City Council to Look into CEDC After Chief's Ouster
Rolley, in a Feb. 19 e-mail to the NCEDC board of directors and Chairwoman Dr. Joyce Hartley, said that he found himself locked out of his office earlier that day.
Rolley, who had been at the NCEDC helm since Aug. 1, 2014, had come to an exit agreement with the agency's directors. Baraka's administrators have meanwhile announced that Scott Blow is NCEDC's interim president.
The sudden top level NCEDC changes came in the wake of allegations made by Tyrone Barnes before the Municipal Council during its Feb. 17 conference meeting.
Barnes claimed that Rolley gave $6,125 in bonuses to NCEDC's 26 employees. "The Street Counselor" then accused absent West Ward Councilman Joseph McCallum, Jr. of also approving those bonuses.
Barnes, said Council President Mildred Crump at their Feb. 17 regular meetings, said she signaled the corporation council to have Barnes escorted from their room.
McCallum, who was at Wednesday night's council meeting, said he had nothing to do with those bonuses.
"I was one of two council members on the NCEDC board until Jan. 1," said McCallum. "I was there to held reconfigure Brick City Development Corp. into its current form. I was not on the board when these supposed bonuses were made."
McCallum said that he was told by Crump and East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador that their suspicions were raised when it seemed that Barnes was "reading from a script." The West Ward Councilman then accused the absent Housing Economic Development Director Baye Adofo-Wilson of handing Barnes the bonus charges.
"I don't appreciate the economic development director giving someone a script to impugn my integrity," said McCallum. "I'll put my integrity against anybody."
Crump, at their Wednesday night meeting, directed Business Administrator Jack Kelly to assemble the city's department heads. Kelly was to tell the directors that they themselves should speak before the council.
Crump, before taking Amador's cue to eject Barnes, said she was caught off guard.
"The speaker started off so pleasantly and then he began to make these charges," said Crump. "I will not have anyone on this council have their reputation slandered. We need the administration to work with us with respect."
The NCEDC, according to its website, sees itself as a catalyst for economic development. The quasi-public agency seeks to "enhance small and minority businesses and spur real estate growth among Newark's 20 neighborhoods."
The agency, founded as BCDC by then Mayor Cory Booker in 2007, uses funds budgeted by the Municipal Council, among other sources.
Baraka had chosen Rolley to help revamp NCEDC. Rolley had been previously known has having run for mayor of Baltimore in 2011.
While rumors swirled that Chief Financial Officer Kevin Seawright was also on the chopping block, "Local Talk" got details on the situation from Mr. Seawright himself, who said he was still at work despite the controversy.
"Otis Rolley has left the corporation," said Seawright from his NCEDC office Feb. 24. "He's been a fantastic CEO and he set up the corporation to continue without him. I've met Scott Blow as interim president. He's worked with us before as a vice president."
Seawright said that McCallum and South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James are the Municipal Council's representatives on the corporation's board of directors.
"I don't anticipate any other major changes for the corporation," said Seawright.
Meanwhile, Mayor Baraka, in a Feb. 24 press conference to press the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for a $15 an hour minimum wage, indicated that NCEDC may play a role in redeveloping the Newark Seaport.
Although the city has eased the seaport to PANYNJ, Baraka said that there are "1,000 acres on the Newark side that aren't being developed.
"It (NCEDC involvement) really depends on what's in the RFPs we've received," said Baraka. "We're going over them now."
The mayor when asked to comment on Rolley's departure said he had none.
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