miami and could not be reached for comment.
Scarduzio, of Washington Township, is in the fourth year
of five-year contract that expires in January 2003. The
agreement mandates that, under a buyout, he be paid 90
percent of the contract's current value for the fourth year
and 80 percent of the contract's current value for the
fifth year.
With vacation and sick time, the total payoff would reach about $138,000, said Commissioner William Jenkins.
Gooden said Scarduzio agreed to accept this year's payment upon execution of the buyout, and to receive the balance in January.
"That would have less of an impact on the budget," Gooden said.
The authority's current budget is $3.1 million. It also has accumulated a $3.5 million surplus since 1998, when Scarduzio became executive director.
The independent agency oversees 800 meters and about 5,000 parking spaces in 10 lots throughout the city. It leases most of the space from the Camden Redevelopment Agency, with the exception of the Waterfront Garage, which it owns.
Most of its money comes from parking fees.
Jenkins, who often casts the sole dissenting vote on the commission, said he'd go along with the buyout if it were the only option. He expects the issue to come to the table at the authority's next board meeting April 19.
"I don't really support the buyout," Jenkins said. "But if that's the only way we have to go, I'll go that way."
Jenkins last month called for Scarduzio's resignation, citing allegations of impropriety that continue to surface.
The Parking Authority has been under investigation by the Division of Criminal Affairs since at least November, when the agency received a subpoena ordering it to turn over thousands of documents dating back to 1993.
The Courier-Post has reported that Scarduzio worked for a telecommunications company that provides long-distance service to the Parking Authority, the city government, and some vendors that do business with the authority.
Scarduzio also has filed amended financial disclosure forms indicating that he accepted gifts from two vendors, including a trip to Miami for an Eagles game in 1999.
The Courier-Post found that Scarduzio awarded a close friend a contract to park cars during OpSail 2000, the largest event on the Camden Waterfront in recent years. Meanwhile, two major parking companies said they never had a chance to bid on the work, but Scarduzio insists he solicited proposals from them.