Ocean City Pauses Term Limits For Board, Commission Appointees

OCEAN CITY, NJ — City Council approved an ordinance last week to temporarily end term limits for volunteers serving on boards and commissions to prevent a wave of vacancies this year.

The ordinance extends current board members' terms until Dec. 31, 2022, giving the Council another year to define how long appointees should serve on boards and commissions.

Boards and commissions were anticipating a large number of vacancies in December. Members would be required to step down after their second consecutive term expired on Dec. 31 if Council had not approved the new ordinance. An entirely new slate of members would have been needed to fill the vacancies if the term limits were not extended.

“It will eliminate the need to make massive appointments because right now the terms of the board and commission members end on Dec. 31. You’d have many, many vacancies,” City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson said during Thursday's meeting.

Council will now have more time to consider its options for board and commission terms, including staggering term limits, reinstating them or eliminating them entirely, according to McCrosson.

The term limits that were in effect previously prevented reappointment of any member of a board or commission who had served two full terms. If the council decides to take no action, the term limits would go back into effect after Dec. 31, 2022.

“They’re important jobs, so we need to be serious about how we structure these boards,” Councilwoman Karen Bergman said. “I’m for passing it now, but I’m really for us defining this more this year.”

During public comment, Ocean City resident Donna Moore asked Council to consider having staggered terms for appointees.

“There are many intelligent people living here now with qualifications to serve on our boards and if we’re still drawing from the same sources repeatedly, then we don’t give those people a chance and we send a message to them that they don’t have a chance,” Moore said.

Moore added that she supports term limits because they allow “fresh energy” to contribute ideas on the boards and commissions.

Council President Bob Barr also suggested establishing a “new age plan,” to attract new people and increase involvement by advertising the open positions through social media.

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