City Council voted unanimously Thursday to authorize the mayor to hire City Council Vice President Michael Allegretto as the director of the city’s Department of Community Services.
The position pays up to $101,019 annually, and the department handles recreation and public relations services, among other tasks.
Mayor Jay Gillian said the appointment and the salary are not final. Allegretto would resign from council when it is.
With a tearful farewell and a round of applause, Allegretto left the meeting to avoid the appearance of any conflict of interest.
Allegretto’s resignation would create a vacancy on City Council. Council could elect to leave the seat vacant until the next election or it could make an appointment within 30 days of Allegretto’s resignation.
When Councilwoman Sue Sheppard resigned after being elected to the Cape May County Freeholder’s Board in 2010, City Council interviewed candidates and appointed John Flood to fill her seat temporarily.
Candidates would run in May 2016 to complete the remaining two years of Allegretto’s four-year term as an at-large member of council. The regular four-year cycle would resume with the May 2018 election.
Allegretto recused himself from the discussion and vote on Thursday, and all six remaining members of council spoke in favor of Allegretto’s appointment.
Councilman Pete Guinosso asked for an assurance from City Solicitor Dottie McCrosson that there was no conflict of interest in appointing a council member to a city job, but he said Allegretto was the “right man for the right place.”
“Mr. Allegretto is well-versed in local government and is active with recreation programs, city events, the Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Development Commission, Business and Neighborhood Development and the merchants’ associations,” Mayor Jay Gillian wrote in a memo to council. “His experience on City Council and the Board of Education will be extremely valuable in the day-to-day leadership of this department.”
Kristin Gallagher was hired in September 2014 to lead the department, but she resigned in May, and the position has not yet been filled.
Gillian said that, if approved, Allegretto could start work as soon as Sept. 14. He did not specify Allegretto’s proposed salary but said it would fall within the ordinance. Allegretto is a 1989 graduate of Ocean City High School and a 1993 graduate of The College of New Jersey with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
A lifelong resident of Ocean City, Allegretto currently works as an office manager at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. He lives in Ocean City with his wife and two children.
He was elected to his third term on City Council in 2014 and served as council president from 2010-2013. He was an Ocean City Board of Education member from 1999 to 2006 (board president 2004-05).
In other business on Thursday.
- Tony Wilson Conflict: City Council voted 5-0 (with Tony Wilson and Michael Allegretto recusing themselves) to approve a shared services agreement with Sea Isle City to provide plumbing inspections at $50 per hour on jobs completed by C. Leo Wilson Plumbing and Heating, the local company owned by Councilman Tony Wilson. Because Wilson, as a member of council, has budgetary control over the Ocean City office in charge of code inspections, Ocean City asked Sea Isle to take over inspections of his jobs to avoid the appearance of any sort of conflict of interest.
- Crawlspace and Storage Room Deed Restriction: Because so many, homes were being elevated after Superstorm Sandy in 2012, Ocean City passed an ordinance requiring sellers to create deed restrictions reminding buyers that ground-level crawlspaces cannot be used as habitable space. Council voted Thursday to remove the requirement for deed restrictions (but keep the use restriction). The deed restriction requirement was “onerous and really not necessary,” City Solicitor Dottie McCrosson said. It added time and expense to home sales, even though the use is still subject to enforcement by the zoning office.
- Parking Changes: Council passed the second and final reading of changes to the ordinance that governs parking fees. The impetus of the amendments was to create new public parking (about 13 spots) in the lot on Sixth Street at the Ocean City Fire Department. But the city made minor revisions to the entire ordinance at the same time. A complete list of the proposed changes (marked in red) are included in the PDF below.
- Skate Park: Council approved on an impromptu resolution to “approve and accept” the skate park. The measure helped satisfy and insurance requirement and will allow the park to open “sooner rather than later,” according to Mayor’s Assistant Mike Dattilo. The park is substantially complete. The fence is being installed by the weekend, and landscaping will be complete next week. Insurance and design inspections are the final hurdles.
