Former Hoboken Fire Chief Brian Crimmins must be reinstated by next week or the city will be fined $100 a day with a maximum penalty of up to $10,000, the New Jersey Civil Service Commission ruled last month.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Hoboken presents new information that was not available to be presented at the original proceeding,” the February 26th decision from the commission says.
” … The Acting Fire Chief has expressed his unwillingness to continue in the department if Crimmins is reinstated to Fire Chief and he certifies that if Crimmins is reinstated there will be leadership instability, reduced morale and retention, operational disruptions, missed opportunities for development, and long-term strategic challenges.”
The five-page ruling continues that a fire department is paramilitary organization and that a military officer can be fired after losing the confidence of his or her peers.
In response, Crimmins, through attorney Brent P. Pohlman, a partner at Mandelbaum Barrett PC, says that the city has no grounds for reconsideration since their new arguments are “unconvincing, uncompelling, and legally insufficient” – which the NJCSC agreed with.
Specifically, he argues that counsel for the city, Stephen J. Edelstein, a partner at Weiner Law Group, presenting statements from anonymous battalion chiefs are hearsay (noting they didn’t testify to operational issues) and that Acting Fire Chief Anton Peskens is asking for the commission’s prior decision to be overturned so his salary is not reduced.
In October, New Jersey Office of Administrative Law Judge Susana Guerrero issued an order calling for Crimmins to be reinstated as fire chief, with the NJCSC voting for the same the following month, both as HCV first reported.
Crimmins was placed on administrative leave in May 2021 before returning to work as a firefighter in April 2023, a position he has maintained even after the aforementioned decisions.
The city has never explained why they have not adhered to the rulings, but they filed a motion for reconsideration with the NJCSC, while Crimmins requested enforcement, as well as making another request for his legal fees to be considered.
Citing the aforementioned decisions, the civil service commission said the city has not met the standard for reconsideration, noting that Peskens could have testified in the original proceeding and none of the other new statements are relevant to the case.
As for Crimmins, they said while most of the disciplinary charges against Crimmins were disproven, one was sustained – failing to hold quarterly command staff meetings in 2018 and in early 2019 – and full counsel fees are typically only granted if a case is overturned in full.
Finally, Crimmins motion for enforcement is granted and while the city will likely take the case up with the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Decision, that “does not automatically stay a Commission decision, nor relieve [an] appointing authority from complying with said decision.”
“Hoboken shall make a good faith effort to fully comply with this and the commission’s prior decision within 30 days of this decision,” the NJCSC concludes.
“In the event that Hoboken fails to make a good faith effort to comply with this order within the prescribed timeframe, the Commission orders that a fine be assessed against it in the amount of $100 per day, beginning on the 31st day from the issuance of this decision, and continuing for each day of continued violation, for a maximum of $10,000.”
Hoboken public safety spokeswoman Marci Rubin said that the city does not comment on personnel matters.