West Deptford Committee Reacts to Re-Org Appointments

When asked what his expectations are for Brandon Umba, newly minted acting township administrator for West Deptford, Mayor Ray Chintall did not mince words.

"Get business into West Deptford," he said.

Despite Umba's limited public service resume, which was the subject of some discussion at the 2014 reorganization meeting of municipal government in which he was named to the post, Chintall said he had full confidence in his appointee. 

"He'd better deliver the same kind of service I expect any administrator would deliver to the position," Chintall said.

Umba, who offered, wryly, to provide a copy of his resume to Patch, said he plans to tread lightly in the post until he gets the lay of the land.

Umba did point out that his prior experience in the township included years of service as a volunteer firefighter as well as a worker in the West Deptford summer recreation program.

"I'm looking forward to serving my hometown," he said.

'We wanted to put a CMFO in this year'

Chintall was similarly plain-spoken about the committee decision to replace CFO Brenda Sprigman, a Republican appointee who had fallen out of favor in recent months.

"Her term ended December 31," Chintall said. "We wanted to put a CMFO in this year."

That's a departure from the party line delivered at Sprigman's appointment just nine months ago, when West Deptford Republicans were prepared to support Sprigman's on-the-job training and allowing her to sit for her certification exam this spring.

"Fifty percent of the New Jersey CMFOs are maintaining a [general ledger] in an inappropriate way," Committeeman Sam Cianfarini said at the time.

"To say that 'you don't have a municipal certification, you're not qualified for the job' is ludicrous," he'd said.

Cianfarini, who has declined to speak on the record to Patch since the November elections, once again failed to offer comment on the proceedings.

When asked whether Republican appointee William Pine, the current CFO of Woolwich Township, could effectively balance the books in West Deptford in 20 hours per week—the full-time Sprigman had needed the assistance of financial consultants—Chintall said that would be up to Pine to manage.

"I anticipate installing an assistant and treasurer," he said.

Chintall was similarly cagey about whether Pine, who serves as the CFO of a town without a general ledger, would be up to the task of maintaining one in West Deptford.

In August, Chintall had pointed to the township's new general ledger as one of the indicators of its increasing financial stability in the face of threatened government financial supervision.

On Thursday, however, the mayor said, "I don't know what determines a general ledger."

Newly appointed committeemen Jeff Hansen and Jerry Maher were equally reticent when asked about their plans for the coming months.

Hansen said he has "some ideas" based upon his experience with the RiverWinds Advisory Board, and said he hopes to help bring the facility, which he described as the crown jewel"of the township, into greater fiscal solvency.

Maher, a veteran firefighter who will focus foremost on the public safety needs of West Deptford, said his first priority is to "figure out how the town operates" from the other side of the dais, the better to help improve its emergency preparedness.