HOWELL – The Township Council has appointed Brian Geoghegan to serve as Howell’s township manager. Geoghegan was appointed during a special meeting of the governing body on Sept. 26.
Geoghegan succeeds Jeffrey Mayfield in the position. Mayfield’s last day on the job was Sept. 15. Jim Herrman, who is Howell’s director of community development, had been serving as the interim township manager.
Officials said 23 individuals applied for the township manager’s position and after a screening process, three candidates were interviewed.
Deputy Mayor Robert Nicastro, Councilman Robert Walsh, Councilwoman Evelyn O’Donnell and Councilwoman Pauline Smith voted yes on a motion to hire Geoghegan.
Mayor Theresa Berger abstained from voting. Asked why, the mayor said, “I abstained because I felt a position this large needed a more robust process.”
Deputy Mayor Robert Nicastro said several things stood out to him about Geoghegan.
“He knew and understood many issues facing Howell compared to some of the others and he was very prepared for his interview. He had positive results in his previous towns as administrator with shared services and he is a successful grant writer, helping the Jackson Police Department secure funding not available in the budget,” Nicastro said.
Nicastro said he is “looking forward to working with Mr. Geoghgan, serving our residents and keeping Howell the great town it has been and continues to be.”
“He appears to have a personality that would be a good fit for the township and is known to work well with employees and residents in the other communities he served. He has experience in budgets and labor negotiations which is something we need in someone who can get right to work on these two important issues,” Nicastro said.
Geoghegan has been the administrator in Highlands, a northern Monmouth County municipality, since May 2016. Prior to working in Highlands, Geoghegan was the administrator in Ship Bottom, an Ocean County municipality.
Howell’s township manager facilitates the day-to-day operation of government to ensure the policies set forth by the governing body are efficiently and effectively implemented, according to a job description.
As the executive branch of the local government, it is the township manager’s responsibility to ensure the most up-to-date information is used when providing advice to the governing body, conducting personnel matters and implementing programs.
The township manager prepares a budget for the mayor and council’s consideration; recruits, hires and supervises the government’s staff; serves as the mayor and council’s chief adviser; and carries out the mayor and council’s policies, according to the job description.
During regular business at a council meeting on Sept. 19, the governing body authorized the award of a $93,700 professional services contract to T&M Associates, the township’s consulting engineer, for professional construction inspection services related to the enhancements of Aldrich Lake.
The council authorized the award of a $2.43 million contract to Precise Construction Inc. for the dredging of Aldrich Lake. The funds for the project will come from the 2017 capital budget that was authorized by the governing body.
And, the council granted sanitary sewer approval to Elon Associates for a project at Yellowbrook Road and Route 524.
“This is the final sewer approval for the Elon Associates housing development project. It authorizes the installation of sewer mains related to the project. The developer still needs to obtain final resolution compliance, post bonds and get all other outside agency approvals prior to starting construction,” Herrman said.
Finally, the council authorized the payment of $89,167 to Signal Electric Corporation for electrician services; $84,538 to Magic Touch for plumbing services; and $56,286 to Murray Paving and Concrete for general contracting to improve the Office of Emergency Management building.
