For a decade in Palisades Park, it was great to be the boss, a lawsuit alleged.<\/p>\n
As the small Bergen County borough\u2019s longtime administrator, David Lorenzo earned a salary that topped $227,000 a year when he was fired in 2024 after clashing with town leaders.<\/p>\n
A generous paycheck \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t the only compensation Lorenzo received. Each year, he would supplement those earnings by tens of thousands of dollars on average, cashing in unused sick leave and vacation time to pull in even more money from taxpayers.<\/p>\n
But now, Lorenzo must pay back those funds, a Superior Court judge ordered last month. To the tune of $240,335.<\/p>\n
Judge David Nasta\u2019s decision came after he concluded the payments violated a 2007 state law that limited how and when top employees are permitted to cash out the paid leave they accumulate. The ruling followed a civil suit last year by the borough that sought to claw back the money, claiming Lorenzo \u201caided and abetted\u201d hefty payouts to himself that he knew weren\u2019t allowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the very beginning, our priority has been protecting the interests of Palisades Park taxpayers,\u201d said Mayor Chong \u201cPaul\u201d Kim in a statement. \u201cWe have a fiduciary responsibility to safeguard public funds and ensure accountability in municipal government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim called Nasta\u2019s June 24 order \u201can important step forward\u201d and said the borough \u201cwill continue to pursue every appropriate legal avenue to recover taxpayer dollars while remaining transparent with our residents throughout this process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Huge payouts<\/a> for accumulated leave have long been a fact of life<\/a> in local government in New Jersey, though they typically come only when an employee retires. The windfalls \u2014 known colloquially as \u201cboat checks\u201d \u2014 have exceeded $1 million<\/a> in the most egregious cases, and are often derided by good government groups as a waste of taxpayer money.<\/p>\n Lorenzo\u2019s lawyers insist he was entitled to what he received, and charge he has been targeted for political reasons. They said the payments were vetted by the borough\u2019s financial officer and its attorney and approved by Borough Council at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cIs the takeaway from this trial court ruling that a retired municipal employee who fell out of favor with the current mayor and council can have his rights violated and be singled out and sued to pay back earned and accrued sick and vacation time?\u201c asked lawyer Richard Malagiere. <\/p>\n \u201dThe answer is yes for now; at least until Mr. Lorenzo has his day in court on appeal,” Malagiere added in a statement.<\/p>\n