Wyckoff mayoral study: Eliminate deputy mayor post

WYCKOFF — A subcommittee tasked with exploring alternative methods of picking the township's mayor has issued a report calling for three modifications – none of them involving a change in government or how the mayor is chosen.

The recommendations, made in a seven-page memo, have been informally adopted by the Township Committee pending discussion at the committee's Jan. 16 meeting.

However, the resident who organized a petition that prompted the study expressed dissatisfaction with the findings.

"I have to admit I'm confused," said Steve Joern, who organized the 901-signature petition to place a question on the November ballot asking if the township should study alternative election methods.

"I have no way to judge if they are completely finished," said Joern. "I hope they come to complete fruition."

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In its report, the subcommittee – comprised of now-Mayor Brian Scanlan and Committeeman Thomas Madigan – makes three recommendations:

Eliminate the deputy mayor position;

Do away with a public policy subcommittee comprised of the mayor and deputy mayor;

Start committee work sessions a half-hour earlier to allow time for the work done by the public policy subcommittee— setting agendas and drafting legislation for committee review.

The report also reviews various forms of government in New Jersey, ultimately dismissing each.

The Township Committee form currently used in Wyckoff is one of the state's oldest, according to the report, in use by 141 municipalities, or about 18 percent of towns. It features a largely-ceremonial mayor elected to a one-year term each January by the committee, which has control over legislative and executive powers, including appointments.

At least two other forms of government – Commission and Municipal Manager – also provide for indirect election of mayors by the governing bodies, according to the report. Both were discounted from consideration.

Four other forms of government were described in the report – mayor council, council manager, small municipal and mayor-council-administrator. Small municipal was discounted because it is intended for towns with populations under 12,000. Wyckoff’s population is 16,696, according to the 2010 census.

The other three forms were dismissed because they grant more power to the mayor or a manager/administrator, compared to the current governmental system, the report states.

In the report, Scanlan presses for non-partisan elections and suggests a system created by ordinance that would determine the mayor based on which committee person receives the most votes in the previous election. Scanlan has been the top vote-getter in each of his three re-election campaigns.

However, Madigan spoke in favor of the current government in the report, pointing out that voters have elected two Democrats and one independent –himself – to the committee in the last two years despite partisan elections.

Scanlan also suggested committee members not be allowed to serve as mayor two years in a row, possibly a nod to former committeeman Kevin Rooney, who was mayor in 2015 and 2016 while running for an Assembly seat in District 40.

No deputy mayor was chosen at the committee's annual organization meeting on Monday. The report states that ending the post would “eliminate any expectations the following year.”

In eight of the last 10 years the person elected deputy mayor one year became mayor the following year, though committee members have denied that this should be construed as a precedent.

It was this expectation that led to resident protests after the committee skipped over Scanlan, who was deputy mayor in 2016, and named Boonstra mayor in 2017. At the time, Scanlan – who became the first Democrat on the committee in 75 years when he was elected in 2008 – had never been tapped for the mayor’s post.

The protests led to Joern submitting his petition in July. Instead of placing the question on the ballot, the committee voted in August to immediately form the study subcommittee, with results due by year end. Scanlan and Madigan delivered their report on Dec. 16.

On Monday, the committee unanimously voted to name Scanlan Wyckoff's mayor – the first time a Democrat has ever held the post.

Email: stoltz@northjersey.com