STONE HARBOR – The Borough Council welcomed two members who won seats in the November election at its reorganization meeting for 2024 on Tuesday, Jan. 2.

Robin Casper, who won reelection, and Tim Carney, who was a member of the Zoning Board before he ran for council in the fall, each took the oath of office.

The first order of business saw Frank Dallahan reelected by his colleagues as council president. The reappointment of Dallahan broke with the tradition in which the position of council president rotated each year.

The council has six standing committees where much of the preliminary work of the governing body occurs. Each of the six members of the council chairs one committee and is a member of two others. Committee assignments are set at the reorganization meeting.

Casper was appointed chair of the Utilities Committee. The Natural Resources Committee chair went to Carney, and Jennifer Gensemer remained as chair of Administration and Finance. Dallahan continued as chair of Public Safety, Bunny Parzych moved from Utilities to serve as chair of the Public Works Committee, and Victor Foschini will continue as chair of Recreation and Tourism.

When the council moved on to resolutions for professional services, where the professionals who support the elected officials are annually appointed, there was one surprise vote.

Normally professional services contracts are only brought up for a vote when there already exists a consensus on the professional who will be supplying the services. It is unusual to have a resolution for professional services on the reorganization agenda if it is unlikely to pass, but that is what happened.

The first vote on a services contract would have reappointed Marcus Karavan as municipal attorney. But not only were the votes not there for the reappointment, the vote was four no, one yes, and one abstain. No reasons were given by the council members who voted against the reappointment. Karavan will stay on for 30 days during which time the council will choose a new attorney.

All other professional services appointments were unanimously approved.

For most reorganizations, the agenda contains a long list of routine resolutions passed on one vote in what is known as a consent agenda. These resolutions deal with setting up the structure for the new year and range from setting council meeting times, to trash collection schedules, to adopting the cash management plan.

But at the meeting two of the resolutions on the consent agenda were instead tabled. One established fees for licensing, permits and parking, and the other set the dates for paid parking in the borough. Paid parking was a public relations issue for the borough in 2023 with a rise in parking violations and tickets.

A resolution that was added too late to be part of the public packet prior to the meeting was adopted. It set a higher dollar threshold for the special counsel whom the borough hired in October. At that time the special counsel’s scope was focused on “matters raised relative to zoning issues.” The award was made to Anthony S. Bocchi of Cullen and Dykman. Since that initial award, Bocchi has announced the formation of his own firm.

At the Dec. 19 meeting of the council, a resolution was adopted that also was not part of the public package. That resolution authorized $5,000 for the special counsel for work that might be needed with reference to the lawsuit against the borough by its former administrator, Robert Smith.

The resolution adopted at the reorganization meeting was the third in the series of resolutions related to the special counsel. It authorizes $20,000 on the initial award and again expands the scope of services.

The most recent resolution states that Bocchi’s tasks may include defense of the borough in portions of the Smith vs. Borough of Stone Harbor case, those portions being what is specifically not covered by the Joint Insurance Fund. It also notes general litigation matters, potential litigation involving property the borough purchased for affordable housing, and litigation matters in Sweet v. Stone Harbor, a case related to zoning in the neighborhood known as the Courts.

The resolution also mentions a list of potential other assignments for the special counsel, including investigative work, trial preparation and trial-related discovery.

No member of the public spoke during public comment. Council members who made comments were largely focused on congratulations for the winners of the fall election.

Parzych and Dallahan chose to focus attention on what they called unfounded reports of tension on the council. Both saw the issue as a media creation, saying that the council members work well together. Neither spoke to the fact that much of the public comment about tension on the council referred to tensions between certain members of the council and the mayor, whom the council took the unusual and rare step of censuring in 2023.

Dallahan promised an “exciting year” in which a harmonious council will tend diligently to the people’s business.

Gensemer used her time to speak of the team spirit on the council and its accomplishments in 2023. She pointed to the work that most likely will result in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s reinstating the Community Rating System Level 5 status that the borough lost in April 2023. She also spoke to the challenge facing the borough as its long-serving chief financial officer retires in the spring, pointing as she discussed the issue to the move by the council to contract for a human resources consultant.

Gensemer reiterated a commitment she made earlier as chair of Administration and Finance to develop a 10-year budget plan to guide financial decisions. She also spoke of the establishment of a “think tank” to seek new revenue sources for the borough, noting that some members of the council had explored Cape May City’s use of a taxation and revenue advisory committee that has identified several new sources of revenue for the county’s namesake municipality.

She concluded her remarks with the statement that the overriding goal for the council is transparency and a commitment to “reduce the cost to the taxpayers.”

Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour ended the meeting with thanks to the borough’s many volunteers and employees.

Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.