Murphy Takes Oath, Free Tags for Veterans, and School Funding Discussed

CAPE MAY – Police Officer Derrik Murphy was administered the Oath of Office by City Clerk Louise Cummiskey at the start of the regular meeting Feb. 18. Murphy joined the Cape May Police Department seven years ago as a special law enforcement officer.
“Derrik has had three other bonafide opportunities for jobs over the last three years and he has turned them down, with no guarantee that we’d ever be able to hire him, and I appreciate that kind of loyalty and I think the other men and women in the police department do, too,” said Mayor Edward Mahaney, Jr.
Mahaney compared Murphy to Patrolman Scott Krissinger, who last Nov. rescued a man from a burning vehicle in West Cape May. Murphy, while working a security job in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., helped rescue a man from a burning building.
“He never said a thing about it, but when I called Captain Robert Sheehan about it, I remember what Rob said,” said Mahaney.
“Rob said, ‘Well, that’s Derrik Murphy.’”
“I think you only need to know that to know what kind of quality individual he is,” said Mahaney.
Later in the evening, council introduced an ordinance that would allow active duty military personnel and veterans to receive free beach tags. Council had asked City Manager Bruce MacLeod to submit a report outlining the number of those expected to utilize the tags.
“If this program is extremely successful and we have more applicants than we expect, we have a way to do cost containment on the reverse side of the ledger so that we don’t want a deficit and have to pass that on to the taxpayers,” said Mahaney.
Council Member William Murray, who introduced the ordinance, said he looked to Stone Harbor for comparison. “They’ve had an active duty ordinance in effect for a number of years and the average usage of that by active duty is less than five passes a year,” said Murray.
While not mentioned on the agenda, Jo Tolley, of Cape May, shared her concerns with council regarding the ongoing battle between the city and Lower Township over proposed changes to the school funding formula.
“As you know, Cape May County is one of the poorest counties in the state,” said Tolley. She said the best way out of poverty is through a quality education, of which she feared was suffering.
“Cape May City can’t exist as an island. We’re a part of this whole bigger community,” said Tolley. “We’re totally dependent on each other and to pull out of this education, when we’re the richer community and over 60 percent of our residents are second family homeowners. We’re not a poverty city.”
Tolley said she was concerned the city was putting unnecessary pressure on the school, its students and their families.
Bernard Haas, of Cape May, echoed the remarks made by Tolley. “I just think it’s so wrong, and if it’s all about money, there’s more to this whole living here than money, and if we’re a richer community we really need to pay our fair share.”
Deputy Mayor Jack Wichterman said changing the formula is not going to hurt the school or the quality of education students receive there.
“We are not trying to hinder the school system one bit. This is simply a process that we have to go through before we finally end up in court,” said Wichterman. “And hopefully we’re going to have, in court, some people with more common sense than what we’re trying to deal with now.”
Wichterman said that he, along with council, does not agree that the city should be responsible for a third of the costs while only having one representative on the school board.
“We think that’s nonsense,” said Wichterman. “If we’re going to pay a third of the cost, we should at least have a third of the members on the board.”
“They’ve been getting a free ride over there in Lower Township for years,” Wichterman continued. “For years they’ve been getting a free ride, and we’re putting up with it. And I’m not going to put up with it. As long as I’m going to be on this board, I’m going to fight to get it changed.”
Councilmember Deanna Fiocca said the school district will not receive less money. “It’s just that Cape May City is not going to be paying the brunt of it,” said Fiocca.
“All of the elected officials that are sitting here, we have a fiduciary responsibility to the people who elected us. They are the people who we are supposed to have in our best interests, not the people in Lower Township,” said Fiocca. “It’s not the children that are going to suffer, it’s the people of the city and of the township. It’s just a redistribution of the funds.”
To contact Kirby Reed, email kreed@cmcherald.com.