Gurzo to become liaison for affordable housing
Ordinance set for hearing and adoption Sept. 24
BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer

RED BANK - The borough has tapped a current employee to fill the new position of municipal housing liaison, and an ordinance creating the position was introduced at the Sept. 10 council meeting.

Mayor Pasquale Menna said John Gurzo would be appointed to the liaison position, which is a new requirement of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).

Gurzo currently draws a salary of $60,000 a year as a full-time employee of the borough whose responsibilities include community development representative, director of housing rehabilitation, COAH representative and former Neighborhood Preservation Program (NPP) coordinator.

"It's what he does anyway," said Assistant Borough Attorney Thomas J. Hall at the council meeting. "[The ordinance will] just make it official."

The new title would not require additional compensation, according to Menna.

Gurzo said in an interview Wednesday that he became the director of housing rehabilitation two years ago after his fiveyear position as NPP coordinator had ended.

"I came here seven years ago to run the Neighborhood Preservation Program," said Gurzo. "We just kind of continued the program with the Regional Contribution Agreement (RCA) funds after preservation [program] ran out."

Gurzo said COAH is requiring each municipality to appoint someone on staff to be the municipal housing liaison, and he will act as the contact person between COAH and the municipality.

The position is described as "the employee charged by the governing body with the responsibility for oversight and administration of the affordable housing programs for the borough," according to the ordinance introduced at the Sept. 10 council meeting.

Other responsibilities include "serving as Red Bank's primary point of contact for all inquiries from the state, affordable housing providers, administrative agents and interested households; monitoring the status of all restricted units in Red Bank's Fair Share Plan; compiling, verifying and submitting annual reports as required by COAH; coordinating meetings with affordable housing providers and administrative agents, as applicable; and attending continuing education opportunities on affordability controls, compliance monitoring and affirmative marketing as offered or approved by COAH," according to the ordinance.

The ordinance creating the position will be on the Sept. 24 meeting agenda for public hearing and final adoption.