EDISON — Mayor-Elect Thomas Lankey will be able to appoint three personnel to his staff when he begins his four-year term on Jan. 1.
The Township Council voted at its Dec. 11 regular meeting in favor of increasing the number of the mayor’s staff members from two to three.
The ordinance now states that the mayor may appoint a secretary, executive secretary or other personnel, not to exceed three positions.
In 2011, the council had amended the ordinance to limit the number of the mayor’s appointments to two after a battle for control emerged in Edison. Lankey was on the council dais at the time.
Also at the time, current-Mayor Antonia Ricigliano issued a controversial executive order that prohibited township employees from communicating with the council. The order was later partially rescinded, allowing council members to speak with the township’s department heads or directors.
In its efforts to gain more control, the council adopted an ordinance granting itself final approval in decisions the administration makes to reorganize departments, reduce staff and/or abolish any positions.
Ricigliano vetoed the amendments, but the council overturned her veto.
Township Attorney Karl Kemm said that after reviewing the Faulkner Act, which Edison’s governing body follows, neither ordinance could be passed. The law, he said, leaves the salaries and the number of staff hired by the mayor at the purview of the mayor. He said the Faulkner Act only allows the council to have final approval on department heads.
Councilman Robert Diehl said at the time that the council was simply seeking to clear up the “gray-area mess in the middle.” The council had expressed its dissatisfaction with the mayor’s personnel appointments.
Diehl said at the recent meeting that it was at Lankey’s request that the council voted on amending the ordinance from two staffers to three.
Lankey is currently getting ready for his first mayoral term with his bipartisan transition team, led by Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac.