Jersey City has taken steps to curtail the power of public-works chief Mike Razzoli after discovering what sources say were plans to install a secret barbecue grill on the balcony outside his office.

The city's actions include giving business administration officials, and not Razzoli, the final say-so on making construction changes to the DPW complex being built on East Linden Avenue. They also include removing the city's architecture, engineering, traffic and transportation divisions from Razzoli's control. Razzoli started overseeing those departments just last September.

The moves represent a marked shift for Razzoli, a former construction code official who became one of the city's top officials after Mayor Steve Fulop won control of City Hall last year. Razzoli and his brothers were major Fulop supporters in the 2013 mayoral race, and he has a close friendship with Tom Bertoli, a political operative who was one of the chief architects of Fulop's mayoral victory.

In a July 2 email obtained by the newspaper, Razzoli offered to resign, without specifying a reason, and asked to be returned to his old title, which comes with a nearly 40 percent pay cut. Civil service rules would make it difficult for the city to summarily terminate him.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill denied that the city's recent actions target Razzoli specifically. But emails released pursuant to a public-records request show the city officials stepped in to limit Razzoli's influence after they discovered the gas line he wanted for the barbecue grill.

A request for comment from Razzoli was not returned.

The first sign of trouble for Razzoli came on June 18, when Christopher Getz, of New York-based Urbahn Architects, emailed construction officials and a top city business official to ask questions about the gas line, which wasn't in the original plans for the new DPW complex.

"What is this gas line for? Who authorized this gas line? When was this work done?" reads Getz's email, which includes 13 photographs of the gas line. "How is this being paid for? ... I can't imagine running hundreds of feet of gas piping and associated fittings can't be inexpensive."

Getz added: "There may be a code issue involved."

On June 25, Greg Corrado, the city's assistant business administrator, emailed Getz and others – not Razzoli – to say the city would pay for the gas line's installation. He doesn't specify the cost.

"Please ensure that the line is disconnected and not usable," Corrado wrote, adding questions about how much it would cost to remove and whether it would be easier to leave it in place.

He added: "Does this kind of gas line to a grill meet fire code standards?"

Razzoli also sought to have a water line installed in his office, according to a June 12 email from an official with the construction firm hired by the city to help oversee construction of the DPW facility. Corrado stepped in to nix those plans and order that he, not Razzoli, would approve all subsequent construction changes to the complex. One week later, the gas line appeared.

Getz declined to comment to The Jersey Journal, referring all questions to Jersey City.

The week Getz emailed the city asking about the gas line, the City Council took action, taking the city's architecture, engineering, traffic and transportation divisions out of Razzoli's control. Razzoli began overseeing those divisions last September as part of a massive restructuring of city government.

According to Morrill, Razzoli still has the ability to make changes to constructions plans for the DPW complex, but that the city has implemented some "checks and balances."

"As you can see from the emails, the administration acted quickly and properly," she said. "They started an investigation referring to legal department, and also outlined safeguards while investigation was ongoing to make sure can't happen again."

Morrill said an employee is being investigated regarding the gas line. She declined to specify who and wouldn't say how much it cost to install.

The city hopes to have a new DPW chief by Labor Day, she added.

The $87 million complex, which is set to be completed this year, will be the new home of the DPW and the Jersey City Incinerator Authority, an autonomous agency Fulop wants to dissolve. The facility will replace the two entities' aging homes on Route 440.

Razzoli's imminent departure as DPW chief is one of two high-profile administration changes revealed in recent weeks. On Monday, Fulop demoted Robert Cowan, who was appointed police chief in October. Like Razzoli, Cowan was a Fulop supporter during last year's mayoral campaign.