After a three and a half year investigation, New Jersey's Local Finance Board (LFB) concluded that Englewood Cliffs Mayor Joseph C. Parisi, Jr. violated the Local Government Ethics Law (LGEL) and assessed a $100 fine against him.
The matter was originated by a March 7, 2012 complaint filed by John Paff and the New Jersey Libertarian Party. The complaint alleged that Parisi, who served on the Board of Directors of North Jersey Community Bank and as Chairman of Otterstedt Insurance Agency, failed to recuse himself from the Borough Council's 2010 consideration of a $9.8 million Board of Education budget that voters had rejected. At the time of the discussions, the Board of Education had active accounts with both North Jersey Community Bank and Otterstedt Insurance Agency. The record reflects that Parisi advocated making "no cuts" to the Board's budget. The LFB's Notice of Violation along with the complaint are on-line here.
The LFB found that Parisi "had a direct or indirect financial or personal involvement that might reasonably be expected to impair his objectivity or independence." The Local Government Ethics Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.9 sets the minimum fine at $100 and the maximum at $500.