Margate Municipal Building
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – The Board of Commissioners Thursday, Dec. 15 provided 15 municipal employees with a welcome holiday gift – a new three-year contract with annual increases.
The employees include heads of various departments, deputies, and administrative workers who are not covered under collective bargaining agreements.
According to Acting Administrator Richard Deaney, the three-year contracts include annual raises of about 3%. Most of the contracts include longevity pay, except for two employees who have not worked for the municipality long enough to get that perk. It took approximately three months to negotiate the contracts.
Fire Chief Dan Adams and Police Chief Matthew Hankinson will earn $169,000 in 2023 with an additional $15,000 in longevity pay. Deputy Fire Chief Pat Armstrong and Capt. Ronald Kashon will earn $152,000, plus $15,000 longevity pay.
In the Public Works Department, Assistant Superintendent James Dickerson will earn $141,000 with $16,000 in longevity in 2023. Assistant Superintendent Patrick Power will earn $139,000 with $10,000 in longevity pay. The department’s Office Supervisor Robert Gilmore will earn $99,000 with $10,000 in longevity pay.
Construction Code Official James Galantino will earn $135,000 with $15,000 in longevity pay. His Technical Assistant Palma Shiles will earn $78,000 but will not receive longevity pay. Zoning Officer Roger McLarnon will also receive $135,000 with $5,000 in longevity pay.
In the courts, Municipal Court Administrator Maureen Larkin will earn $110,000 with $15,000 in longevity pay. Deputy Court Administrator Deanna Krupp will earn $80,000 with $5,000 in longevity pay.
Tax Collector Tara Mazza will earn $107,000 with $10,000 in longevity pay.
Director of Parks and Recreation Andrew Miles will earn $107,000 with $10,000 in longevity pay.
And lastly, Personal Assistant Kelle Amodeo will earn $70,000, but will not receive longevity pay.
In other end-of-budget year spending, the board approved the purchase of a Ford F-450 Crew Cab for the Public Works Department. The truck will be purchased under a state contract with Cherry Hill Winner Ford totaling $92,957. The purchase was funded by a capital bond ordinance approved earlier this year.
It approved a $254,968 contract for Mobile Dredging and Video Pipe, Inc. of Newfield to perform cleaning and video of the city’s sewer system. Mobile was the lowest of two responsible bids received. Vortex Services of Houston bid $85,978 more for the project.
The board also approved two landscaping contracts to keep public spaces beautified. A. Guzzo Landscaping, LLC was awarded a $63,000 contract to provide landscape maintenance at various public properties, and Brightview Landscapes, LLC was awarded a $59,558 contract for landscape maintenance at Marven Gardens and the Parkway section of Ventnor Avenue.
The board also supported a grant application requesting $100,000 from the NJ Department of Community Affairs Local Recreation Improvement Grant program to fund improvements to the rest rooms at the Sigmund Rimm Recreation Complex.
Deaney noted that the municipality is currently developing “a more extensive” 2023 capital improvement plan, which will be finalized in January and require a bond ordinance to fund the improvements. The city can request bids for certain projects but cannot award contracts until the bond is approved, he said. The city normally schedules public works projects in the spring and fall, avoiding major construction projects during the busy summer season.
“It’s always a tight schedule between funding and doing the work,” he said.
The board also introduced an ordinance required by new legislation approved by the State of New Jersey requiring business owners and rental property owners to have a minimum of $500,000 in liability insurance. Owner-occupied properties with four or fewer units are required to carry a minimum of $300,000 in liability coverage.
The board agreed it would not establish a fee for the new requirement, but instead would include it in the cost of purchasing a mercantile license.
The board also approved an ordinance setting new recreation fees.
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