West Deptford Brings Back Ex-CFO Sprigman as Treasurer

Less than a week after being replaced as the township’s Chief Financial Officer, Brenda Sprigman is back with the West Deptford township government.

Sprigman will return to the township on a six-month probationary basis as its treasurer according to a January 6 e-mail sent from Acting Township Administrator Brandon Umba. 

Sprigman will be evaluated every two months, and will earn $50 an hour, with a schedule not to exceed 30 hours.

Sprigman had been appointed West Deptford's CFO in March of last year, but eight months later, she had become a political scapegoat after the fallout of the 2013 municipal budget. 

She was replaced at the reorganization meeting by William Pine, the current CFO of Woolwich Township, on a part-time basis.

DiCarlo questioned Umba’s ability to hire Sprigman without committee approval.

“The treasurer’s office is a power we set, and we have a brand new administrator who hired a key position,” DiCarlo said. “We need to be careful about that.”

DiCarlo called for a resolution that would have called on the committee to vote on Sprigman’s nomination, but that request went unfulfilled. She called the move a lack of transparency, and said the state needed to be notified.

Solicitor Anthony Ogozalek’s opinion didn’t do much to clarify the issue.

Ogozalek said that he believed Umba had the proper authority to hire Sprigman as treasurer, but that the committee also had the ability to appoint her.

State statute leaves the decision in the hands of the local government, but doesn't specify who makes the appointment.

Statute 40:A9-1.2 specifies that "the governing body of a municipality" may name a non-resident to the position of treasurer.

The committee also voted unanimously to increase the minimum wage for township employees to $8.25 an hour during its passage of a salary resolution for township employees.

DiCarlo called for a separate resolution that would specifically set Umba’s salary, which was listed as being at a range between $75,000 and $85,000. While no vote took place, Mayor Ray Chintall informed DiCarlo Umba would be making $75,000 a year.

From there, DiCarlo pointed out Umba’s first order of business should have been to inform the bank that Sprigman, former township administrator Eric Campo, and former tax collector George Damminger were no longer on the township’s payroll.

“That would’ve been up to the former business administrator,” Umba said, indicating it would’ve had to be done December 31, and that he came into office January 2.

He did indicate the bank had been notified Campo was no longer on the township payroll.

“So there were people who didn’t work for our township who had access to our money?” DiCarlo said.

“No one person has access to our money,” Committeeman Sam Cianfarini said. “They need all our signatures.”

DiCarlo said Umba would have to send the resolution appointing Sprigman treasurer to the bank, but said he couldn’t have done that because committee never voted to approve it.