EDISON – The Township Council will discuss amending the position of mayor from a part-time position to a full-time position at its next meeting.
The position of mayor was part-time for years until former Mayor Jun Choi took office in 2006. In 2008, the council voted in favor of increasing the mayor’s salary from $49,000 to $75,000 and later making the position full-time. When former Mayor Antonia Ricigliano followed in 2010, she became the next full-time mayor. She reduced the salary back to $49,000.
When Mayor Thomas Lankey took office in 2014, the mayoral position was amended back to part-time with a maximum salary of $50,000. He currently is serving his second term. He was re-elected in 2017.
The council is recommending the establishment of a full-time mayor’s position, recognizing mayoral duties have become full-time responsibilities ‘including, without limitation, with respect to the township’s oversight of health and public safety, finances, operation of a water utility authority, the development of a comprehensive economic development plan, and code enforcement.”
The amended ordinance – which will be discussed at a meeting on Nov. 9 – would take effect in the next mayoral term on Jan. 1, 2022. The position would include full-time benefits and a salary of $135,000.
Councilman Joseph Coyle had initially proposed the amendment of the ordinance in March.
