Ken Mosca
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE The Board of Commissioners held a special meeting with department heads Wednesday morning to ensure everyone working for the city is on the same page following the resignation of Administrator Ken Mosca.
The city works best with an administrator, but it's not required under the commission form of government, Mayor Michael Collins said. Our department heads are top of the line, communicate well, and make the job of the commission easy because they are very thorough and accountable, and step up when needed.
Until such time as the city hires a replacement, the commissioners will depend on the professional expertise of various department heads to keep the city humming like a well-oiled machine, he said.
We will take as long as we need to find a new administrator, Collins said. The important thing is to find the right person.
In the meantime, the city will depend on staff and professionals, and a good way to ensure things go smoothly over the next few months is to have regular department head or administrative meetings.
Collins said the board would continue having its work sessions or capital meetings ahead of the regular commission meetings, which has been the practice for several years, but administrative meetings may occasionally be needed to communicate properly across departments.
Everything is fluid, we will adjust and adapt as needed, Collins said.
Before going around the table and giving each manager the opportunity to discuss pressing issues in their respective departments, Collins said the most important thing over the next 30-90 days is communication.
I made it clear that anyone can call me 24-7 if they need to, Collins said. If we are all communicating, we won't miss a beat.
Some of the priority actions that need to be kept on track are appointing personnel and compliance officers, finalizing the 2024 municipal budget, and funding planned capital projects.
The city is also considering entering into a shared services agreement with the Margate City school district for IT coordination, some of which has been outsourced to a private company. Officials said they are concerned about cyber security threats. The school district employs a technology supervisor who has been with the district for 17 years and is familiar with the layout of technology in the Municipal Building, which once served as the Union Avenue School.
He would be a great asset to the city, Commissioner Catherine Horn said.
Mosca, who was hired in January 2023 by the prior administration, submitted a resignation letter on Jan. 18 following a flap that garnered the attention of various media sites and talk radio shows.
A resolution appeared on the board's Jan. 18 agenda terminating Mosca's contract and giving him three months severance pay, but it was withdrawn from the agenda without comment.
On Wednesday, Collins said he was hoping to have a separation agreement with Mosca finalized by Tuesday, Jan. 16, the deadline two days prior to a meeting for posting the agenda on the city's website.
We just couldn't get it finalized by then, and the resolution that was already listed on the agenda was pulled, he said.
Collins said both parties agreed to a peaceful separation, but he declined to discuss the reasons for it due to personnel confidentiality regulations.
A resolution approving a new separation agreement will be on the board's next agenda on Feb. 1, he said.
Mosca declined comment at this time.
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