When you think of the highest-paid public workers in the state, you probably don’t think of the chief financial officer for Rochelle Park, population 5,597.
But Roy Riggitano, the township’s CFO, brings home at least $347,970 a year. That’s not just because Riggitano works for Rochelle Park. He’s also CFO for Palisades Park. He works for Elmwood Park, where he’s the tax collector. And he’s the CFO of Garfield. Plus he’s a purchasing agent for Elmwood Park. And he’s a fire inspector in Fairview. Oh, and he’s a fire inspector in Cliffside Park.Six towns, six separate salaries.
Riggitano earns pension credits for all but one of these jobs.
Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director at Rutgers University’s Bloustein Local Government Research Center, said a municipal CFO with multiple jobs isn’t necessarily a red flag, but it could be a yellow one.
“Being a CFO in multiple municipalities requires excellent attention to detail, well-trained day-to-day staff doing their work, and make sure the internal controls used to ensure that policies are being followed are working and checked,” he said. “There would also be an added responsibility of the auditor in each municipality to ensure that the risks presented by a part-time CFO are part of their testing.”
