Breaking news: Borough's files are moved out of storage

Are these directional signs unique to New Jersey? This one is on Grand Avenue in Englewood.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Staff Writer Mary Diduch of The Record did her best today to elevate a routine contract dispute into an important local news story, reporting "it's not something one witnesses every day" (L-1).

In fact, readers do see the Woodland Park daily scrambling to assemble a comprehensive local news report, and usual failing, as the editors do today.

A story on 1,100 file boxes being returned to Bogota Borough Hall shouldn't be leading the Local news section.

For even more compelling local news, see the L-3 photo of a Ridgewood employee cutting a fallen tree limb "that blocked traffic" on Thursday morning.

Home rule

There is so much wrong with the home-rule system of government in North Jersey -- including the ruinously expensive duplication of services -- the editors should never, ever run out of important local news.

Take a look at a letter to the editor from Michele Talamo, a Cliffside Park resident who is upset over high taxes and the "oppressive" cost of living (A-18).

Talamo is opposed to just about everything -- from a proposed hike in the gas tax to raising the minimum wage to $15.

Of course, the real problem is in Cliffside Park, where one family has ruled for decades, as was the case in Hackensack.

Yet, The Record's local news staff has ignored the attempted political comeback of former four-term Hackensack Mayor Jack Zisa and his brother Ken, the disgraced former police chief.

This year, the city's mayor and council members --who defeated a slate of Zisa allies in May 2013 -- are estimating that a citywide revaluation will deliver $400 in tax savings to most homeowners.

Casinos

Atlantic City's disastrous experience with casinos doomed the expansion of gambling to North Jersey long before all the recent stories about a state takeover.

Still, The Record can't stop promoting passage of a November referendum that North Jersey residents are expected to soundly reject.

As you'd expect of a former sports reporter, Staff Writer John Brennan claims a conference he covered "gave the give-and-take ... the feel of the opening round of what figures to be a hard-fought battle until voters go to the polls" (A-1).

Readers can expect The Record's editors to continue to insist the constitutional amendment has a chance of passage, even though it's headed for defeat.

Dining puzzle

Staff Writer Elisa Ung usually devotes a paragraph or two to the chef or cook, but in today's Informal Dining review, she doesn't say who prepared the food at ReBAR in Lodi (BL-14).

The review also is unusual in that her meals there didn't end with a couple of artery clogging desserts.

More turmoil in Hackensack schools: Board member quits

Hackensack Board of Education member Joseph Barreto was seen in the audience at Tuesday night's school board meeting, not on the dais.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On Monday morning, Hackensack Schools Superintendent Karen Lewis was suspended after a brief meeting with board officials.

At a board meeting Tuesday night, her assistant, Joseph Cicchelli, was named acting superintendent to loud applause and cheers from an audience packed with teachers. 

Now, board member Joseph Barreto has resigned for "personal reasons," board Attorney Richard Salkin said today.

At the meeting Tuesday night, Salkin announced that Barreto was leaving after serving two years on the 9-member board, and for "you conspiracy theorists" that his departure was unrelated to the brouhaha over Lewis.

Barreto was not on the dais Tuesday night, and did not vote on the Cicchelli appointment.

He arrived at the meeting after a statement from board President Jason Nunnermacker, who said he was prevented by law from discussing the reasons Lewis was suspended. 

Barreto's name and photo no longer appear on the board Web site.

At Tuesday night's meeting, Board of Education attorney Richard Salkin, left; with board members Modesto Romero, center, and Daniel Carola.

Members of the public must sign in ahead of time, if they want to comment at school board meetings.

School election

The changes come only three weeks after the April 19 election of two Team Hackensack board candidates backed by the Zisas, who are trying to make a political comeback in a city they ruled for decades. 

Two incumbents and a former trustee were elected to three-year terms, and a small minority of voters approved a $79 million tax levy to support a total budget of $104 million. 

That tax levy has risen steadily. In the 2014-15 budget, it was $73.3 million. School taxes make up 44% of the total bill in Hackensack.

After missing the Monday morning suspension of the Hackensack schools superintendent, Editor Deirdre Sykes of The Record plays catch-up today with a Page 1 photo of Cicchelli at Tuesday night's school board meeting (A-1).

