Freeholders announce county appointments

The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders has appointed a number of people to key positions within county government and restructured several county departments for an overall cost savings of more than $225,000 in salaries, according to a March 13 press release from the county.

The positions were advertised on the Monmouth County Internet website and in the Star-Ledger and the Asbury Park Press. Candidates submitted resumes and qualifications were carefully reviewed, according to the press release.

“For several weeks we have been examining ways in which the county can be administered more effectively and efficiently and still be able to deliver the excellent services Monmouth County residents have come to expect,” Freeholder Director Barbara J. McMorrow said. “We determined that by promoting largely from within we can rein in our high-level salaries and save

228,735 this year.”

The appointments follow the retirements of Finance Director Mark E. Acker and Human Service Director Lynn Miller.

The board promoted longtime county employees Craig Marshall and Charles Brown III to the positions of finance director and human services director, respectively. Marshall, a certified public accountant and currently a senior administrative analyst, will be paid $128,000; Brown, who was the county’s director of mental health and addiction services, will be paid $120,000.

Assuming the duties as director of mental health and addiction services will be Barry Johnson, who was the assistant human services director to Miller. The assistant director’s position has been abolished for a savings of $106,527. Johnson will earn $99,000 a year in his new position.

The board reappointed longtime county employee Patricia Watson as consumer affairs director at her current salary of $77,973. Watson has worked at the Department of Consumer Affairs since 1983.

Also reappointed was John G. McCormack as director of the Monmouth County Police Academy at his current salary of $86,113. McCormack has been director of the academy since 2003. McCormack is a former police chief in Manalapan.

Taking over as director of the Office on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans’ Interment is Thomas Pivinski of Asbury Park, a retired Roman Catholic priest who is currently working with hospice for Meridian Health Care. Pivinski maintains a small private psychotherapy practice in Asbury Park. His annual salary is $75,000.

The board also hired former Hazlet police detective Glen Mason to serve as the Office of Emergency Management coordinator at an annual salary of $75,000. The position had been vacant, according to the press release.

Mason, a 26-year police veteran, had served as the Office of Emergency Management coordinator in Hazlet for three years and, prior to that appointment, had been in charge of the police auxiliary, which is part of the Hazlet OEM. He is currently a member of the U.S. Coast Guard auxiliary and serves as the group’s liaison for emergency response. He sits on the county’s Local Emergency Planning Committee.

Mason, who mounted an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the freeholders board in 2008, has elected not to receive health benefits from the county or be enrolled in the state’s Public Employee Retirement System.

“No new positions were created and all of the appointees are Monmouth County residents,” McMorrow said. “I welcome each of them into county service and wish them all the best of luck.”

All of the appointments become effective after April 1.