CORRECTION: The first online version of this story incorrectly stated the point in time at which Commissioner Will Morey learned about a change in his commissioner duties. The error was corrected before print publication.
CREST HAVEN – County Commission Director Leonard Desiderio and Commissioner Will Morey are in a dispute over the way the members of the board of commissioners should be assigned duties.
The disagreement arose after Morey learned that some of the duties he held last year were changed. Morey said he received the agenda and resolutions on commissioner duties two business days prior to the board’s annual reorganization meeting, when the matter was taken up and which he did not attend.
He said there was no prior discussion among the commissioners as to department assignments and responsibilities, which he said was typical in his first 12 years as a commissioner.
Desiderio maintained that traditional routine was followed in the assignment of duties, and that the rules of the board call for the director to make department assignments for the board members. “It has been this way during my entire time on the board,” he said in a statement to the Herald.
The director said all county commissioners were informed of their proposed assignments a week or more before the reorganization meeting. “The members who attended the reorganization meeting voted unanimously for the assignments,” he said. “There was nothing unusual about the process.”
Morey said that, according to his review of the agenda and resolutions, the Health Department was transferred to Commissioner Bobby Barr, the Library Commission to Commissioner Melanie Collette and the Surrogate’s Office to him. He said there might be other, nominal, changes that are not yet clear.
“There was no discussion with me on any of the above so I cannot offer any logical rationale for the changes,” he said.
Morey, according to the resolutions passed by the commissioners Jan. 2, is listed as the director of Human Services & Information Technology. As such, his responsibilities include overseeing the Department of Human Services, Division of Aging & Disability Services, Division of Community & Behavioral Health Services, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Medical Examiner and Surrogate.
In addition, Morey holds assignments as county liaison to various boards and commissions, including the Crest Haven Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Workforce Development Board, The ARC, Council on Aging, Department of Human Services Advisory Board, Drug and Alcohol Addiction and Drug Care Programs, Human Services Advisory Council, Jersey Cape Diagnostic, Mental Health, Alcohol, and Drug Abuse Board, Professional Health Advisory Committee and Youth Services Commission.
Morey said that, according to the Rules of the Board of County Commissioners, commissioner assignments are not made at the discretion of the commission director, but as a function of the entire board.
Paragraph 13 of a document titled 2024 Rules of the Board of County Commissioners reads, “At the annual meeting in January, the board shall divide the business of the county into five departments according to law. With the approval of the county commissioner director and by majority vote, the board shall assign one member of the board to be the head or director of each department for the ensuing year.”
Morey said: “As I think is evident from reviewing the Rules of the Board, [the rules] clearly do not call for the director to make advance department assignments for board members but rather call for the approval of the director of the board’s work in dividing the business of the county into five departments. By nature of the rule, it’s difficult to imagine how assignments can be made in a manner consistent with the Rules of the Board without discussion among the board, including with the director.”
Desiderio, in his statement responding to a Herald request for comment, said, “First and foremost, we respect Mr. Morey’s opinions, but he is wrong about how this has been handled.”
He said that when he became director a couple of years ago, he noted that the oversight responsibilities of the board members had not changed in many years.
He added in his statement that allowing commissioners to gain broad experience is critical to good government, and that keeping the responsibility for the same departments for years is detrimental.
“In my opinion, that is not good government. It is good to shake things up every once in a while,” he said.
Desiderio said none of the commissioners is elected as the “commissioner of open space” or the “commissioner of public safety,” for example. He said that they are all elected to serve in the capacity assigned, and that Morey has been assigned very important oversight of the departments dealing with social and human services.
“That might not be as sexy as open space or the airport, but these are very, very important functions of county government,” he said, adding that he understands that not everyone is going to be happy with their assignments.
Morey said he was not saying he was unhappy with the assignments, just with the process by which they were made.
“I respect that the democratic process is to be relied upon to make assignments, which may mean that my preferences do not prevail. That’s OK, [but] the lack of appropriate process, along with any reasonable sense of professional courtesy, is not,” he said.
Morey said he intends to contribute to the county’s well-being from whatever position of responsibility he is assigned. He said that, beginning in 2024, a key focus of his has been addressing homelessness in the county.
He said despite “offering a contrarian view at times,” he remains committed to assisting and supporting each of his fellow commissioners “in providing services and advancing projects that will serve Cape May County’s residents and taxpayers well.”
Morey last year was critical of the commissioners for giving notice that they were ending their long-running agreement with the Delaware River and Bay Authority over the operation and development of Cape May Airport.
And when he put forward suggestions late last year on how the commissioners could be more transparent and make their meetings more easily accessible to residents he was rebuffed, with Desiderio saying he thought the commission was transparent, and with two other commissioners taking offense about Morey’s statement that he felt the commission was “holding off the residents and taxpayers from getting information.”
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.