HAZLET – Township Committeewoman Tara Clark has been elected by her fellow members of the Township Committee to serve as the mayor of Hazlet for 2022. Clark also held the position in 2021.
Clark was elected mayor for 2022 by her colleagues during the Jan. 4 reorganization meeting of the governing body.
Under Hazlet’s form of government, the mayor is not directly elected by residents. Each January, the five members of the Township Committee select one member of the committee to serve as mayor and one member to serve as deputy mayor for the year.
As the reorganization meeting began, Clark and James McKay were sworn in to begin serving new three-year terms following their victories in the November 2021 municipal election.
The oath of office was administered to Clark and McKay by Monmouth County Commissioner Sue Kiley, who previously served as Hazlet’s mayor.
When regular business commenced, Clark was elected to serve as mayor for 2022 after holding the position in 2021. She has been a member of the governing body since 2019.
Michael Sachs, who served as deputy mayor in 2021, was elected by his fellow committee members to continue serving as deputy mayor for 2022. Sachs joined Hazlet’s governing body in 1997.
All five members of the Township Committee are Republicans. Clark, Sachs and McKay are joined on the dais by Scott Aagre and Michael Glackin.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as Hazlet’s mayor in 2022.” Clark said. “I want to thank township committeemen Michael Glackin, Skip McKay, Michael Sachs and Scott Aagre for their continued support and for their ongoing dedication and service to our community. A special thank you to Michael Sachs for his commitment to continue to serve as Hazlet’s deputy mayor in 2022.
“A year ago, when I was first sworn in as mayor, the Township Committee had a vision for what we hoped to achieve in 2021,” Clark continued. We have accomplished a great deal over the past year and I look forward to continuing our success in 2022.
“Starting in 2019, the Township Committee embarked on a remarkable town-wide road restoration program.
“By taking a neighborhood-by-neighborhood approach and having our town engineers evaluate all of the roads in our town annually, we have restored 14.9 miles (22%) of municipal roads through the fall of 2021.
“The Township Committee will proactively continue our long-range road and infrastructure plan in the coming year.
“In 2021, despite coronavirus-related revenue losses and a lean municipal budget of just $20.5 million, the Township Committee cut spending and kept the tax rate flat. We saved over $1 million in shared service agreements.
“In 2022, we will continue to implement cost-saving measures through operational efficiencies and technological improvements with a focus on customer service at Town Hall.
“In this challenging time of record inflation, continued pressure from supply chain disruptions and coronavirus-related impacts, we will be fiscally conservative. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve the great people of Hazlet. I look forward to continuing our important work,” Clark said.