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Town Council Gets Its Raise By Ambrose Bierce, Editor in Chief At its last meeting, the Hillside Township politicians did what most taxpayers cannot: give themselves a pay raise. RELATED COVERAGE Salary-Raise Hypocrisy Pay Raises for Pols More Perks on the Way? Living Off Taxpayers Council's Audacity After the 6-1 vote in favor of the raise, each Hillside councilmember will receive an annual stipend of $7,000 - up from $5,500. The pay for Hillside councilmembers now surpasses that of elected officials in Summit, Fanwood, and both the committee members and the mayor of Cranford. Hillside property taxes also remain among the highest in the county. Ward 4 Councilman Pateesh Freedman voted against the Council's pay raise. The sole opponent of the Hillside political pay raise was Ward 4 Councilman Gerald "Pateesh" Freedman. "There is no reason for this increase," Freedman has said. Freedman, criticizing Council President Sam McGhee's obstinate defense of the pay raise, said, "McGhee is the only Democrat I know of that says the economy is in good enough shape to warrant his voting himself a raise." Freedman will be donating his pay increase to the Deborah Heart and Lung Hospital of Brown Hills, NJ.

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