The full story appears on the Local front, where the lead paragraph awkwardly reports the audience was "heavily peopled with district employees [italics added]" (L-1).

Christie absolved

The lead story today reports a federal judge has ordered federal prosecutors to release a list of "unindicted co-conspirators" in the George Washington Bridge scandal, also known as "Bridgegate" (A-1).

But even before the list is made public, The Record apparently has absolved Governor Christie of any role in the conspiracy to close bridge lanes as political retaliation against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee (A-1 and A-6).

The first paragraph says the list "could include members of Governor Christie's inner circle," and later, that it could include "Christie's political allies and top members of his administration, many of whom have since moved on to prominent roles at NJ Transit, the Port Authority, lobbying firms and corporations" (A-6).

Nowhere does The Record say the list could include Christie, who spent more than $10 million in taxpayer funds to defend himself during the investigation.

Rhymes with maniac

One of those references to "inner circle" might include foul-mouthed former Star-Ledger reporter Michael Drewniak, a onetime Christie spokesman who was named "interim chief of staff" at NJ Transit, The Record reported on Tuesday.

Drewniak had no mass-transit experience when he left the Governor's Office in February 2015, and accepted the $147,000-a-year job of "chief of policy and strategic planning" at NJ Transit.

He will perform the new and old duties for the same inflated salary (Tuesday's A-4).

Editors serve local readers warmed-up old news on Page 1

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS: The bridge connecting Anderson Street in Hackensack and Cedar Lane in Teaneck, above, reopened this week ahead of schedule, but only one of the two original lanes is available. Now, westbound lanes are closed for interim repairs until the entire bridge can be replaced. My guess is that will be in 2050.

With the reopening of the bridge, Hackensack residents on Wednesday reacquainted themselves with the joy of driving through Teaneck's Cedar Lane business district, where construction closed two lanes, above. Other hazards include 80-year-old drivers going 10 mph, and aggressive police officers in unmarked cars enforcing the crosswalk law and 25 mph speed limit.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Readers are shaking the sleep out of their eyes and checking the date on Page 1 of The Record, where most of today's stories are warmed up old news.

And where is a story delivering real news on Governor Christie being more unpopular than ever?

It should be on the front page, but it's buried on A-4, as you'd expect from the only major New Jersey daily that refused to call for his resignation after he endorsed racist Donald Trump in the GOP presidential contest.

Editor Deirdre Sykes and Managing Editor Dan Sforza really flop today with this deja-vu edition, recalling all of the no-news Local sections they scrambled to put out before being promoted to run the entire paper in January.

Local news?

Readers turning to Local today find a second, long story about the embarrassing public celebration for a Hackensack police officer who became the first black captain, only to fail part of the exam and return to his previous rank of lieutenant (L-1).

Meanwhile, Staff Writer John Seasly finally reports on the $104 million spending plan for city schools, but his story appears on the front page of the weekly Hackensack Chronicle, which is delivered with The Record on Fridays.

Seasly interviewed Louise Davis, the school district's business administrator, about the budget and $79.1 million tax levy -- both of which he ignored before a tiny minority of voters OK'd them on April 19.

The Chronicle also carries a Page 1 story on Hackensack City Council approval of a smaller $100.4 million municipal budget.

The city tax levy increase is 2.5 percent -- less than half of the 5.6 percent tax hike for the schools.

Saving newsprint

Publisher Stephen A. Borg continues to cut expenses on the backs of long-suffering Bergen County readers.

Today's Local section includes six major stories from Passaic County (L-1 to L-6), including another in a series of long pieces exploring "the policy positions of candidates in Paterson's May election for City Council" (L-6).

Keep in mind the Woodland Park daily never explored the issues in the April 19 school board and budget election in Hackensack, Bergen's biggest district, where the Zisa family backed two of the three winning candidates.

Let's hope Borg isn't using his newsprint savings to spruce up his $3.65 million McMansion in Tenafly.

Oil v. butter

Today's Good to Excellent review of Lili's Bistro in Washington Township includes a surprisingly superficial discussion of the kitchen's "light hand with oil and butter" (BL-16).

Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung never tells reader whether she means heart-healthy extra-virgin olive oil or less desirable vegetable oils, most of which contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Why limit extra-virgin olive oil in cooking or salads or as a substitute for butter with bread? 

