Trenton council rejects tax collector candidate
TRENTON » Paula Ferreira, the city’s assistant tax collector, did not make a good first impression with Trenton council.
Following her appearance before the legislative body on Thursday night, council shot down her promotion to tax collector.
“When we asked her what kind of schooling she had, she looked at us and said, ‘high school,’” Councilman George Muschal said Tuesday. “Anything else? She said ‘no.’”
Furthermore, the South Ward councilman said Ferreira was “very abrupt” and “didn’t explain nothing.”
Three other council members, including Alex Bethea, Marge Caldwell-Wilson and Phyllis Holly-Ward, sided with Muschal and opposed Ferreira’s appointment.
Ferreira was brought to Trenton to succeed Edward Kirkendoll, who retired as tax collector. However, Ferreira failed her first certification exam last year so she needed to retake the test.
Kirkendoll has continued to work in Trenton in the acting capacity as tax collector. Ferreira passed the test the second time around, but it wasn’t enough to sway council.
Every council member also received an anonymous letters from Ferreira’s co-workers in the tax office who complained about her, Muschal said.
After council voted last month to postpone the vote on her promotion, Ferreira allegedly threw a “temper tantrum and didn’t come to work for multiple days,” the letter states.
“When she finally returned to the office, she was rude to the staff for days,” the letter reads. “She would come in and leave without a single word. When there was a question about work, she acted like she didn’t care.”
The letter also alleged that Ferreira made “no effort” to “learn the ins and outs of the job” from Kirkendoll and she unfairly distributed her work to other employees.
The letter pressed council to interview the office’s staff to “see what’s really going on” before the vote.
Muschal said a resident also complained to him about an encounter with Ferreira.
“She was very nasty and obnoxious,” Muschal said, noting the resident wanted information about why his taxes went up and if she can help. “She said, ‘If you don’t pay them, then you’ll be penalized and you’ll lose your property.’ She was very nasty when she said it.”
Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson was unsure on Friday why council turned down his pick.
“Council, in my judgment, didn’t necessarily give any real explanation on it,” Jackson said. “My job now with the administrative staff is to go out and either see if we can bring this individual back or continue a difficult search to find one.”
Ferreira’s rejection comes at a time where businesses and residents are experiencing sticker shock from their tax bills. A citywide revaluation caused some businesses to receive tax bills that have tripled.
Jackson said “tax collectors aren’t necessarily the easiest individuals to recruit.”
“It seems as if we’re working against one another,” the first-term mayor said. “We brought a qualified individual who passed the state certification and the council said, ‘no.’” I have reason to be alarmed because we need a tax collector, particularly right now.”
The city is required to have a tax collector by law.
Jackson does not think “at this time” the state will pressure the city to hire one.
“I would assume if we went for some long period of time without one, the state would have concerns about that,” Jackson said. “It’s critical to the movement of our government to have that individual there.”
Council has a history of shooting down Jackson-recommended candidates.
Last February, council rejected Jackson’s three judicial nominees for municipal court.
Jackson drew similarities between the two snubs.
“I brought quality, aboveaverage persons to be judges and the council said, ‘no,’ without any indication on why that was the case,” the mayor said. “So it’s hard to figure out.”
Ferreira, who earned a salary of $49,902 last year from Trenton, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
In other Trenton personnel news, city council awarded Janet Schoenhaar, the city’s comptroller and chief financial officer, a settlement of $52,658. Schoenhaar sued Trenton last year alleging she was wrongfully denied step increases to her pay that were given to other officials at her employment level.
The city admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.