EATONTOWN — Julie Martin, a Millstone resident, has been appointed by the Borough Council as the new municipal clerk.
Martin takes over for long-time clerk Karen Siano, who retired July 1 after 20 years of service.
Siano started as borough clerk in April 1995, after 17 years as the civilian police clerk for the police department.
“I am absolutely thrilled and looking forward to coming to Eatontown,” Martin said in a recent interview. “It is a much larger town than where I have been previously, but I am looking forward to the challenge and working with everyone.”
Martin, who was born and raised in England before moving to the U.S. 29 years ago, comes to Eatontown after nine years working as the borough clerk for the Borough of Allentown.
Before being hired in Allentown in 2006, she worked for the Borough of Englishtown, starting in 1998, working her way up from clerk assistant to borough clerk.
“Allentown and Englishtown are both very similar — small towns, small populations — and now Eatontown is bigger and has more people, but I am looking forward to working with all the employees and residents and am thrilled to be able to come to Eatontown,” she said.
As clerk, Martin will be secretary to the governing body, putting together agendas, resolutions and minutes of meetings, and will also be in charge of a number of other tasks including issuing permits and licenses and making sure elections run smoothly.
According to Borough Administrator George Jackson, not only will Martin serve as municipal clerk, she will also serve as Eatontown’s qualified purchasing agent, a new position in the borough being filled thanks to Martin’s prior training.
“This is a position we’ve never had in the borough prior and this gives us the ability to create purchasing actions with a bid threshold of $40,000,” he said. “This is a big plus for the municipality and will save us a lot of time and a lot of money.”
Martin said that having a qualified purchasing agent is an asset to any municipality.
“Having a qualified purchasing agent is a huge asset to municipalities because it brings the bid threshold up,” she said. “Towns without a qualified purchasing agent have to go out to bid for any purchases over $17,500, whereas those municipalities with one do not have to go out to bid unless the purchase is over $40,000.”
At the council’s Aug. 26 meeting, Jackson said the borough received 17 applications to fill the vacant position and conducted eight interviews before narrowing the field to Martin and another candidate.
“She’s a real pleasure to deal with, and I think she’ll make a great addition to the borough of Eatontown,” he told council members. “This is a great choice we have, and we are looking forward to Julie serving in the borough.”
According to a resolution, passed unanimously by the council at the Aug. 26 meeting, Martin will begin with the borough Sept. 7, for a three-year term.
As borough clerk her salary will be $65,000 a year, while as local registrar, she will receive $5,000 a year.