And why even review a restaurant in far-off Washington Township, then tell readers it's not appropriate for a "destination dinner"?

Repeated errors make a mockery of younger Borg's motto

The Record's Local section this past Saturday ran a photo of the old Bergen County Jail, above, but the caption said: "An iron worker working to secure a beam at the construction site of the Bergen County Justice Center next to the jail in Hackensack on Friday." The photo, cropped to show only the top of the beam and the jail's turrets and parapets, confused readers who have watched the slow construction of the Justice Center, below.

Is the beam shown in Saturday's L-3 photo part of a pedestrian bridge that will connect the new building to the Bergen County Courthouse? The Record's caption didn't say. Another photo caption, on Saturday's L-2, described a BMW as a Toyota. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

It's right there under the masthead on Page 1 of The Record every day:

"NORTH JERSEY'S TRUSTED SOURCE"

Publisher Stephen A. Borg, who took over from his father nearly a decade ago, made a marketing decision to replace The Record's original motto:

"FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE IT SERVES"

Borg followed with several big, money-saving decisions that resulted in less local coverage -- especially of Hackensack -- and a rising number of errors, which has eroded North Jersey readers' trust in the Woodland Park daily.

Monday's paper carried a story on a nationwide poll that found:

"Trust in the news media is being eroded by perceptions of inaccuracy and bias .... Nearly 90 percent of Americans say it is extremely or very important that the media get their facts correct." 

Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy

Literally hundreds -- if not thousands -- of errors have appeared in the Road Warrior column since the "trusted source" motto was adopted, and few of them have been corrected by six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton or Editor Deirdre Sykes.

Sykes handpicked Staff Writer John Cichowski to write the column starting in September 2003. 

In recent years, corrections of hundreds of editing and reporting errors by others have appeared regularly on A-2, but The Record rarely corrects an error unless someone calls to complain.

The message drummed into journalism students is "accuracy, accuracy, accuracy," especially when it comes to spelling names.

A perfect example is a story in the local-news section today by Staff Writer John Seasly, who covered the Hackensack City Council on Monday night:

The reporter quoted a resident, and made sure to describe him as someone "who regularly attends the meetings," but misspelled his last name.

Richard L. Cerbo, whose father was a former Hackensack mayor, is the one who called for a tax cut in comments before the council approved a 2016-17 budget of $100.4 million.

Seasly wrote, "Rich Serbo" (L-3).

The entrance to Hackensack's main recreation center, the M&M Building on Holt Street, where voters cast ballots on Tuesday in the city's Board of Education election. I saw three voters ask for someone who spoke Spanish, but none of the 10 or so poll workers did. One poll worker barked in English, "Just go in there [the voting booth] and vote." Poll workers are paid $200 for the day. Most are seniors who have nothing better to do with their time than sit on their asses all day as their contribution to democracy.

School election

In addition to outright errors like misspelling someone's name, the errors of omission erode readers' trust in The Record.

At Monday night's council meeting, Seasly was asked why he didn't do a story on the Hackensack school election, especially the issues involved and the attempted political comeback by the Zisa family, which backed three of the nine candidates.

The reporter said a story was scheduled to appear on Tuesday, the day of the election, but none did.

Today, The Record's coverage of the results in 10 towns devotes the least space to Hackensack, even though the city has the most students and the biggest school budget, not to mention the most candidates.

Voter apathy

Of course, the story Seasly missed is that voter apathy and the status quo ruled the day, with only 795 of about 20,000 registered voters approving the $104 million Hackensack school budget.

A total of only 1,293 residents voted on the $79 million tax levy, which supports an overall school budget that is higher than the municipal budget.

Mail-in ballots weren't counted Tuesday night, but unofficial results show that:

Two Zisa-backed candidates, incumbent Timothy J. Hoffman and former trustee Modesto Romero, were elected along with incumbent Lara L. Rodriguez, who was on another slate (with only 727, 604 and 711 votes, respectively).

(I reported the affiliation of the candidates incorrectly when this was first posted. The Record reported Rodriguez's vote total incorrectly in Wednesday's paper.)

