STONE HARBOR – Tim Carney took the oath of office as the borough’s fourth mayor in the last 32 years at the Borough Council’s reorganization meeting on Jan. 7.

Incumbent council members Bunny Parzych and Frank Dallahan also took their oaths of office after winning new terms in an election in which they ran unopposed.

Carney’s successful run for mayor opens his council seat. His unexpired term runs until Dec. 31, 2026, meaning the council, following nominations from the local Republican committee, will appoint a replacement for the remainder of 2025, with that individual then having to stand for election, if she or he so chooses, for the remainder of the unexpired term in the general election of 2025. The Republican committee is involved in the appointment because Stone Harbor is a partisan municipality.

Carney said after taking his oath that he saw great possibilities for the next year. He embraced the previous year’s actions, stating that he is “proud of what we’ve done on council in 2024.”

The new mayor set three priorities for the upcoming year.

The first is to improve the financial health of the borough, one of the most affluent communities in the county, which despite its surging property values has run up against the state’s appropriations cap on spending. Various efforts are underway to look at the structure of operations and the possibilities of shared service arrangements with neighboring towns.

Carney’s second priority is to curtail what he called the overdevelopment of the borough. He wants to bring more oversight to new construction and development. He pointed to his experience on the town’s Zoning Board.

His third priority for 2025 was protection of the community’s natural resources. Carney said he would bring his experience as chair of the council committee on natural resources to the task of preserving the beaches, bay, wetlands and other resources that make the town what it is.

On a more personal level, Carney said he wants to be a mayor who “listens more than he speaks” and who “builds bridges” where there is controversy.

Gensemer, in taking over as council president, has a broad portfolio, since she was also reappointed chair of the council committee on administration and finance.

The other five council committees had their membership confirmed, with the chairs going to Victor Foschini for recreation and tourism, Parzych for public works, Dallahan for public safety and Robin Casper for utilities. Casper will also head the natural resources committee, which Carney chaired, presumably until a replacement council member is appointed to his vacant seat.

As is custom, the reorganization meeting reestablished professional services contracts for the new year, with two of the most important contractor-staffed offices having the incumbents reappointed: Anthony Bocchi as municipal attorney and Marc DeBlasio, of DeBlasio & Associates, as borough engineer.

The borough will begin the year with at least three key positions vacant: chief of police, director of recreation and borough administrator.