Committeewoman: Best Candidate for Administrator is 'In House'

Several qualified people applied for Cinnaminson’s open administrator position, but the person who ultimately ends up with the job could be a familiar face.

Public Safety Director Mickey King took over as interim administrator following the resignation of Frank Locantore, and has been doing such a good job, according to Committeewoman Kathy Fitzpatrick, that he should be permanently put in the position.

“Mickey is doing an outstanding job in a difficult position,” Fitzpatrick told the rest of committee Monday. “His stepping into the position has been seamless … I’ve gotten rave reviews from our employees and our professionals alike.”

Though the township has about six or seven qualified applicants, Fitzpatrick said she was “not inclined to spend a long time searching (for a new administrator) when I feel like we have the best one in the house.”

Fitzpatrick said King is not being paid two salaries for doing both jobs. However, he does receive a stipend, though she was unsure how much it is. The Burlington County Times reported that the amount is $2,000 a month.

Locantore’s salary was approximately $95,000. King, former chief of detectives for the county prosecutor’s office, gets paid about $80,000 a year, with no benefits, as public safety director.

While the rest of committee—sans Mayor Ben Young, who was unable to attend Monday’s meeting—agreed with Fitzpatrick's assessment of King’s job performance, and no one objected to considering keeping him on as administrator, they recommended the applications be reviewed further before a final determination is made.

“I like the idea of sharing a title, if it’s feasible,” Deputy Mayor Anthony Minniti said. “We’ve run into issues in the past with stretching people too thin.”

King, for his part, acknowledged he had expressed interest in continuing in his dual role. Fitzpatrick said she and Young, who are both on the search committee for the next administrator—along with King—have had “limited conversations” with him about making the appointment permanent.

Minniti suggested the subcommittee review the applicants further and share its thoughts with the full committee at the Dec. 2 work session.