Jersey City Human Resources Director Mark Bunbury is leaving City Hall for a private sector job at a major New York City-based law firm, sources with knowledge of the situation told HCV.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“We are always encouraging our employees to be strive to reach their highest potential, even if that eventually means moving on to positions outside of the city,” said city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione.
“The Mayor and administration are thankful for his work in the city, and wish him the very best of luck on their future endeavors.”
She did not provide any details as to why Bunbury was leaving or what he would be doing next, but sources said that he has a job with a prominent tri-state area law firm lined up.
Those same sources, who spoke under the condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to speak on the matter, said that Bunbury is poised to leave on October 25th.
Multiple city officials declined to speak about Bunbury’s departure and he could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Bunbury worked at City Hall for just under four-and-a-half years, getting appointed as human resources director in January 2018 at a salary of $118,210.
His exit comes at a time when the council is expected to vote on whether or not city department heads will receive up to 15 percent pay raises by next year, a concept that he has previously supported (though the measure now includes the council increasing their own salaries incrementally up to $60,000 by 2022).
“A part of the concern is making sure that we can keep and retain, you know, good people,” he said at a caucus meeting back in August of 2018.
After opting not to vote on giving city directors a pay boost during that time, the council later considered giving themselves raises back in April, though it never made the agenda in May.
Back in January, when the city was converting to a new payroll system, some municipal workers blasted City Hall after they did not receive paychecks on time.
At the time, Bunbury apologized for the inconvenience and noted that the city would issue supplemental checks to any employee that was owed wages, The Jersey Journal reported.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with new information.
