Councilman Calls in to Make Quorum

NORTH WILDWOOD — Unlike most municipal meetings where votes are taken, it was a horse of a different color when City Council passed a resolution adopting the 2012 Wildwoods Boardwalk Special Improvement District (SID) budget.
With only four members of the seven-member council present for the Wed., April 3 meeting, a fifth Council member phoned in his vote.
Attending the meeting were council members Kellyann Tolomeo, Peggy Bishop, Ed Koehler and Sal Zampiri. Absent were Council President Patrick Rosenello, David DelConte and Rick Ogen.
“We’re going to be calling Dave DelConte on the phone,” said Tolomeo when the resolution for passage of the SID budget was presented.
DelConte was unable to attend the meeting due to a family emergency.
“Is four council people allowed, or do we need five,” asked resident Jim Koch.
“We have five,” Tolomeo responded. “We have Dave DelConte on the phone.”
“How do we know that he’s not one of your kids,” asked Koch as DelConte’s voice was heard on a speakerphone.
Mayor Bill Henfey assured Koch that it was, in fact, DelConte on the phone. The resolution then passed with four aye votes and one abstention.
With a seven member council, the four members in attendance was sufficient to have a majority; however according to state law, any time a governing body is voting upon financial issues, a majority of two-thirds must vote.
The mayor said the legality of having a vote called in was run by City Solicitor William Kauffman and was given his okay.
Koch questioned DelConte’s ability to hear the meeting. “That other guy you have on the phone, he can’t even hear what you’re saying. He can’t vote.”
“Any time we spend money we need to have five votes,” Henfey told the Herald. The mayor added while four is a regular majority for the seven-member panel, a “super quorum” of five is needed for the adoption of any resolutions or ordinances that involve finances.
After the vote was taken Koch admonished Council. “That’s not a majority,” he said. “You can’t have a majority of four. It’s against the law to have four people. You’re supposed to have five to have a majority. What happens if you have two and two?”
According to Henfey, if a vote does end in a tie, he, as mayor, would cast the deciding vote.