Politics & Government

State Investigating McLoughlin's Charges Against Mayor/Manager

The charges relate to the town's failure to renew a contract earlier this month.

The state Department of Community Affairs plans to investigate Robert McLoughlin's allegations he lost his job as Montclair construction code official due to unlawful "political interference" and "retaliation" by municipal officials, according to a published report.

Last week, McLoughlin requested the state investigate charges of impropriety  he's made against Montclair Mayor Jerry Fried and Montclair Township Manager Marc Dashield.

According to the Montclair Times, this week the DCA said it would follow through with the request by McLoughlin, a Verona resident and retired Montclair fire department chief.

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Earlier this month, township officials said that McLoughlin's four-year contract had ended and would not be renewed by the township, and an official in Glen Ridge most likely would take over his duties through an inter-local shared services agreement.

McLoughlin alleges his contract wasn't continued because he didn't succomb to the mayor's political pressure, a charge Fried denies.

Find out what's happening in Montclairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In particular, the inspector says he felt pressure when he was forced last summer to revoke the Wellmont Theatre’s certificate of occupancy after a chunk of ceiling fell.

Fried said the decision not to renew McLoughlin's contract was related to the township’s budget issues.

“The township manager has had to make several very difficult decisions over the last 16 months and this is one of them," said Fried, adding, under Montclair's form of government, "these staffing decisions are made by the manager."

Councilor Cary Africk said it was his understanding Montclair would have access to a Glen Ridge official three days a week.

"But Montclair does a lot more inspections than Glen Ridge ... my concern is that there would be a decrease in responsiveness and not the same level of service," he said.


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