Seasly never reported that school taxes represent nearly half of the total property tax bill or that the ballot was confusing, with candidates' names appearing randomly without numbers or such identification as "Citizens for Better Schools" or "Team Hackensack."

Today's paper

Even though Borg and Sykes continue to ignore Hackensack, they are doing a bang-up job of publicizing medical miracles at Hackensack University Medical Center (A-1).

Borg's older sister, Vice President/General Counsel Jennifer A. Borg, once served as an HUMC board member.

The sprawling medical center calls itself a non-profit, and as a result saves about $10 million a year in property taxes.

Hackensack, you can stop Zisa virus from infecting schools

A change in landing patterns ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration to keep noisy business jets away from Hackensack University Medical Center, as reported by The Record, hasn't brought much relief to city residents. This jet, with its landing gear down, was one of four or five to pass over southwest Hackensack homes and the Fanny Meyer Hillers School in about 30 minutes on Monday afternoon.

Many parents picking up their children at the Hillers School were unaware a Board of Education election is taking place today. The Record's local-news staff has ignored the issues or the attempted political comeback by the Zisa family. Three seats on the school board are up for grabs, and voters can say "yes" or "no" to a $79 million tax levy in support of a bloated $104 million school budget.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The powers that be don't want you to vote in today's Hackensack Board of Education and school budget election.

First and foremost are former Mayor Jack Zisa; brother Ken, the disgraced former police chief; their cousin, former City Attorney Joseph Zisa; and Ken's son, high school teacher Anthony Zisa.

The Zisas ruled Hackensack for decades, and stigmatized the small city with the accursed name of "Zisaville."

Now, they are attempting a political comeback by backing three Board of Education candidates under the banner of Team Hackensack. 

The world may be worrying about the Zika virus, but Hackensack fears the spread of the Zisa virus throughout the schools.

Three other candidates are believed to have the support of the political machine that propped up the Zisas for so many years before Citizens for Change, a slate of reformers, was elected to the City Council in May 2013.

This campaign flier urges voters to pick candidates 1-4-6, but someone ordered removal of the numbers on today's school ballot, below.

The ballot in today's election lists nine candidates for three seats on the Board of Education, center, and a proposition on the school budget, right.

Citizens for Change

Citizens for Change is supporting three other candidates, who call themselves Citizens for Better Schools:

Lawrence E. EISEN, Lancelot POWELL and Victor E. SASSON.

Their platform includes improving poor test scores and engaging parents in the education of their children.

Last week, the Zisas obtained the addresses of all of the members in the teachers union, and sent them an invitation to a Team Hackensack barbecue at Anthony Zisa's home, which was handed down from his grandfather, Frank C. Zisa, who was on the City Council for 16 years and mayor from 1977-81. 

Teachers union President Michael DeOrio blasted the Zisas, and called for "sanctions and/or discipline" for those involved.

The ballot

You need a PhD to figure out the ballot in today's school election.

Citizens for Better Schools is appealing to voters to pick candidates in positions 1-4-6, but someone ordered the numbers removed.

So, voters should look for candidates' last names in capital letters: EISEN, POWELL and SASSON.

Many residents also don't know they can vote on the school budget, which represents 44 percent of the property tax bill in Hackensack.

A tax levy of $79 million is up for a "yes" or "no" vote, but the total school budget is about $104 million.

The budget is bloated by administrators' salaries (some make nearly as much as or more than Governor Christie); legal fees and high rent for a Catholic school building.

A "no" vote would send the budget to the City Council, which has the power to trim it.

Campaign signs on Main Street in Hackensack.

Voter suppression

The powers that be have long conspired to suppress the vote in school elections by holding them in April, and not opening the polls until 2 p.m.

Today, the polls will be open until 9 p.m.

Although Hackensack has about 20,000 registered voters, only about 1,300 cast ballots in the last school election.

That apathy is fed by Editor Deirdre Sykes of The Record, which moved out of Hackensack in 2009.

Sykes was elevated to editor this year after many years of running the paper's local-news section.

Her distaste for local elections is well-known, and a couple of decades ago, she streamlined coverage of Boards of Education by reporting only on contested elections.

Now, she is ignoring even the hotly contested Hackensack school election.

Update

At 2 this afternoon, when the polls opened, only a small sign indicated where voters should cast their ballots at Hackensack High School, above and below.

