In his weekly update to citizens on Friday (Sept. 4), Mayor Jay Gillian announced a plan to hire City Council Vice President Michael Allegretto as director of the city’s Department of Community Services.
“At next week’s council meeting, I will be asking City Council to authorize my appointment of Michael Allegretto Jr. as the new Director of Community Services,” Gillian wrote. “Michael and his family have been very active in the community for a long time, he is very familiar with our events and recreation programs, active with the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Merchants and Boardwalk Merchants, and brings valuable expertise to Community Services from his time as a councilman and school board member.”
“Michael will resign from his council position when appointed,” Gillian said. “I look forward to having Michael join the team as the new director and I expect him to hit the ground running.”
Allegretto’s potential appointment will be subject to a vote by City Council at the public meeting on Sept. 10. Gillian’s announcement did not specify a salary for the position.
The city re-established the Community Services Department in August 2014 (after a brief period under the Department of Community Operations) to handle recreation and public relations services, among other tasks. Kristin Gallagher was hired in September 2014 to lead the department, but she resigned in May, and the position has not yet been filled.
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.(Council President 2010-13). He was an Ocean City Board of Education member from 1999 to 2006 (board president 2004-05), and he is a member of the Tourist Development Commission and Business and Neighborhood Development (BAND).
The state’s local government ethics law prohibits some governmental entities from hiring officials within a year of the time they leave office. But that appears to be limited to members of “independent local authorities” and not to “local government officers,” City Solicitor Dottie McCrosson said Friday when asked about the potential conflict.
Allegretto did not attend the last City Council meeting and will not be able to vote on his own appointment. His colleagues will be asked to decide the fate of a fellow council member whom they have sat with for the past several years.
