Red Bank police Chief Darren McConnell on Broad Street after the Red Bank Classic 5K Saturday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Darren McConnell, Red Bank’s police chief and interim administrator, plans to retire next month, he told redbankgreen Saturday.
McConnell’s exit means the incoming mayor and council will now have to fill the top two administrative jobs at borough hall while implementing a new “council-manager” form of government approved in a voter referendum last November.
And there’s an outside chance McConnell could return as the manager.
McConnell at his 2013 swearing-in ceremony as police chief, above, and at the National Night Out festival in 2021, below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
McConnell informed the mayor and council of his intent to retire July 31 via email Friday.
His decision was largely financial, he said. Having long ago maxed out his potential pension earnings, “it doesn’t make sense to stay and not collect my pension after 35 years,” he told redbankgreen. “I don’t gain any more by staying.”
McConnell, 54 years old, also said he’s been chief twice as long as he’d originally expected, and wants to make room for others in the department to advance.
Captain Mike Frazee is expected to run the operation until a new chief is hired.
In addition to managing the 39-officer police department, McConnell has run the day-to-day operations of municipal government on an “interim” basis since the May, 2021, resignation of Ziad Shehady, collecting a $7,500-per-month stipend on top of his police salary.
Twice since then, the council has attempted to hire an administrator, but both efforts came to naught amid political infighting on the all-Democratic council.
McConnell said he’s learned a lot in two years as administrator and expects to “take the experience from both jobs and use it somewhere,” possibly in municipal government.
State pension rules, however, require a 90-day break in service if he were to take a job in Red Bank government, he said. The rules also prohibit any interviews for or discussions about a possible return during that interval.
After 90 days, if the Red Bank job is still open, McConnell said he might apply for it. “It’s not impossible,” he said.
“I haven’t decided if I want a complete change of scenery, but I like being here,” he said. “I’ve lived here for a good portion of my career, I like the town, I know the town, I’ve watched it change. This is clearly my favorite town.”
A 30-day waiting period would apply if he seeks employment with another town, McConnell said.
Mayor Billy Portman told redbankgreen he hopes McConnell does apply if the job is still open at the point when McConnell is eligible.
“In my brief time as mayor, Darren has been nothing short of amazing,” Portman said via text. “His institutional knowledge and calm demeanor have been an incredible resource for me.”
“I would love to have him back,” he said. “But we have to follow the process.” The search for a new manager will begin “as soon as we all get sworn in,” Portman said.
The borough government reorganization and swearing of oaths by Portman and six council members – all members of a Democratic slate that breezed to victory in the May 9 election – is scheduled for Saturday, July 1.
McConnell said he will work through the first month of the new government in order to “provide a transition, especially on the administration side.” But whether the council finds another interim manager or a permanent replacement, the “department heads know what they’re doing,” he said. “They’ll do a great job.”
In 1988, a few months out of Rumson-Fair Haven High School and working as a line cook in a restaurant, McConnell took the Red Bank police exam “kind of on a whim” with a buddy, and was hired directly into the patrol division.
“I just got really lucky,” he said.
After rising though the department’s ranks, he became chief in December, 2013, three months after the death of Chief Steve McCarthy.
Though he’s now at peace with his choice, coming to the decision to step down was “stressful,” McConnell said.
“This is all I’ve known since I was 19 years old,” he said. “So it’s a big step. But people always said when the time is right, you’ll know it, and it feels right. Everything just fell into place. It’s the right time.”
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