Most of the voters I saw between 2 and 2:30 this afternoon were seniors from the neighborhood, which includes many of the high-rises on Prospect Avenue.

Today's paper

Three of the four major elements on Page 1 today are what editors call "process stories."

None of them are news, just endless descriptions of the process of repealing the estate tax in New Jersey, electing a president and how the Supreme Court will rule on a better deal for undocumented aliens (A-1).

The fourth major story is an incredible waste of space describing the legal pissing match between a millionaire with 30 Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, and The Plaza co-op high-rise in Fort Lee (A-1).

This Atlantic City front page is irrelevant to North Jerseyans

Jackson Avenue School is one of the poorest performing elementary schools in Hackensack, earning only a 2 from state education officials on a scale of 1-10. The Record, which doesn't cover Hackensack school board meetings, also isn't reporting on issues in Tuesday's election for three board seats.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The words "Atlantic City" in big type on the front page of The Record today sent droves of North Jersey readers back to sleep.

And that's before they saw the piece was another long, boring column from Mike Kelly, whose first paragraph was little more than a weather report.

Meanwhile, in Hackensack, nine candidates are campaigning for three seats on the Board of Education, which has done nothing to improve test scores or engage parents in the education of their children.

In a race that is being ignored by the local-news staff of The Record, three candidates calling themselves Citizens for Better Schools say they will work with city officials to build a new school.

Wasteful lease

Now, the board is leasing a Catholic school building for more than $3 million over five years, with an option to renew for another five years.

The building is worth only $1.2 million.

Six other candidates are backed by the Zisas, who ruled Hackensack for decades, or the political machine that propped them up.

Attempting a political comeback, former four-term Mayor Jack Zisa and his brother, Ken, the disgraced former police chief, announced the formation of Team Hackensack, which is backing three candidates.

The Zisa brothers upset the teachers union when they somehow obtained the addresses of members and sent them an invitation to a barbecue at the home of Anthony Zisa, a high school teacher and Ken's son.

School board candidates went door-to-door in Hackensack's Fairmount section on Sunday, above and below.

Campaign flier for Citizens for Better Schools, above and below.

Local news?

There is so little local news today that most of L-2 is filled with photos.

One is an unusually large one of traffic on Route 80, near The Record's Woodland Park newsroom, after a motorcyclist was "seriously injured Sunday when he rear-ended a Toyota Camry." 

The editors lead the section with an incomprehensible story about "pi" that holds even less interest than the Page 1 takeout on Atlantic City.

Joe Ferriero's legacy of greed still is infecting Hackensack

Hackensack Democratic Party Chairwoman Lynne Hurwitz, back to camera, conferring with Board of Education Attorney Richard Salkin before a June meeting of the City Council. Seated at right is husband Howard Hurwitz, executive director of the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority, where he is paid more than $136,000 a year.

Editor's note: The editor of Eye on The Record is a lifelong Democrat.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We don't have Joe Ferriero to worry about anymore.

The once-powerful leader of the Bergen County Democratic Party (1998-2009) has been given 60 days to surrender and start serving a 35-month federal prison sentence, according to Page 1 of The Record.

As one indicator of how slow justice is, Ferriero was convicted way back in April of what U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman calls "running a local political organization as a criminal enterprise" (A-1).

"He used his power and position to enrich himself through a racketeering operation fueled by influence peddling, bribes and kickbacks," Fishman said on Friday.

See Comments section below on a major factual contradiction in today's Ferriero coverage.

Hackensack yoke

No other Democrats were involved, but in Hackensack, residents still are recovering from being ruled by the Zisas and the powerful figure behind their political dynasty, city Democratic Chairwoman Lynne Hurwitz.

A number of Zisa family allies still run the free-spending Board of Education, which approved a 2015 budget that exceeded the city's own.

Here are links to two reports on Hurwitz's influence in Hackensack, where a slate she backed in the May 2013 municipal election was defeated by reformers:

Key strategist in Hackensack

Is Lynne Hurwitz backing Hackensack slate?


Taxing hospitals

So many stories in The Record sound more like public relations than news, such as the lead story on the Local front today:

Staff Writer Lindy Washburn rewrote a press release from the New Jersey Hospital Association, claiming non-profit hospitals employ people who contribute "more than $1.4 billion to local and state tax revenues" (L-1).

