Paramus Shade Tree superintendent keeps job as council takes no action on mayor's proposal

Paramus residents were up in arms at the mayor’s suggestion to eliminate the position of superintendent of the Shade Tree and Parks department to save costs to the borough, but the proposal was ultimately not introduced by the council.

Mayor Chris DiPiazza had put forth a resolution to eliminate the position and place the superintendent of the Department of Public Works in charge of both DPW and Shade Tree during the June 27 mayor and council meeting.

In a recent phone interview, DiPiazza said his reasoning for proposing the elimination was that residents had voted him mayor to “make changes,” but “changes aren’t always easy.”

“We need to make bold changes for this town and not accept the status quo,” DiPiazza said. “Doing this, having the DPW superintendent oversee both the Shade Tree department and DPW, will be more economical and efficient and provide better services for the residents.”

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DiPiazza said the fields have “not been well kept this year, and dead trees are not being cut,” adding that parks are “not up to the standards that Paramus residents deserve.”

Shade Tree and Parks Superintendent Ken Raschen makes $121,592 a year, and the superintendent of the Department of Public Works makes $138,703 a year, DiPiazza said.

At the meeting, a crowd of residents showed up to fight for Raschen’s job, detailing their experiences with him and saying it is because of him and his department that Paramus looks beautiful.

“Do you even understand what they do at Shade Tree and Parks?” Dennis Preis asked during public comment. “DPW can’t handle that job. It’s silly. Can they even read a landscape plan? I don’t know what the thinking is. Are you angry with Ken in some way?”

DiPiazza responded that “it was nothing to do with anger and everything to do with the economic efficiency of the borough.”

Michael Roemer, who organizes the annual Terri Roemer Paramus Run to raise funds for scholarships for borough students and The Valley Hospital’s Emergency Department Pediatric Section, said the support from the Shade Tree department over the past 40 years has been “tremendous.” Roemer praised Raschen and the assistance he has given.

“I am very concerned that without this support, the run will not be as effective as it has been,” Roemer said.

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Bill Comry said the elimination of Raschen's position would be “shortsighted” and that Raschen saves the town money every day by how he operates the tree program, recently even going to the borough’s sports complex at 4:30 a.m. to work on the irrigation system.

“To now slap him in the face and slap the department in the face is a disservice to all the residents that are here,” Comry said.

Raschen, who has worked for the borough for eight years, also spoke at the meeting and thanked the people in the audience for their support. He said the department is down about nine employees and that the department has received zero dollars since 2017. He said he did not know what to say, having been made “speechless” by the proposal, but was “insulted” by how the situation was handled.

Near the end of the meeting, after no council member moved to introduce DiPiazza's resolution, Councilman Jorge Quintana said it had been an honor for him to work in the Shade Tree department under the guidance of Raschen and that his work on the irrigation system meant there would be green fields for the Fourth of July.

Councilwoman Jeanne Weber, who was a liaison for the Shade Tree department, said every time a resident had called her with a complaint regarding trees and she brought it to Shade Tree, Raschen was “on it the next day.”

DiPiazza noted that his proposal was “dead on arrival,” because it did not receive any motions from council members, but was “hopeful soon the rest of the governing body will hopefully pass it.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paramus Shade Tree superintendent job remains after mayor's proposal