After two decades, longtime Voorhees Township Administrator Larry Spellman retired on Feb. 26. Self-described as Mayor Michael Mignogna’s “right hand man”, Spellman wore many hats for the township, often handling media, public relations and as a reference point for all in the community. With his absence, the township committee is coming together to fill roles previously consumed by Spellman.
At the moment, Mario DiNatale, Police Chief Lou Bordi and Mayor Mignogna are assuming Spellmans previous duties. DiNatale is currently the Director of Community and Economic development within the township.
Also assisting with roles that Spellman used to coordinate is current Events and Business Development Department board member, Stella Sytnik.
Township employees also explained that while the township was prepared for Spellman’s retirement, no permanent replacement was named prior to his retirement. This allowed for a smooth transition to prepare the committee for bringing in a new hire. The township felt it was in a good position to let the hiring process take place naturally.
“The applications are from all over,” said Sytnik.
Mayor Mignogna says that although there are many applications submitted, nobody that already works within the department will be hired.
“We are not going to hire anybody from within. We got a lot of applicants but nobody from within, it’s going to be someone from the outside. We cannot reveal the names or where any of the current applicants are from. That is confidential,” said Mignogna.
Applications for the position officially closed on Feb. 16 and Sytnik believes that no interviews have been conducted at this time, but will take place throughout the month of March. It is also unknown when the new administrator will be named, but from conversations with Spellman and Mayor Mignogna, they expect the search to conclude in the springtime.
More information regarding the ongoing search and interview process will be updated in the coming weeks. The township committee will be holding two meetings this month. One is a township committee work session taking place on March 21 and another is a regularly scheduled meeting taking place March 28.
