Emergency appropriations approved for furloughed Edison, N.J., employees

Edison Township Council members approved emergency appropriations needed to get furloughed employees back on the job on Friday.

Mayor Sam Joshi signed the executive order Thursday night to get those employees back on the payroll.

Approximately 360 town employees have been furloughed since Tuesday night, including 10 police officers. Some departments were shut down completely, including health and engineering.

Why employees were furloughed in Edison

The furloughs came after the Township Council failed to vote on a proposed $181 million budget on Monday.

Joshi said he had no choice but to impose the furloughs following Monday night's scheduled budget vote.

Three council members didn't show, and a fourth, Richard Brescher, walked out, so there weren't enough members to take a vote.

The mayor said he warned the council back in June about potential furloughs and that he shared detailed finances as to why.

"For 90 days, they could have made specific revisions. They could have amended the budget, and when the time came to vote, they didn't even show up," Joshi said.

Brescher said Joshi's proposed budget increase went from 3% to 4.4%, which the mayor said is because of extra manpower for winter storms and rising fuel costs.

The mayor said the increase comes to about $135 more for the average homeowner.  

Brescher and fellow council member Ajay Patil said they're not getting answers on how much is being spent on fuel, E-ZPass, personal security and political mailers.

Brescher, whose wife was furloughed, said he didn't want to vote "no" because it would have delayed the budget another month.

"They have 74% of last year's budget to work with. We're only 55% through the year, so where is the other 20% that they're furloughing people?" he said.

Residents sound off at emergency meeting

Frustration and anger filled the room at Thursday night's Township Council meeting. Residents lined up to sound off.

"I'm pleading that whatever it is, you guys work it out," one man said.

"That is a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace," one woman said. "You do a disservice to the employees. Shame on you."

"Your responsibility was to listen, to think, to speak up and vote for the residents of Edison," one resident said.

Council member Biral Patel, who was not present during Monday's meeting, said he had a medical emergency.

"I was totally under the impression that we are funded until July 31," he said. "The layoffs is the last thing I want for anyone."

By the end of the meeting, there was applause as council members voted to approve the emergency appropriations. It was a sigh of relief for many.

"Everybody needs a job. Everybody needs to pay their bills," said Peter Andreyev, president of the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association. "Just because they are laid off because the council couldn't agree on certain things, their mortgages didn't stop. Their car payments didn't stop."

The mayor says the furloughed employees will be getting back pay.

The next budget meeting is Aug. 3, and many are hoping the township council will come together and pass the budget.