So what?

Hackensack University Medical Center and other non-profit hospitals don't pay property taxes, shifting the burden onto homeowners and owners of commercial property. 

None of the taxes paid by their employees eases the property tax burden in Hackensack, which is saddled by two other big non-profits, Bergen County and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

The rest of Local today is dominated by Law & Order news, including a gee-whiz photo of a small SUV that tried to drive through the basement window of a Garfield school, injuring two teachers (L-1).

LG deal in Englewood Cliffs exposes big flaw of home rule

On a busy street near Palisade Avenue in wealthy Englewood Cliffs, domestic workers have to walk on the pavement, close to speeding cars, because the borough never installed sidewalks.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Is Englewood Cliffs anything like Hackensack, once known derisively as "Zisaville" for the decades-long political dominance of a single family?

On the front page of The Record today, a photo shows Englewood Cliffs Mayor Joseph Parisi applauding a deal between LG Electronics and environmentalists (A-1).

But the upbeat coverage sounds more like public relations than objective reporting (A-1 and A-8).

And it doesn't explore the decades-long rule of the Parisi family in the Cliffs, just as The Record hasn't done any probing in Cliffside Park, dominated for more than 50 years by the Calabreses.

Home-rule communities like Englewood Cliffs resist consolidating services with neighboring towns, and are desperate for ratables to cover the resulting inefficiences.

Englewood Cliffs fought a "racially tinged legal battle" to remove its students from Englewood's Dwight Morrow High School that began in 1985 and dragged on for years, The Record has reported.

Then, in October 2014, the state decided to cut nearly $600,000 in aid for 33 students from the Cliffs who were attending Dwight Morrow's Academies, a magnet program.

Hungry for ratables

More tax revenue was likely the motive for the borough to throw out its 35-foot height restriction, and approve the Korean company's plan for a 143-foot-high building on 27 acres between Sylvan Avenue and the Hudson River.

Now, the height will be reduced to 69 feet or five stories, but that still will be the biggest building ever approved for the Palisades north of the George Washington Bridge.

And in return for despoiling the majestic cliffs, Parisi and other borough officials will be celebrating an additional $2.5 million in property tax revenue every year.

Cliffs resident Donald Rizzo, who favored the higher LG headquarters, put it succinctly in a sidebar with a sub-headline reading, "Residents will benefit from revenue."

"A bigger building means more tax revenue. I'm all for it. I was never worried about the height of the building. I was worried about letting LG go" (A-8).

Maybe, the town can now afford to put in sidewalks on Summit Street to protect pedestrians and dog walkers.

In the county seat

In Hackensack, dozens of lawsuits filed against Ken Zisa, the former police chief and state assemblyman, cost the city so many millions to settle that one block of Euclid Avenue hasn't been paved for 30 years.

Prospect Avenue, lined with high-rises, and many other streets are in such poor condition one resident at Tuesday night's City Council meeting compared them to T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land."

Hackensack's school board spends more money per pupil than Ridgewood's, yet feeds high school students food of such low quality that many race out to Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill and other lunch spots.

Hackensack's property tax payers are so shell shocked they even objected to the city spending public funds on a downtown park and arts space as part of the redevelopment of Main Street.

Hackensack news?

On the front of Local today, Teaneck residents find two stories on Monday night's Township Council meeting (L-1).

But there is nothing about Tuesday night's council meeting in Hackensack.

As Police Director Mike Mordaga and Capt. Timothy Lloyd listened, clergy from Mount Olive Baptist Church and other churches commented on the killing of two suspects by city police officers in recent weeks.

They urged Hackensack to find money to buy Tasers or non-fatal stun guns.

As a result of the shootings, five police officers are "on leave," city officials acknowledged, but they insisted the department is not "understaffed."

HUMC pact

A lawyer hired by the city reported a federal anti-kickback law prohibits Hackensack from continuing to ask Hackensack University Medical Center to provide ambulance services to residents for free up to $140,000 a year. 

Still, Board of Education attorney Richard Salkin rose and rambled on about the lawsuit he has filed to enforce the original 2008 pact with HUMC that he negotiated for the city.