Council Overstepped Authority When It Appointed Chief of Police: Dougherty

CAPE MAY – Aug. 16, one day after Cape May City Council held a special meeting to appoint Police Chief Anthony Marino, council members heard from one of the principles in the Charter Commission that helped put in place the City Manager-Council form of government under which the city operates. 
Wister Dougherty, who served as vice president of the commission that started work in 2002, reminded council that the voters put the form of government in place in 2004 following the commission’s recommendations.
He argued that the appointment of the police chief by the council rather than City Manager Bruce MacLeod was a violation of the charter.
Dougherty challenged the council and Solicitor Anthony Monzo, to show when the act by the city, to reserve the right to hire the police and fire chiefs, to the council was approved as a change to the charter rules.
Dougherty was reinforcing a point made by ex-council member Jerry Inderwies at the special Aug. 15 meeting when Marino was appointed. In effect, both men said that council exceeded its authority under the charter.
Monzo explained the city position. He pointed to case law that supports the city’s action under public police statues. The council in 2004 explicitly reserved that power when it set up the form of government.  The ordinance doing so was passed by a unanimous vote and was permissible, according to Monzo.
Dougherty maintained that the state needed to approve a change to the powers normally granted to the city manager under the charter.
Monzo said the state does not get involved in municipal issues of this sort.
There was no agreement. Those members of the public who believe that council overstepped remained steadfast in that view.
The city feels it has acted properly and in accordance with its municipal code. Meanwhile, this becomes one more point in a controversy that will probably not be settled until the resolution of Capt. Robert Sheehan’s lawsuit against the city for removing him as chief in 2015.
Ordinances
The city introduced an ordinance on first reading calling for approval of a new zoning map.
Mayor Edward Mahaney said the map has minimal changes, but it has been brought up-to-date with a few exemptions passed by the council since the last map.
Monzo said that it would be possible, assuming the ordinance is passed, for an individual to see the zoning map without cross-references to decisions made after it was drawn.
On second reading, the city adopted changes to its construction ordinance having to do with the regulations governing the certificate of flood damage compliance and the certificate of continued occupancy.
The changes involve actions that must take place on a transfer of property ownership with some noted exceptions where the transfer would be exempt from the need for the certificates.
The certificate of flood damage prevention compliance is meant to ensure that transferred property is compliant with regulations that, in turn, impact the city’s Community Rating System and flood insurance discount.
The certificate of continued occupancy, Mahaney explained, is not as onerous as the certificate of occupancy, rather it is a visual inspection conducted before a change of ownership.
The city issued a special newsletter explaining the changes to property owners. The provisions of the ordinance were developed in cooperation with a committee of real estate professionals in the city.
Mahaney made a motion that was approved to delay the changes regarding the two certificates until Nov. 1 providing added time for preparation and a smooth transition.
Beach Safety
The Beach Safety Committee will meet Aug. 25 at 10 a.m., and its meeting has been moved to Convention Hall. That meeting, open to the public, will have six representatives in attendance from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers.
At issue is the slope of the beach, especially in the surf zone, which many believe is the cause of a number of spinal cord and other injuries that have occurred at the city’s beaches over the last two decades.
Some believe the beach replenishment program, under the control of the DEP and Army Corps, is related to the dangerous conditions.
Dennis DeSatnick, whose son Chad suffered a spinal cord injury on a Cape May beach, wants to know what the two agencies are willing to do about the beach template to increase safety for beach users. 
Since protection of the environment is a principle goal for the replenishment efforts, it is unclear how involved the agencies will be in the issues revolving around the public’s use of the beaches.
Mahaney has made clear many times his strategy which has been to get the agencies involved on the premise that any relationship of safety issues to beach replenishment means that Cape May’s problems will be surfacing again and again as other communities experience more years of replenishment projects.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.