Special Meeting – Special Time – 7pm
Scroll down to read the Council’s Letter
Resolution 2026-142 appointing Joseph Verruni as interim Borough Administrator
Agenda for MONDAY, July 6th Council Meeting – 7pm
Resolution 2026-142 appointing Joseph Verruni as interim Borough Administrator
In the spirit of fairness I hope they continue to have Council President Kinney as mayor until the election. Especially since Donovan is running against DeBlasio.
Last night, if you went to the meeting, you would’ve seen Jodi Kinney as the acting Mayor to introduce the meeting. She spoke of the weekend and the council coming together to solve a lot of issues, between the weather, the heat, and the surplus of visitors in our town for the holiday, with a goal to keep them safe. She thanked along with the rest of the council and the citizens who showed up for the meeting all of the departments in the borough.
That’s what this town is about, coming together, there was a lightness in the room. A lightness that felt like the room was set free.
Next, April presented three Democratic nominations to replace the resigned position of the Mayor. It was Caitlin Donovan, Barry Lubin And Johanna Robinson. It was a unanimous vote for Caitlin. Everyone was happy for her moment including John Walsh and Robin from Robins Nest. It was a time when there should be no aisle down the center dividing the room.
Whether or not the Mayor resigned because of health reasons, or the democratic committee just wanted him out, it felt contrived. It felt like it was strategically implemented. Which doesn’t seem fair for Belmar. Today, Caitlin will resign from her council position and at the next meeting there will be another vote. The Democratic committee will put up three more nominations to fill her council position.
Again, this is the procedure, but the reality is it doesn’t feel right. It feels similar to when Biden stepped down and put Harris in his position without a primary.
I realize that the council has come together to fill the empty seats that are vacant, including the Mayor, the business administrator and CFO. We cannot overlook the fact that we do not have a budget, we have unanswered questions with the books, we have employee contracts that are still not settled, and we are in the busiest time of the year with the summer season. It’s still hard to digest that the Mayor resigned.
A lot of people get their information from Facebook, social media, news and blogs. But, the virtual reality is to be present at the meetings whether you view it live on YouTube or actually live at the Borough.
I am writing this because there’s a lot of misinformation out there, secondhand information, opinions and all the controversy and division that goes along with it. If you really care about this town, if you want a future in BELMAR, then show up and be present.