VENTNOR – A mysterious closing of the Code Enforcement Office on Monday, June 19, during which no business was conducted, and a notification from the mayor and commissioners that has virtually disappeared from social media, leads Downbeach.com to believe trouble is brewing at City Hall.
The Code Enforcement Department is open today following an investigation Monday that was conducted by city police with the assistance of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. Calls to two commissioners were not returned. Mayor Lance Landgraf is on vacation out of town.
According to the Press of Atlantic City, the investigation was prompted when the city’s Finance Department discovered discrepancies in financial records for the Code Enforcement Department.
According to a post on Ventnor’s social media account that was shared to the Ventnor Community Forum, “Those discrepancies are now under investigation by law enforcement,” noted the post, which has since disappeared from the forum and the city’s social media page.
“Until the investigation is completed, we cannot offer any other comments,” it stated.
The department is open today conducting business, and the city pledged to keep disruptions to a minimum.
Police Chief Joe Fussner Tuesday afternoon confirmed the investigation with the prosecutor’s office is ongoing but provided few details. No one has been fired or put on probation at this time, he said.
Commissioner of Revenue and Finance Maria Mento and Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Kriebel have not responded to our phone calls.
The Code Enforcement Department is responsible for registering rental properties, including the 400 short-term rentals on the books, enforcing property maintenance codes, registering contractors, issuing construction permits and inspecting all work done by contractors.
Longtime Code Enforcement Officer Jimmie Agnesino heads the department and provides similar services in Longport under a shared-services agreement.
Longport Mayor Nicholas Russo said today that things are fine in Longport.
“As far as I know, this has nothing to do with any of the code enforcement officers and inspectors that we share with the city of Ventnor,” he said.
