Essex County Executive Divincenzo Announces New Leadership

ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES NEW LEADERSHIP

FOR STATE-OF-THE-ART CORRECTIONAL FACILITY

New Director of Corrections and Private Consulting Firm

to Organize Transition to New Jail on Doremus Avenue

Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. has named Capt. Cleophas Simpson as Acting Director of the Department of Public Safety and announced that a private consultant has been hired to assist Essex County with the transition into its new jail on Doremus Avenue in Newark.

“We are going to open our new correctional facility on time and it is important for us to have strong leadership as we merge our jail operations into our state-of-the-art facility on Doremus Avenue,” DiVincenzo said. “The announcements we are making today represent our strong commitment to ensuring that we are providing a safe atmosphere for our employees and inmates, and operating our new facility at its highest and most efficient level,” he added.

Capt. Cleophas Simpson has been named Acting Director of the Department of Public Safety and will assume his new position on January 1st. An Assistant Warden in the Essex County Division of Corrections, Capt. Simpson has spent the past two and a half years as Transition Coordinator for the New Jail. Simpson began his career as an Essex County Corrections Officer 27 years ago and he has risen through the ranks.

“Cleophas Simpson has intimate knowledge of our new jail because he has worked at the site every day. Naming him director is the natural next step because he will be overseeing the jail he helped create,” DiVincenzo said.

“It is an honor that the County Executive has selected me for this position,” Simpson said. “I was very encouraged when the DiVincenzo administration came to the construction meetings at the jail. This project would not have progressed if he did not come in and take the reigns,” he said.

A $60,000 contract with Paige Plus LLC will be presented for approval to the Essex County Improvement Authority. The contract will commence on January 1st and run until April 2004. The firm will help Essex County plan for the transition, develop an operational plan with appropriate staffing levels for the new jail, and assist with writing vendor contracts for services that are outsourced. Paige Plus is based in Trenton and is headed by Gary J. Hilton, a former Commissioner with the New Jersey Department of Corrections who has more than 37 years of experience in the field. Hilton worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections from 1959 to 1998 and was Director of Corrections and Juvenile Services in Monmouth County from 1998 to 2002. He is an Instructor at the Boulder, Colorado National Corrections Academy and a Technical Consultant for the National Institute of Corrections with the U.S. Department of Justice.

“I am excited to be a part of history in New Jersey Corrections,” Hilton said. “There is no doubt in my mind this will be the premiere facility in New Jersey and in the East. It offers opportunities for cost containment without compromising the safety and security of the officers and inmates,” he noted.

Hilton will be assisted by Project Executives Stan Repko and Robert Stevens. Repko worked in the New Jersey Department of Corrections for 32 years and was Director of the Division of Policy and Planning when he left in June 2003. Stevens has 28 years of experience in the corrections profession. He worked for the New Jersey Department of Corrections for 18 years and was Director of the Division of Operations when he left the department in 1999.

“Essex County has invested a tremendous amount of energy into this new jail and Gary Hilton and Paige Plus can provide the professional expertise we need to make sure we are operating efficiently and not wasting resources at our new building,” DiVincenzo said.

The County Executive also announced that Acting County Administrator Joseph Martin will leave his position effective January 1st. Kevin Galland will serve as the Acting County Administrator and continue to fulfill his duties as Purchasing Agent.

DiVincenzo credited Galland with restructuring the Office of Purchasing to work more efficiently, to include more vendors from diverse backgrounds in the bidding and procurement process, and provide training for every department in the purchasing process. He also created joint purchasing opportunities between the County and municipalities and had a prominent role in every County department.

Galland said his mission was threefold: To continue the good government practices established by the County Executive, maintain the pace set by DiVincenzo and maintain control over the purchasing process.

Galland served as the Bergen County Purchasing Agent from 1996 to 2003. He received an MPA in Government from Pace University in White Plains, N.Y., an MBA in Accounting from Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y., and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the State University of New York in Stonybrook, N.Y. Galland is an Adjunct Instructor of Public Purchasing for Rutgers University’s Center for Government Services.

Martin was expected to serve as Administrator for just six months, but was asked to stay, allowing for a smooth one-year transition. In June, he took on the additional duty of Interim Director of the Department of Corrections.

“Joe has been a valuable source of knowledge for my administration and eagerly took on the demanding responsibility of running our Department of Corrections,” the County Executive said. “He provided professional leadership for our Corrections Department during this critical time when we have had to operate two old facilities and prepare for the transition into our modern facility. This has been a difficult and important task and Joe has done an outstanding job,” he added.

“The first year of any administration is like starting up a new business,” Martin said. “The pace of change during the first 12 months of this administration exceeds the pace of change in any government. I look forward to being supportive of the County Executive’s efforts in the future and am proud that I was part of Joe D’s team,” he added.