Public Safety director takes 45-day extension in stride
Photo by Chris Sykes East Orange Public Safety Director Sheilah Coley, right, and Police Chief Phyllis Bindi, left, speak at a 4th Ward community meeting in 2016. Normally, a mayor hires or appoints a department head, who the council approves, and that person serves in an ‘acting’ capacity for as long as 90 days, before council decides whether to give them final approval for a regular full-time job. Usually, council approves the mayor’s choice, but sometimes decides not to give final approval, and the mayor has to either appoint someone else or ask council for an extension. Mayor Ted Green asked council for a 45-day extension for Coley, which was approved; she wasn’t the only department head whose term was extended.
