Howell Mayor Accuses Manager Of 'Usurping' Her Power To Appoint

HOWELL, NJ — A new Shade Tree Commission (STC) was appointed during the Howell Council reorganization meeting, but not before Mayor Theresa Berger accused the township manager Brian Geoghegan of "usurping" her power to do so.

Many of the members currently serving had been appointed by Berger in 2019 and still had plenty of time to go in their five-year term. A number of them ended up being re-appointed by Geoghegan on Tuesday.

At the center of the controversy is whether the power to appoint Shade Tree and Environmental Commission members belongs to the mayor or to the township manager.

Council members were informed last year that more than one attorney had reviewed township ordinances and state laws and determined that they dictated that the power belonged to the manager, according to township attorney Joseph Clark.

"At the time (in 2019) my opinion was that the mayor's picks were the mayor's picks. And it was not without controversy (...) because in the middle of the term the existing Shade Tree Commission was terminated and new appointments were made," Clark said.

A Howell ordinance from 2019 states that the Shade Tree Commission is a seven-person body "who shall be appointed by the Mayor." However, the New Jersey Faulkner Act states that the members "shall be appointed by the mayor or other chief executive officer of the municipality."

In Howell, the executive branch is controlled by the township manager and the council and mayor hold the legislative power.

Berger argued that until a court determines otherwise, she should be able to appoint members of the commission, citing the 2019 ordinance and previous mayoral appointments.

"I do not consent to the town manager unlawfully usurping my authority to appoint the members of the Shade Tree Commission until an ordinance has been introduced and a public hearing held amending the ordinance," Berger said. "It is my mayoral right to continue to continue to exercise these authorities with respect to the appointments unless and until a court has determined otherwise."

The mayor read out loud a letter written by a representative of some of the current commission members, which was sent to all council members.

"In short, the members of the STC respectfully request that the Township Manager refrain from taking any action regarding the STC appointments at the reorganization meeting," the letter read. "At minimum, the question of who has the appointment has not been resolved. It, therefore, follows that the Township Council should not prematurely end the tenure of the current STC members until it secures an advisory opinion from the judicial branch of government (...) Regardless of whether the Township Council decides to go to court, it cannot appoint any members to the STC prior to adopting a new ordinance."

Clark called the suggestion that the township needs to go to court "ludicrous."

"The interpretation of the statute may not be something that people like, but it is correct," Clark said.

Geoghegan ended up re-appointing four of the current STC members: chair Lisa Doud, Richard Mertens, Valerie MacFie and Jerry Barron.

Outgoing members are Andre de Garmeaux, Kristal Dias, Gabriella Comes, Marc Parisi and Dawn Van Brunt.

Geoghegan also appointed members for the Environmental Commission and council appointed members to all the remaining organizations, including the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment.

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