Vanishing act

Thirty-two months after being hired at a six-figure salary, Middlesex’s lead municipal staff member has disappeared from borough government without official explanation.

Taxpayers might not hear the details as to why any time soon.

Business Administrator Michael LaPlace was absent from the Borough Council’s Tuesday, Sept. 23 meeting. It marked the second consecutive session of the governing body without his presence. He also missed the Sept. 9 meeting.

During the prior council session on Aug. 19, LaPlace attended and gave his usual administrator’s report. But as opposed to being on the dais with the mayor and council or at a table nearby, LaPlace sat in the audience that night and spoke from there. At that time, his unusual speaking location raised no eyebrows.

Although LaPlace missed both September council meetings, he attended the 9-11 service at Victor Crowell Park. While there, he spoke with Inside – Middlesex about his envisioned relocation of the borough’s Sept. 11 monument from its current site near the falls to a spot closer to the annex building.

At this week’s council meeting, the executive session included an agenda item that read “Personnel — Interim Administrator.” It suggested the council would move to bring in someone to replace LaPlace on a temporary basis.

“I’m not really at liberty to talk about anything,” Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk told the meeting audience. “There are certain legalities that have to work themselves out.”

“So, if you’re thinking about asking a question about it – don’t,” the mayor added.

Mikolajczyk said a memo had been sent to municipal staff. It directed that matters typically brought to LaPlace, to be forwarded instead to Police Chief Matt Geist.

“More details will become available when they become available,” Mikolajczyk said.

LaPlace was still listed as borough administrator on the municipal website as of Wednesday night, Sept. 24.

Terminating a New Jersey municipal employee requires following strict Civil Service Commission rules, which involve a process of notice, due process, and a formal hearing for termination or major discipline, including providing a Final Notice of Disciplinary Action and potentially filing appeals to the commission. The process ensures employees’ rights are protected and is governed by Civil Service regulations, with a focus on fairness and a chance for the employee to respond to charges before any termination or significant disciplinary action is finalized. 

LaPlace was hired via council resolution on Jan. 24, 2023 with a starting salary of $150,000. He attended his first council meeting on March 28 of that year, succeeding Interim Administrator Joe Costa. Costa temporarily filled the lead staff position after Marcia Karrow resigned the prior year.

LaPlace’s 2025 salary was set at $159,650, according to a resolution passed by the council in June.

Prior to being hired in Middlesex Borough, LaPlace worked as planning and zoning director in the city of Annapolis, Md. Before that, he was municipal planner in Princeton for three years.

LaPlace left the Annapolis position in March 2023 to take the Middlesex administrator’s job. A headline in the Baltimore Sun noted “Planning and Zoning director departs Annapolis after less than 10 months.”

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