Jersey City Incinerator Authority CEO/Executive Director Oren Dabney will be leaving the agency in midst of a theft of services probe of several employees, with his likely replacement a high-ranking member of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, according to sources.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Multiple sources, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, told Hudson County View that Dabney is negotiating how he will part ways with JCIA, whether it be in the form of resigning or retirement, as well as how much he will be compensated for his departure.
Regardless what the particulars end up being, Dabney has already agreed to walk away from the agency, sources said.
The Jersey City Special Investigations Unit, with help from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, arrested three employees from the JCIAÂ on July 2 for allegedly using equipment from the agency to pick up and sell construction debris for cash.
Later in the same day, Clayton Dabney, Oren’s brother who is also the assistant deputy executive director of the JCIA, was arrested as part of the same investigation.
He has since pleaded not guilty to charges of theft of service and conspiracy (h/t The Jersey Journal).
At their most recent monthly board meeting on July 28, where only Hudson County View was in attendance, Oren Dabney stated “we have nothing to hide” when a commissioner began to question why the JCIA would need to purchase two new paper shredders.
As of this writing, the frontrunner to replace Oren Dabney is John Minella, the executive director of the HCDO, stated various sources.
When asked over the phone if he had been pegged to serve as an interim executive director of the JCIA, Minella simply stated “nothing confirmed at this time,” declining to comment further.
Minella, who lives in Bayonne, is a former program analyst for the Jersey City Employment and Training Program, as well as an ex-chairman of the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority.
Whoever fills in for Dabney would likely only helm the position for a couple of months, as the city of Jersey City is in the process of merging the entity with the city’s Department of Public Works.
Also at the most recent JCIA board meeting, counsel for the agency did not provide any clarity as to what would happen to employees once the entity was absorbed by the Jersey City DPW.
The JCIA, an autonomous agency, is currently is responsible for garbage and recycling removal, street sweeping, demolition, snow plowing, as well as various other tasks, within the city.
Oren Dabney did not immediately return calls to his cell phone this morning, but this story will be updated in the event comment is given.
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