New Tax Assessor To Take Over May 1

The township committee hired a new tax assessor Thursday night by a vote of 4-1 with Committeewoman Helen DelaCruz casting the lone no vote.

Brad Millman will replace current tax assessor Theresa Pozanaski, who is retiring from the position that she has held since 1980.

Millman will begin on March 30, which gives him a month to work alongside his predecessor before she retires on May 1.

Millman was hired with an annual salary of $57,000. The outgoing assessor was earning $80,000 per year. Information provided by Township Administrator Veronica Laureigh on Friday showed that he was previously employed as an assessor in Middletown and Neptune. He also worked for a private assessment company that did re-evaluation work in Eagleswood and Tuckerton.

As she cast her dissenting vote, DelaCruz explained that she felt the township should have advertised the position and gone through an application and interview process.

“Maybe we’d have ended up just the same, but I’d have interviewed,” said DelaCruz.

Laureigh explained on Friday that Millman was hired at the recommendation of Pozanski. She said Millman had applied to the township several years ago for the position of deputy tax assessor, and while he was not hired at that time he and Pozanski had stayed in touch since then.

“Who better to know her job than herself,” said Laureigh of Pozanski’s recommendation.

Committeeman Sean Sharkey said he agreed with DelaCruz’s concerns about the lack of an open application process, but also understood the need to move quickly so that the new assessor would have time to work alongside his predecessor. He also noted the township is required by law to fill the position.

“I hope this gentleman will do what we need him to do,” said Sharkey.

Mayor Gary Quinn expressed his thanks to Pozanski for her years of service to the township.

“She has done a fantastic job for us,” he said. "She did not want to retire but due to changes in Trenton she is retiring to keep what she was promised and worked for,” added Quinn, making reference to proposed pension reforms by the state.

Quinn also noted that there have been 120 tax appeals filed so far this year, and historically the number of appeals tends to grow significantly in April, so he believed it necessary to get the new assessor hired as soon as possible.

“I know Terry will do her best to get you up to speed. I wish you the best. I know you will live up to the legacy Terry has built,” said Quinn to Millman, who attended the meeting.

In other news:

• Committeeman David Most reported the township has received its check from the county for recycling revenue for the second half of 2010 in the amount of $26,472.

“Our county does a great job on single stream recycling. We are seeing a lot more product not end up in land fills. All around recycling really makes sense,” said Most.

Quinn added that between the two checks issued in 2010 the township made $50,000 by recycling.

• Most also reported the Lacey First Aid Squad is soliciting donations by mail in an attempt to raise money for a new vehicle.

“It is unfortunate we are not in a position with capital funding to help them this year,” said Most. “I will be donating, and I encourage everyone to help if they can. We have a lot of volunteers and we need to support them with the best equipment we can.”