Holmdel's Government Will Be Examined Starting This Week

HOLMDEL, NJ — The form of government that has guided Holmel for over the past 100 years will be under a microscope during the next few months.

Voters approved a charter study commission in the general election. A group of five commissioners was tasked with studying the current form of government and then deciding whether they want to propose changes, recommendations or possibly a new form of government.

"We're gonna look at the pros and cons and then look at various alternatives. And then at the end of the process have a discussion and maybe recommendations," said Kin Gee, who was elected to serve as chairman during the commissioner's swearing-in ceremony on Nov. 23.

The public will have plenty of opportunities to chime in during this process, which will be done in public meetings. The next one is scheduled for Thursday.

"We're gonna study this with an open mind and a process that will take input from people that want to provide input," Gee said. "That includes elected officials, that includes the public and people even outside of Holmdel."

By law, this process should take no longer than nine months, which means there's a possibility any changes proposed by the Charter Study Commission can be on the ballot as early as next year.

"At the end, it's possible that we say 'listen, everything is working perfectly and we don't recommend any changes,'" Gee said.

Holmdel's Towship Committee form of government currently consists of five committee members who are on a staggered basis and serve three-year terms. Every year in January, the committee elects the mayor who will serve for the next year.

Whether or not voters elect the mayor directly in the future might possibly be one of the issues commissioners will look into, as it's caused some controversy in the past.

"It's been an issue for a little while," Gee said. "I think that's an issue that will come up and surface as we take testimonies and public comments."

After incumbent Mayor Eric Hinds was reelected in 2016, he was not selected as mayor by the committee members, which caused some to wonder why the candidate they thought they were electing for mayor ended up not serving that in that post, Gee explained.

The ordinance approving the public question for the Charter Study Commission, which was carried by the Township Committee in August, mentioned the mayor selection specifically.

"The Township Committee believes that Holmdel voters would benefit from a public question on whether to explore alternative forms of municipal government, including options that provide for the direct election of the Mayor, rather than the current system that denies voters that opportunity," the ordinance read.

It was approved in a 4-1 vote, with councilman Thomas Critelli opposing.

After living in Holmdel for 20 years, Gee said he was compelled to run for a seat on the Charter Study Commission because he felt he was civically engaged and wanted to give back to the community.

"We've been under the same Township Committee for over 100 years now. Whatever happens, the outcome of this could impact Holmdel for, who knows, 50 years, 100 years," Gee said.

He will work alongside William Kastning, Zachary Gilstein, Janet Berk and Gerald Buffalino.

The meeting on Thursday will be at 7 p.m. at Holmdel Town Hall and is open to the public.

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