DENNISVILLE – Dennis Township Committee considered two resolutions Aug. 22, one to authorize an “emergency appropriation” and the other to appoint a part-time administrator.
He was identified by Mayor Zeth Matalucci as retired Galloway Township Police Chief Patrick Moran, who was present at the meeting.
Matalucci explained the reasoning behind both, “This new business administrator position will provide huge benefits to the township. For years, our clerk has been filling in for the responsibilities of this type of position but these are not her duties and since she doesn’t have the proper authority people don’t listen to her, and she can’t discipline them. It’s time to bring someone in and take the pressure off.”
“This position will provide for an increase in efficiency and a decrease in liability and will be a benefit to residents. For example, the person can answer phones and cover for those on vacation so that when a resident comes in for a document or license, they have not made a wasted trip if someone is not there,” Matalucci continued.
He explained that the township has had “some issues related to personnel” as recently as last week with two issues which were not clarified due to their sensitivity, and where a business administrator would have been useful in negotiating and helping committee resolve disputes.
It was noted that while an “emergency” appropriation was needed, that was only because the position had not been allocated a line-item in the current budget. If the committee decided not to fill the position no funds would be needed.
“We will be saving money since we had budgeted for a full-time assessor, but now that position is part-time. So, coupled with this part-time business administrator position at $45,000 per year we will still be saving money,” Matalucci said.
Committee member Lisa Salimbene asked, “Have we examined other options? Maybe a stipend for our clerk to cover these extra duties would be a solution. The mayor said some might be resentful of our clerk receiving what they would consider to be a ‘promotion,’ but others will be resentful of having an outsider come in.”
Committee member Donald Tozer said, “I just received info on the person identified to fill the position three hours ago. Matalucci interjected, “I emailed you in June, but you never responded.”
It was stated that the proposed salary of $45,000 was not a lot.
“But there’s a lot we can do with this money. I have a garbage truck that is being rehabbed because we can’t afford a new one so this new position would be irresponsible.
“This is ridiculous; we shouldn’t hire someone on a whim. This looks underhanded, and I don’t support it,” Tozer said.
“We’ve had business administrators, some serving as consultants, in the past and they didn’t work out. We need to advertise this position and not give out an emergency blank check,” he continued.
Committee member Melanie Smith said, “Let’s give this new position a try. It will make the community better and streamline operations. Maybe in the past, it didn’t work out, but we have a good fit now.”
Committee member Julie Fry-DeRose said, “The past couple of weeks we’ve had some really sensitive situations even where we’ve had to go to the State Police. We need to know what are the implications of these situations and if we had had this type of person here as a business administrator maybe we could have nipped the problems in the bud.”
Moran was given the opportunity to introduce himself and present his credentials.
“I respect your reservations. I’ve worked in personnel, budget, disciplinary situations and recently managed 100 employees as assistant director of public works in Atlantic City.”
At the conclusion of the discussion, the committee voted to approve the emergency budget appropriation for the position with Tozer voting no, and to advertise the position.
During public comments, a resident said, “While Middle Township may be paying their full-time business administrator $90,000-$115,000 as you’ve stated they have a much larger population and they generate more taxes. I agree with Lisa (Salimbene) that we need more references and we should also explore shared services such as we already have with Upper for municipal court.”
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.
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