Jersey City council votes tonight on acting CFO Walkidia Staten as members demand to see acting pay first

JERSEY CITY — The Jersey City Council is set to vote Wednesday night, Oct. 21, on Mayor James Solomon’s choice of city controller Walkidia Staten as acting chief financial officer, a late addition to the agenda that drew questions at Monday’s caucus about how much Staten and acting Finance Director Kyle Greaves will be paid in their temporary roles.

In a letter dated Oct. 19 to department directors and the council, Solomon wrote that Staten “will be serving as Acting Chief Finance Officer” as of Monday, Oct. 19. Resolution 26-716 asks the council for its advice and consent, effective Oct. 19. A second late item, Resolution 26-717, would make Solomon and Staten the city’s official signatories on checks and other financial instruments.

The city has been without a permanent finance chief since Finance Director Bill Viqueira resigned, which the mayor’s office announced Oct. 8. At the time, the city said Greaves would serve as acting finance director. At Monday’s caucus, the administration told the council Viqueira’s last day was Friday.

Who is Staten

Asked about her background at the Oct. 19 caucus, Staten said she has worked for the city since 2023, starting as chief accountant before being promoted to controller. She said she has completed the classes to become a certified CFO and “submitted my application last week to take the test next month.” She said she would keep serving as controller while acting CFO.

Acting Corporation Counsel Lisa Scorsolini told the council that under state law an acting CFO, who cannot already hold the certification, serves up to one year from the date of the vacancy, and can be extended for two more one-year terms, up to three consecutive years. A certified CFO is appointed to a four-year term, she said.

Questions about pay

Business Administrator Ruby Choi confirmed that Staten and Greaves are both getting acting pay on top of their current salaries, and that the city has posted the finance director and CFO jobs. She said the acting arrangement is meant to be temporary and offered to send the council the salary information.

“I believe that the combination of the increases from myself and Kyle equate to about half of what Bill’s salary is,” Staten said.

One council member said the council had been asked earlier this year to raise the pay for Viqueira’s post and was told the city was saving money because he filled both the CFO and finance director roles. Another said, “I think the age of we need to do this by the end of the week is over,” and called for the council to consider amending the salary ordinance it passed earlier in the year. One member said, “I’m not going to vote on that until I know what the salary is.” A member also argued that the city should give its own employees a chance to prove themselves before posting the jobs publicly.

Council President Denise Ridley, who chaired the caucus, moved the rest of the questions offline, saying, “I don’t want to get deep into personnel issues on the public record.” She added that the city needs a CFO to sign off on its finances, but urged the administration to get items on the agenda on time “because we knew at the time of this agenda that we needed a CFO.”

The administration told the council the urgency is that accounts need to be checked and even resolutions before the council have to be reviewed by someone in the CFO role.

The council meets Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. at City Hall, according to the agenda.

Hudson TV asks: Should Jersey City promote from within for its top finance jobs or hire from outside? Reply A: Promote from within. Reply B: Search outside.
Share your take in the comments.

Curious what your Jersey City home is worth? Get a free estimate for your address at gardenstate.ai/value