Morris GOP politics turn ugly as Parsippany mayor blasts county chair on Spadea's show

PARSIPPANY — With enthusiastic support from Mayor James Barberio , the township council narrowly passed a $91 million budget for 2024 on Tuesday night.

But the vote, which approved an almost 3% tax hike for local homeowners, was largely a backdrop for what's become a heated public feud among the Republican mayor of Morris County's largest town, a rival councilman and the head of the county GOP.

On Tuesday, the already simmering dispute played out on the radio airwaves.

Before the council meeting, Barberio went on the NJ101.5 radio show of conservative firebrand Bill Spadea . There, the mayor aired his grievances with Morris County Republican Committee Chairwoman Laura Ali.

Parsippany mayor goes on Spadea's radio show

He also took aim at Parsippany's Justin Musella and acknowledged that he expects the young first-term councilman to run against him in next year's Republican primary − "bankrolled by the MCRC."

Calling Ali "an outsider" meddling in local politics, Barberio told Spadea, "I think she should just stay in her lane, but she's not going to, because she's all in on Justin Musella."

"Whatever political ambitions this kid has, let him have it," Barberio said of Musella, 32, who has opposed the mayor on "PILOT" tax breaks for developers , project labor agreements that favor unions on some public works, and, most recently, the new budget.

"In my opinion, he has a sense of entitlement, which is troubling," Barberio said of his fellow Republican.

"I grew up in this town," the mayor, now in his third term, continued. "This town is my heart. This is just a stepping stone for him. That's all it is."

Musella has not publicly mentioned his interest in running for mayor. He didn't address Barberio's comments about his political ambitions, if any, at the council meeting.

GOP chair: Barberio is Morris County's 'least qualified mayor'

Prior to the meeting, Ali responded to Barberio's interview, telling the Daily Record, "As the highest paid and least qualified mayor in Morris County, Barberio should be working his day job instead of calling into radio shows politicking during taxpayer-funded office hours."

The mayor and Ali have clashed since Barberio, seeking to regain his office in 2021, was denied the county party's endorsement and its coveted "county line" position on the ballot .

Barberio said he expects Ali to continue to oppose him holding the only full-time mayoral office in Morris county.

"[Musella] went around to some union members saying that he's going to be bankrolled by the MCRC," Barberio told Spadea. "I encourage MCRC members that I wouldn't donate to the MCRC because all that money's going to go towards Parsippany. That's their main goal."

Ali replied, "If his work ethic was at the same height as his paranoia, Parsippany residents wouldn’t have been sacked with double-digit tax increases the last two years."

Parsippany approved municipal tax levy increases of 14.5% in 2022 and 3.3% in 2023 after Barberio took office and declared "the town was broke."

"There was medicine that had to be administered, and we administered that medicine," Barberio said of the past two years.

What's in new Parsippany budget?

This year's budget calls for a 2.78% municipal levy increase. Including county and school taxes, which the township council doesn't control, the overall increase will be 1.87%, or about $6 more per month for the typical taxpayer, based on a median home price of $313,513.

The budget does not appropriate surplus funds from the township water and sewer utility, a controversial practice in previous years. It contains no cuts to township services and funds three new police officers, council President Paul Carifi Jr. said.

"We are now fiscally sound," he said.

Republicans Carifi, Matt McGrath and Frank Neglia voted in favor of the budget. Musella and Judy Hernandez , the lone Democrat on the council, voted no.

Hernandez urged the council to review 41 open positions on the town payroll, some of which she identified as "historical vacancies" that have been open for years and could be cut. She said this and other suggestions she made were not addressed by the budget committee.

More: Trucking firm pays $3.7M for old Corigliano Dodge site in Parsippany. Here's their plan

Mayor to critics: 'So what?'

Musella referred back to an itemized list of possible cuts he proposed at the previous meeting totaling $868,000, which he introduced as a resolution that was voted down by the same 3-2 vote.

"I proposed nearly a million in practical and realistic cost-saving measures," Musella said. "I did talk to my council colleagues. Two of the four were receptive. And while Councilman McGrath will be voting for this budget, I do at least thank him for the time he spent with me, hearing me out, not calling into a radio show to attack the proposal."

"Yes, I was on the radio this morning," Barberio replied. "So what? I'm going to be on the radio a lot more. I can tell you that right now so I'll tell you when you can tune in and listen. I'm going to be out there a lot more. You're going to get the truth. You're going to get a lot of truth."

William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today .

Email: wwesthoven@ dailyrecord.com

Twitter: @wwesthoven

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Morris GOP politics turn ugly as Parsippany mayor blasts county chair on Spadea's show