Bill permits stand-ins for mayors on FMERA

A new bill will allow the mayors of the three Fort Monmouth host towns to designate a stand-in to attend meetings of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) in their absence.

The new law, S-2825/A-3972, signed by Gov. Chris Christie on Jan. 17, will make it possible for the mayors of Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls to designate Borough Council members to attend FMERA meetings in their place.

“I actually petitioned the Attorney General’s Office because I felt the way the bill was formulated that there was a misunderstanding,” Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo said in an interview after the Jan. 18 FMERA meeting at the Maple Place School. “We had originally intended that members of the governing body could serve as designees of the mayor.” Tarantolo said the bill clarifies legislation that created FMERA in 2010 that allowed the mayors to designate a borough employee to attend the monthly meetings but did not include council members.

However, the 2010 legislation only allowed the mayors to designate a municipal employee to take their place, meaning that council members were excluded.

The original FMERA legislation was viewed as an improvement after the mayors were not allowed to designate any stand-in under the previous authority, the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority, while voting members from the state were allowed to designate a representative.

Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon said the genesis of the new legislation might have come when he almost didn’t attend the very first FMERA meeting.

“The first meeting I had a schedule conflict and I indicated my council president would be my designee and unfortunately the ruling was that he would not be able to sit in my place,” he said. “I had to make some adjustments and attend the meeting.

“Since that time, we contacted Sen. [Jennifer] Beck [R-11th District] and she had the same understanding as the mayors did of the intent of the clause,” he added. “However, it needed to be restructured, and that was the bill she introduced.”

Tarantolo said the new legislation corrects an omission in previous legislation, which excluded council members from standing in for the mayor.

In the past, Oceanport Business Administrator Kim Jungfer and Tinton Falls Business Administrator Gerald Turning Sr. have filled in for their respective mayors.

Legislation establishing FMERA’s forerunner, the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority in 2008, did not allow the mayors to name a designee but did allow voting state members to do so.

“When we framed the legislation of this authority, we corrected the problem of the prior authority which indicated that we couldn’t designate an individual to serve as a designee of the mayor,” Tarantolo said.

“So the legislation that created this authority [FMERA], we made sure a designee would be permitted,” he added. “I’m happy that they corrected the problem.”

He said that the designee would likely be on the same page as the mayor.

“I’m hoping that the mayor’s designee holds the same positions as the mayor,” Tarantolo said. “We are a stakeholder serving as members of the governing body, so I would think that essentially gives good continuity to what we are doing.”

Mahon agreed with Tarantolo that members of the council are informed enough to step in as voting members for the authority.

“Oceanport has a very involved council that is very proactive,” he said. “Each of them is as engaged and up to speed on all the issues that we face as I am and could easily sit in for me in my absence and contribute in a positive way.”

He also said that the new rules would help the mayors juggle membership on FMERA and some of their other obligations.

“It is a welcome change, and it certainly takes some of the pressure off the mayors’ schedules and provides certain advantages to the host communities that will help us going forward,” Mahon said. “I think it is wonderful that it happened and I’m glad the governor signed it.”

Tinton Falls Mayor Michael Skudera said that the bill gives the Borough Council an opportunity to learn about future Fort Monmouth development.

“I think it is a good bill because it gives us more options,” he said in an interview. “Also it allows someone on council to get a little more experience and insight about the redevelopment.”