Embattled Burlco administrator defends finances

Just two weeks into his job as Burlington County's new administrator, Paul Drayton Jr. faces questions over his personal finances - and one freeholder is calling for his dismissal.

But Drayton said in an interview yesterday that he had not allowed the controversy to shift his focus from "doing a great job. I think at the end of the day, I should be and will be judged by the job I do as county administrator, and how effective . . . are we in closing a large budget gap."

The Mount Laurel resident was hired for $157,000 a year to run Burlington County as officials grapple with a $15 million budget shortfall. Drayton, 50, was chief executive officer of the Delaware River Port Authority from 1994 to 2003.

Published reports subsequently revealed that he was more than $3,000 behind on child support to a 12-year-old daughter living in South Carolina, and that a Superior Court judge had issued a judgment against him, his brother, and a business partner after they defaulted on a $200,000 business loan.

Freeholder Mary Anne Reinhart e-mailed freeholders Bruce Garganio and Joe Donnelly on Saturday seeking to have Drayton's employment terminated, the Camden Courier-Post reported. Reinhart, one of two Democrats on the Republican-majority board, declined to comment yesterday.

Drayton said he did not disclose the personal financial issues during lengthy interviews - handled by Republicans Garganio and Donnelly - because he did not believe they would affect his ability to manage the county.

"The substantive process I went through in terms of budgeting, finance, management, . . . operational issues was as extensive as any I've been through in my career. That's really where the freeholders focused," Drayton said.

The freeholders are scheduled to discuss Drayton at a meeting next Wednesday.

Burlington County Superior Court records show that Judge Charles Little issued a judgment of $198,980.95 against Drayton, his brother Raymond, and Brian Varallo on Aug. 13.

The records indicate that on Jan. 13, 2006, Drayton signed off as a guarantor on a loan for his brother and his brother's business partner, Varallo, and they agreed to repay the debt in exactly one year. They defaulted, and the bank filed suit against Capital Consulting L.L.C. on Jan. 25, 2007, two weeks after the money was due.

Drayton said he paid more than $50,000 on the loan. In 2008, the parties entered into a settlement under which the defendants worked out a payment agreement that included interest, late fees, and attorneys' fees with Sun National Bank. The judgment was issued after Capital failed to make further payments.

Drayton said in court documents that he received no payments from the company. In an interview, he said he had started a transportation consulting business under the umbrella of his brother's company, Capital, so he could get his business off the ground quickly after he lost his job as vice president of Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) in 2004. But his business operations were separate, he said.

Now, Drayton said, he is working with Sun to enter into a separate agreement and find a "fair way to resolve the issue."

He acknowledged that he was legally responsible as a backer on the loan but said his brother and Varallo were responsible for making the payments.

Drayton served as director of special projects for Temple University from 2007 to 2009. He was laid off in June and began collecting unemployment.

"They've had financial challenges, and they were restructuring," he said. "It had absolutely nothing to do with my job performance."

He said he was taking steps to get current on his child-support payments, and added, "There are millions of people who have, because of being laid off, fallen behind. And I'm no different."

The county received 28 applications for the administrator job, and the five freeholders each provided a list of seven finalists. All but Freeholder Chris Brown, a Democrat, included Drayton on the list.

The board voted, 3-1, to hire Drayton on March 3, with Reinhart dissenting and Brown in Florida.

Drayton's resume states that at the DRPA, he was responsible for "the complete reengineering and reorganization of the agency resulting in savings of over $90 million."

He left the agency with a $198,730 severance package after disputes with Vice Chairman Jeff Nash, a Camden County freeholder. Then Drayton went to work for ACS, which held contracts with the authority.

Serving as DRPA vice chairman for part of Drayton's tenure was Glenn Paulsen, who remains a Burlington County GOP power broker after stepping down as party chairman in 2004.

"I consider Glenn to be a friend, I do, but there were no discussions about this beforehand," Drayton said.

"If I was just out of grad school and I assumed a position like this, then I think the questions regarding what I consider to be my private life would have more legitimacy," Drayton said.

Freeholder Director Garganio was not available for comment yesterday, and Brown said he declined to discuss Drayton's employment status.