STONE HARBOR – The Borough Council is considering hiring a temporary borough administrator to replace the fired previous administrator, Manny Parada.
The hiring of a temporary administrator was to be taken up at a special meeting of the council Dec. 30, but the item was pulled from the agenda, according to an individual who participated in the discussion.
Parada was fired by the council on Dec. 17; no reasons were given. He was initially hired as the town’s director of public works, became interim administrator in March 2023 and was named permanent administrator in July 2023.
His predecessor, Robert Smith, was fired by the council in February 2023. Smith, who was hired in January 2020, has filed litigation against the borough related to his dismissal.
Hiring a temporary administrator could be a subject at the upcoming reorganization meeting, when a number of professional services contracts are approved for the coming year.
Prior to Smith, the borough had longer-serving administrators. Smith’s predecessor, Jill Gougher, served in that role from 2011 to 2020, when she retired.
