Stepping into borough hall as Sea Bright’s new administrator is Plumsted’s former top official. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Just a couple weeks before Maryann Smeltzer says sayonara to Sea Bright, the borough council has hired a replacement for the retiring administrator.
Next in line for the top administrative slot — and clerk duties, too — is Richard Kachmar, a 59-year-old Howell resident who last served as Plumsted’s administrator for 13 years before the budget ax loomed.
“Basically in Plumsted there was a problem with the budget,” Kachmar told redbankgreen. “Through attrition and layoffs, and then closed offices, the next logical thing was to preserve the police department. The administrator position was the last place they could save. I saw the handwriting on the wall.”
So Kachmar, who has nearly 20 years of administrative municipal experience, found himself in a pool of seven or eight candidates vying for the job of Smeltzer, who’s retiring at the end of the month.
After a few rounds of interviews, the council on Tuesday voted to hire Kachmar at a salary of $65,000 for the rest of the year for his combined roles. Mayor Maria Fernandes said she anticipates he’ll get a new contract at the beginning of next year.
“I liked him right from the beginning, so I’m very pleased,” she said. “It was a good process and a fair process. I think everyone should be happy about it.”
Kachmar moves into borough hall on July 1.
“It’s going to be very difficult to fill Maryann Smeltzer’s shoes,” Kachmar said. “As they say in the business, she’s one of the good ones.”
