If they appoint me Judge, I will have to give up my column in the triCityNews. All in favor say "I." ;-)
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "paulvail1964" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Our municipal judge, Mark Apostolou, is due to be reappointed by the > city council within a few weeks. I have never been too impressed by > this judge's performance and I personally believe that Asbury Park > can do better. > > Judge Apostolou works for seven other cities in the region and rakes > in big money. Asbury faces a lot of challenges and I think we need a > Judge that can dedicate himself to our city. (see article below) > > The Asbury Park Police are busting their humps to make Asbury Park a > safer place to live. We need a judge that shares their commitment to > this city. > > There is a city council meeting this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. I think > it would be a good idea if more people would speak to the council > members about this issue. Asbury Park can do better and must. > > If you cannot attend this meeting, I urge you to write or email the > city council members and let them know what you think. I would hate > to see this judge reappointed before the council can consider > alternatives. > > If anyone has the email address of the different council members, I > would appreciate it if someone would post them so that more people > can make themselves heard. > > (By the way this has nothing to do with Stand Up For Asbury!!!) > > Paul Vail > 511 Second > > > Part-time jobs add up to big payouts > Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/11/06 > BY NICHOLAS CLUNN > GANNETT NEW JERSEY > > (Excerpt) > > Asbury Park City Manager Terrance Reidy said he was surprised when he > found out that the city's municipal court judge, Mark Apostolou, > works in seven other towns and makes a total of $264,000 in > government salaries. > > Apostolou also works as the municipal judge in Bradley Beach, > Brielle, Deal, Eatontown, Lake Como, Manasquan and Neptune City. The > number of Apostolou's jobs, however, didn't change Reidy's high > opinion of the judge's performance in Asbury Park. > > "If the system allows that to happen, and he puts in the time, then > God bless him," he said. "It's not like he forgets, "Where am I > today? In Asbury Park or in Bradley Beach?' " > > The Gannett review also found that many of the biggest tackers are > political players who obtained their appointments as a result of > close ties with top elected officials. > > Sunday, May 8, 2005 > By NICHOLAS CLUNN > Gannett New Jersey > > Damien G. Murray's salaries from eight municipal judgeships will > total $268,284 this year - a paycheck that will easily exceed those > of the chief justice of the United States, U.S. senators and New > Jersey's governor. > > Murray's collective salary - earned by ruling on drunken-driving > charges, parking ticket appeals and other matters in Beachwood, Dover > Township, Lacey, Lakehurst, Little Egg Harbor Township, Ocean Gate, > Seaside Heights and Stafford Township - likely will provide the 55- > year-old Dover Township resident with a comfortable pension. > > If Murray, a municipal court judge since 1981, retires when he turns > 60, and if his collective salary this year ends up his highest, he > will earn an annual pension somewhere around $141,000, among the most > lucrative of those enrolled in the state's Public Employee Retirement > System. > Murray's judgeships show how "tacking" can result in huge pensions. > Tacking happens when multiple public-salaried jobs are added together > to form one huge salary. > > Murray - a 55-year-old private-practice lawyer from Dover Township > and a former Ocean County freeholder - is not alone in this practice. > A number of private-practice lawyers in Monmouth and Ocean counties > will obtain big pensions through municipal judgeships. > > Mark Apostolou, who holds court in eight Monmouth County > municipalities, would get an annual pension of $130,000 if his salary > this year of $264,000 is his highest and if he retires when he turns > 60. > > Apostolou, a municipal court judge since 1987, works in Asbury Park, > Bradley Beach, Brielle, Deal, Eatontown, Lake Como, Manasquan and > Neptune City. > Meanwhile, acting Gov. Richard J. Codey is paid $175,000; although he > is also state Senate president, he does not accept the salary for > that post. New Jersey Chief Supreme Court Justice Deborah Poritz is > paid $164,250, and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist > gets $203,000. U.S senators, meanwhile, are paid $162,100. > Like New Jersey's pension system, public retirement benefits on the > federal level depend on years of service and the average of the > highest three years of salary. > Apostolou, 50, of Manasquan, said he couldn't comment on his combined > salaries, citing a long-standing Monmouth County policy preventing > judges from speaking with reporters. > > As for Murray, he said the salaries he's paid are justified. > Municipal judgeships, for one, differ greatly from other jobs at town > hall, he said. > Municipal judges, he said, are financially compelled to work for > several towns because state conflict-of-interest laws severely limit > what they can do in private practice. > > "It would be very difficult for someone to be a judge in one or two > towns because they have to give up so much other (legal) work," he > said. "In the long term, they would be losing money." > > Murray said he picks up a private legal case here and there, usually > as a favor for a friend. He said he didn't become a judge to sweeten > his retirement package. > "If I was in private practice, and I was making more, I'm sure I > could make my own pension system," he said. "There are literally > thousands of lawyers in New Jersey that are making more than Judge > Apostolou and me." > > Furthermore, municipal judges are on-call at all times, Murray said. > Besides sitting on the bench, they set bail and grant search > warrants, sometimes during the early morning hours, he said. > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> See what's inside the new Yahoo! Groups email. http://us.click.yahoo.com/0It09A/bOaOAA/yQLSAA/Y2tolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! 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