Controversy over New Jersey town's CFO

The position of chief financial officer (CFO) is taken very seriously by the town of Edison, New Jersey. This is because the town's last CFO, Frank DeRosa, was fired in August after he was caught stealing funds from the municipality, the Sentinel reports. "This administration in particular has not had the best track record of hiring," former Edison councilwoman Melissa Perilstein told the news source. "This is an important decision. The circumstances that surrounded our last [acting] CFO have not left us with an optimal feeling. We should have been extremely careful in our new selection process." The new CFO, Janice Saponaro, was hired on February 21, and Perilstein believes that because Saponaro has to oversee a $150 million budget, a detailed background check and credit report process is necessary. Saponaro has previously worked as CFO of the town of Hillside. However, MyCentralJersey.com notes that some Edison residents are worried that Saponaro isn't qualified to be a municipal CFO. She failed a portion of the certification test administered by the state Department of Community Affairs twice in the past year and seven times since 1994. She plans to take the test again in June.