Oceanport to restructure government in new year
Public meeting on panel's report slated for Jan. 17
BY JENNA O'DONNELL Staff Writer

OCEANPORT - A streamlined and more efficient borough government may soon be a reality in Oceanport, according to the new mayor, Michael Mahon.

Mahon announced a restructuring of the council that will empower smaller groups to make decisions.

According to Mahon, the former 24- committee structure of the Borough Council will be consolidated into six distinct departments that will each report to a group of three council members.

"That's going to help us manage our meetings a lot easier, and it's going to channel the information back and forth between the council and the associations, organizations and committees that really run things day to day," Mahon said.

He added that the reorganized council should allow for faster, smoother processing of information.

"Those groups of three council people, once we put the budget in place, are going to be empowered to make decisions and recommendations so we can move things along faster," Mahon said. "We shouldn't need to bring as many things back to the full council for consideration because we have a committee of three that are empowered to act. So that should kind of streamline our operations a bit."

Mahon, along with newly appointed councilmen Joseph Irace and Jerry Bertekap, was sworn in at the Jan. 1 reorganization meeting.

The council approved a $1.63 million temporary budget at the Jan. 1 reorganization meeting. It provides $683,750 for salary and wages and $948,296 for other expenses.

According to Mahon, the restructuring started at the Jan. 1 reorganization meeting and will continue with a presentation by the Blue Ribbon Panel that was appointed by previous Mayor Lucille Chaump.

Chaump appointed the Blue Ribbon Panel of three volunteers in April after council members were unable to adopt a municipal budget.

This reorganization is one of several priorities for Mahon starting out as mayor, he said last week. Two other items Mahon said he would like to focus on are Fort Monmouth redevelopment and the recommendations made by the Blue Ribbon Panel.

Irace, who will serve as chairman of the finance committee, has also made the pending FortMonmouth closure a priority.

"The Fort Monmouth redevelopment plan is an integral part of the future of Oceanport," Irace said. "Should the fort close, I would like to see a mixed use development with a much smaller housing component than has previously been discussed. Dedicated open space for Oceanport residents to enjoy should be a major part of any plan."

Irace added that a new school and borough hall might be possibilities included in new development, and that the proposed train station should be removed from plans.

"Current infrastructure would not be able to handle the thousands of people" going into and out of our little town," he said..

Mahon also stressed the importance of Fort Monmouth redevelopment for the borough.

"We have to complete the Oceanport plan and move that through its process so that we can get that in the hands of the Fort Monmouth Economic Redevelopment and Planning Authority (FMERPA) and our planning board and do those revisions," Mahon said. "So we're looking to complete that as soon as possible."

A third priority for Mahon is to incorporate the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel.

"We've already done some of that and considered some of the recommendations," Mahon said. "Their committee is going to come in here on the Jan. 17 to give a presentation, and at that point it is going to be referred back to the finance administration committee, which will make a recommendation [based on the report] that we can afford, that's practical, and that serves the needs of the community.

"There's a lot that went on with that Blue Ribbon Panel that we're excited about and we're looking forward to that," Mahon said. "We should get those first three items wrapped up pretty quickly and be able to focus on some other things."