Pennington’s search for a new borough administrator has come to an end with the appointment of Gian-Paolo Caminiti.
Caminiti, who officially began his new position this week, was appointed the borough’s new full-time administrator at a Borough Council meeting on Feb. 12.
“I’m very happy for the opportunity and grateful to be on board,” he said. “It is a terrific team and Pennington is a lovely place to work.
“We are excited about the future. Obviously, there are pressures on municipalities from all directions. Everyone is being asked to do more with less.”
Caminiti noted the unfunded mandates from the state.
“All of the municipalities, 564 of them in the state of New Jersey, wrestle with these things,” he said. “But we have all the elements in place that we need to be successful going forward to provide good services, professional services and to do so in a way that is stable, predictable and of good value to the taxpayers.”
Caminiti takes over the administrator duties from interim Borough Administrator Donato Nieman, who has served in the position since January 2023. Pennington has been searching for a full-time administrator since then.
In the search, Pennington had 23 people apply for the position. Three people were interviewed for the position including Caminiti.
“Right from the start you can tell that he is positive and outgoing individual,” Mayor Jim Davy said.
“I think among the members of Council who conducted the search and others on the Search Committee we felt he had the perfect combination of leadership, organizational skills and dedication to public service that we thought would greatly benefit the Pennington community.”
Davy explained that the combination of leadership, organizational skills and dedication to public service is a perfect fit for Pennington.
“It is what the people of Pennington have come to expect, and we thought he would be the perfect individual to fill this first-time full-time position,” he added.
His agreement with Pennington is for a one-year term ending on Dec. 31, which will have an annual renewal at a salary of $125,000, according to the borough resolution.
Caminiti previously served as borough administrator for the Borough of Manville from 2021 until January of this year.
“I was looking around for a new opportunity, and I had resigned from [my] position in the Borough of Manville in Somerset County,” he said. “I was looking for a new challenge and Pennington Borough was offering a good opportunity.
“Pennington is a good fit and I’m happy to be here.”
Caminiti comes to Pennington with government experience. He served as a three-term councilman for the Borough of Peapack and Gladstone from 2014 to 2022. He had also been a member on the Land Use Board for Peapack-Gladstone, where he served as chairman.
He was named CEO of Site Resource Solutions LLC, an energy and business consulting firm, in 2017.
Additionally, Caminiti received a bachelor’s degree from Seton Hall University and a master’s degree from Universitat Bielefeld, Phillipps-Universitat, Germany. He is also certified as a registered municipal clerk and certified public manager by Rutgers University.
This story has been updated to include comments from Mayor Jim Davy
