Insurance Switcheroo: Housecleaning Continues in Wildwood Government

WILDWOOD — In this ever-changing city, it’s in with the new and out with the old, again.
At its March 10 meeting, Wildwood Commission appointed the NIA Group, an insurance and financial services company located at 510 Bank St., Cape May, as the city’s new risk management consultant.
That post coordinates the city’s insurance needs with the Atlantic County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund (JIF), which covers the 16 municipalities in this county along with about 30 others in South Jersey.
Larry Cohen, NIA Group regional executive, said the company was “thrilled that the City of Wildwood has chosen us and we’re excited to help the city achieve its insurance and risk management goals.” David Von Savage, Cape May County Republican leader, and his associate Charles Pessagno are also employees of the local NIA Group office.
The replacement of J. Byrne Insurance, Wildwood’s longtime risk management consultant, was the latest in a series of housecleaning moves instituted since commissioners Al Brannen and Edward Harshaw were successful in a December recall election over former commissioners Bill Davenport and Mayor Ernie Troiano.
Brannen and Harshaw joined Gary DeMarzo on the governing body and named him mayor. The three promised “change” while campaigning and have delivered by dismantling and reorganizing Wildwood’s government over the past three months.
In that time, the following are some of the commissioners’ changes:
• New city solicitor, Dan Gallagher, of Atlantic City, replaced Mark Karavan.
• New accounting firm, Schwartz & Company, of Mays Landing, replaced Ford, Scott & Associates.
• New engineering firm, Adams, Rehmann & Hagan, of Hammonton, replaced Marc DeBlasio, of Remington & Vernick.
• New head of the Public Works Department Chuck Clunn replaced Kevin Verity.
• Hired interim city manager Richard Deaney, of Jersey Professional Management, of Cranford. The city previously had no manager.
• Combined planning and zoning boards.
• Issued 41 layoff notices to city employees, 18 of which were in public works.
• Negotiating with three city unions for furloughs and givebacks.
• Working on outsourcing trash and recycling collection.
• Dissolving the recreation, environmental and historical commissions and replacing them with one redevelopment commission.
At the meeting, Harshaw also noted that the city was in the process of decommissioning 38 public works vehicles and hoping to receive approximately $50,000 for them at auction.
“We’re trying to do things more efficiently,” Harshaw said.
Davenport told the Herald he was disappointed the city was losing all these local professionals.
“I think they (commissioners) should put out detailed press releases when they make these moves with specific dollar amounts so the public can see why it’s being done,” Davenport said.
Regarding the risk management appointment, Chris D’Amico, city resident and a captain in the Wildwood Fire Department, asked the commissioners why they would “take the post away from a local family-owned business that operates in Wildwood, pays taxes in Wildwood and employs people from Wildwood; and then give it to a company from Cape May?”
He said the commissioners had promised to support local business during the campaign.
“We ran on a platform of change and I think everything we’ve done so far in our eyes has been successful,” DeMarzo said. “We’re going to continue to change.”
DeMarzo also said they received professional services proposals from NIA and J. Byrne with a substantial difference in the fee schedules from the two companies, which will result in cost savings for the city.
D’Amico said he would check with the city at the end of the contract to make sure there was actually a “substantial” cost savings. D’Amico told the Herald he thought the appointment was “political.”
“Obviously we’re very disappointed,” said Tom Byrne, of J. Byrne Insurance. “I don’t understand the rationale behind moving this professional contract to Cape May.”
When the resolution awarding the contract to NIA Group was read, DeMarzo and Harshaw voted for the change, Brannen voted against it.
Brannen’s comments to the Herald echoed the concerns expressed by D’Amico.
“J. Byrne is located in Wildwood and has Wildwood employees. The Byrne family has been a good neighbor,” he said, noting that he would rather have kept the hometown insurance company.
Harshaw told the Herald that his decision was based completely on the savings.
“J. Byrne is a very good company that’s done wonderful things for our community, but we were tasked by taxpayers to reduce local purpose tax and NIA’s proposal came in lower,” Harshaw said. “Both companies are equally good, but we must cut where we can.”
In his three years on commission and many years as a city employee, Davenport had seen the Byrne agency provide excellent professional service, offer many jobs, and show remarkable generosity to the city, he said.
Byrne told the Herald that his business is one of the largest year-round employers in the area offering jobs health benefits and a pension to local people. Byrne employees are a boost to the local economy, he said.
“My employees frequent establishments in the city,” Byrne said. “They grocery shop after work; they eat in local restaurants at lunch.”
He said the move has already had repercussions.
“The action taken by Mayor DeMarzo and Commissioner Harshaw has already forced me to lay off one Wildwood resident and more layoffs are possible,” Byrne said.
He noted that he and his family have made substantial donations in support of several city projects including the new recreation center at Maxwell Field and the former Surfside Restaurant rehab into the Doo Wop Experience building and concert center at Fox Park, as well as tens of thousands to local schools.
“Why move this to Cape May?” he asked. “It makes no sense to me. There must be something else behind it. I guess we’ll have to see.”
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com