Update: City Confirms Gray Suspended with Pay

Update: Sources, who have declined to be named, are alleging that Gray made a derogatory remark of a racial nature in front of his racially mixed staff, which led to his suspension last week.
However, officer Steven Ramseur of APPD's Bias Unit told Asbury Radio he could not comment to confirm or deny the charge. When Asbury Radio visited Gray's offices in February, Gray discussed with us a bias complaint from a property owner, a Haitian immigrant, who had numerous code violations recorded. Gray was insistant that he had not uttered the racial remark the man accused him of making and that he would not make such remarks to anyone.
Earlier story...
Bill Gray, head of Asbury Park's code enforcement, is out for 30 days.
"I can confirm that Bill Gray has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of an administrative hearing," City Manager Terry Reidy stated in an email to Asbury Radio today. Reidy declined to explain the reason for the suspension or the hearing. The Asbury Park Press posted that Reidy said the suspension would fit the category of "conduct unbecoming".

In the past Gray has drawn criticism for issuing fines to some property owners while other properties, some dangerous eyesores such as the former Metropolitan Hotel, which demonstrated obvious code violations, went unfined or had some fines forgiven. In the case of city historian, Werner Baumgartner, Gray issued dozens of summonses for violations ranging from having a cracked driveway to not removing leaves. Eventually Baumgartner unable to satisfy all the mounting complaints landed in county jail several times, altogether totaling nine weeks. In February, the court waived $19,000 in fines and sentenced him to 30-days in a jail cell. Baumgartner, who is self-employed, has protested that jailing him has only impeded his ability to buy materials to make the repairs and to hire the requisite contractors.

Gray has denied allegations that he administered the summonses in a caprious manner. He told Asbury Radio in February that he received complaints for not being tougher on Baumgartner.
In January the city council asked Gray, who is also a code official in Bradley Beach, to explain the process his department follows in determining which properties his employees will visit, how they decide whether to issue warnings rather than fines, and other basic procedures. That meeting was postponed until a February worksession, in which the council, including Sue Henderson who complimented Gray for his actions against a building owner in her neighborhood, appeared satisfied with Gray's presentation and responses.

City Manager Reidy Responds

City Manager Terry Reidy wrote back to say that the reason he didn't call code official Bill Gray to appear as scheduled on the January 21 agenda was because councilmember Ed Johnson had not arrived at the meeting.(Johnson did not attend the meeting.)
Councilmember Johnson had requested that Bill Gray attend the work session, a public meeting after the executive or private meeting of the council and its attorneys prior to the public session, during which the audience can observe but generally not comment, to explain how decisions are made regarding when and how summonses are written.
In the mp3 posted below, you can hear resident and former city historian Werner Baumgartner asking Reidy what summonses if any had been written on a list of sub-code properties throughout the city. Gray wrote 19 summonses against Baumgartner this fall and winter each carrying a fine of $1250 and 9 months in jail. Gray has said that some of the summonses are for violations relating to previous summonses, where the situations have not been corrected. Some are for failure to mow the lawn or remove leaves.
Asbury Radio plans to reach out to Johnson to see why he did not attend.
Maureen

Sue Henderson Joins Asbury Park City Council

Sue Henderson is sworn in by council as friend Rich Gore, who is Council member John Loffredo's partner, holds bible. Henderson said she assumed Council member Jim Keady's unexpired term because if you have complaints you have to be willing to work to make things better.
Council Present: John Loffredo, Mayor Kevin Sanders, Deputy Mayor James Bruno
Recording One - Interfaith Neighbors Paul McEvily on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program
Recording Two - City Commerce director, Tom Gilmour, on UEZ funding for Asbury Works, etc.
Recording Three - Construction code official's hours cut back. City attorney, Tom Hastie's wife is the business manager for Robbinsville, the municipality that is sharing the contruction official with Asbury Park. [Robbinsville recently lost a Sunshine Law violation complaint filed by John Paff. In winning the case, Paff cited an appeals panel's opinion in Nevin v Asbury Park.]
Recording Four - Tax Abatement for Design Center at Cookman and Bangs
Recording Five - Parking dispute re. 711 Bangs building
Recording Six - Comments from the Public - Werner Baumgartner, who performed the duties of city historian until the waterfront redevelopment began, asks city to explain what actions have been taken against the owners of a list of sub-code buildings in city. Mgr Terry Reidy doesn't answer the question, instead relates an earlier exchange he had with Baumgartner.