By KENNY WALTER
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — The neighboring municipalities of Long Branch and West Long Branch will be sharing a finance director and purchasing agent for the remainder of the year.
Last month, both the West Long Branch and Long Branch councils passed resolutions for a shared-service agreement to allow Long Branch Finance Director Michael Martin and Purchasing Agent David Spaulding to take the reins part-time in West Long Branch.
Under the agreement, West Long Branch will pay Long Branch $65,000 for the duration of the year.
Martin said the initial agreement only runs until the end of the year, and if both municipalities are satisfied with the arrangement, a longer agreement could be implemented.
“After the first year, we are going to reevaluate and see exactly how much time it takes and make sure what we are charging is appropriate,” Martin said. “It is a first-year thing, it is really new so we are going to reevaluate at the end of the year and adjust our fee if we need to.”
Martin said the amount of hours spent working on West Long Branch is undetermined, and the majority of the work will be completed at the Long Branch City Hall building.
In December, Victor Cantillo, who served as chief financial officer and administrator in West Long Branch, announced his retirement. Since then, West Long Branch has relied on consultants to fill each role, with no successor for the administrator’s position being yet filled.
“I think next week we are transitioning their consultant out,” Martin said.
According to Martin, the West Long Branch council has not yet adopted a municipal budget, and he will assist in finalizing it. The Long Branch City Council has not introduced its budget.
Martin took over as finance director in Long Branch in 2015 after longtime director Ron Mehlhorn Sr. retired.