Names Behind High Salaries of Gloucester City Dept. Heads Listed
Monday, June 16, 2025
William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNews
GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (JUNE 16, 2025)(CNBNEWS)--During the caucus meeting on June 16, 2025, Gloucester City Mayor Dayl Baile and the City Council members reviewed two ordinances and an extensive list of 16 resolutions. Among these, one resolution, titled "Designating Salaries for Employees Serving in Titles with Salary Ranges," demanded attention. This document is a crucial step toward transparency in public salary expenditures, shedding light on how taxpayer dollars are spent.
While it deliberately omits specific employee names, the resolution still offers a salary breakdown by title that allows citizens to understand exactly how their funds are being utilized. CNBNews took the initiative to connect some names to the titles outlined in the resolution, pulling information directly from the City’s website to enhance public awareness.
RELATED: Gloucester City Employees Receive Pay Raise; Where's The Transparency?
It must be emphasized: the government does not possess its own money. Therefore, it is nothing less than unacceptable to obscure how taxpayer money is allocated to city employees. The incongruity of not including employee names in these reports raises serious questions about accountability and transparency. We demand clarity—as we stated in a recent article about employee salaries, "Where is the transparency?" This recent resolution, while a step forward, must not be the end of the conversation; the mayor and council must commit to greater openness moving forward.
Many residents are not aware that the City's police chief, Brian Morrell, holds the
significant dual positions of Chief of Police and City Administrator. These are two of the most important positions in any city government. Due to the sudden departure of City Administrator Jack Lipsett, Police Chief Brian Morrell was appointed as the temporary city administrator by former City Mayor Daniel Spencer, five years ago, at the end of December 2020. It was supposed to be a temporary appointment. Lipsett was appointed in 2008. The reason for his sudden departure was never explained. The position of City Administrator was first appointed over 50-plus years ago.
As chief of Police, Morrell commands a substantial salary of $195,000, or approximately $94 per hour, the equivalent of $3,761 a week or $16,300 per month.
If we look back five years, before his interim appointment as administrator, Morrell earned $144,000 as the City Police Chief. Since then, his chief’s salary has consistently and significantly increased, reaching an annual increase of $10,200 per year. He is one of the highest-paid police chiefs in the state of New Jersey.
According to data from ZipRecruiter, the average annual pay for a Chief of Police in New Jersey is $135,912 as of June 7, 2025.
Additionally, his role as City Administrator contributes another $55,000 to his earnings, resulting in an impressive total compensation package of $250,000.
Other salaries of note include:
Director of the Fire Department Tom Quinn, $150,000
Chief Financial Officer Brenda Sprigman, 140,000
Supt. Of Public Works Alex Tedesco, 120,822
City Clerk Vanessa Little, 103,429
Tax Collector Kareemah Sadiq, CTC. , 100,987
Court Administrator Samantha Schules 90,000
Chief Housing Inspector Bill Gallagher, 82,340
Community Development Lori Ryan, 78,030
In other matters,
One of the ordinances for discussion pertained to regulating the salaries of employees, and the other ordinance confirmed the sale of lands, specifically the following properties:
LOCATION AMOUNT SUCCESSFUL BIDDER
2 Klemm Avenue. $31,000 Ed Cilurso & Jennifer Murphy
222 Morris Street 17,700 Boro Redevelopment Partners LLC
822,826,830 Essex St. 52,400 John Davidson
126 N. King Street 20,000 Boro Redevelopment Partners LLC
120A N. King St. 5,000 Scarlett Sienna Properties
Council submitted a proposal to the NJ Urban Enterprise Zone Authority in the amount of $919,670 for administrative expenses to fulfill the purposes of NJSA 52:27H-60 et seq
A resolution to execute a grant application with the NJ Department of Transportation for the 800 block of Division Street.
A resolution authorizing the purchase of a 2025 Ford Utility Interceptor Base vehicle, priced at $65,000, was reviewed.
Resolutions to anticipate special items of revenue include the following grants:
$1,960 CC Regionalized DWI Enforcement Grant
$10,000 Dept. of Energy BPU Program
$16,667 NJ Recycle Tonnage CY2022
$27,322 Clean Communities Grant Fund
$56,000 Dept. RRGI Grant Program
$175,000 Small Cities Housing Rehabilitation Grant
$400,000 CDBG Small Cities Cherry Street, 600 to 800 block Grant
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$686,949.00 TOTAL
THE FOLLOWING LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS WERE REVIEWED
Gloucester City seeks to withdraw $919,670 from its Urban Enterprise Zone Fund held by the UEZ Authority for administrative expenses incurred, according to the resolution below.