Council continued its annual tradition of rotating the position of deputy mayor with the selection of Debbie Hackman.
Evesham Township Council met briefly this week to hold its reorganization meeting for 2018.
Pastor Jon Wegner of Marlton Assembly of God was on hand to give the yearly invocation for the meeting, with Wegner asking for blessings for council and the township for the year to come.
As there were no members of council up for re-election in November, there were no re-elected or new members to swear into new terms at the meeting.
This means Evesham Council in 2018 will resemble the Evesham Council of 2017, with a full majority of five Republicans consisting of Mayor Randy Brown and Councilmembers Steve Zeuli, Debbie Hackman, Bob DiEnna and Ken D’Andrea.
However, one difference from last year is the position of deputy mayor.
During the meeting, council continued its annual tradition of rotating the council member who holds the position of deputy mayor for the year, with council selecting Hackman for the role for 2018.
Zeuli, who could not attend the meeting, held the title for 2017.
Brown swore in Hackman as this year’s deputy mayor before the meeting’s small audience, with Hackman’s daughter Rachel and her husband Dave by her side.
Hackman said she was once again grateful to serve with her fellow council members and the township’s professionals.
“It’s a great team to serve with, and what we do could not be possible if we didn’t have the support of everybody that has been appointed or reappointed tonight to help us,” Hackman said.
As Hackman noted, council also approved the appointments of numerous township professionals during this week’s meeting.
Many of the more notable professionals will remain the same from last year, including John Gillespie and the firm of Parker McCay as township solicitor, Thomas J. Hastie, Jr. and the firm Capehart & Scatchard as bond counsel, Cristina L. Vazquez as municipal public defender and Daniel Gee as municipal prosecutor the firm Parker, Young and Antinoff.
Evesham Township Manager Tom Czerniecki also reflected on some of the municipality’s achievements for 2017, such as finding a new headquarters for the Department of Public Works, managing traffic around the Taunton Road Bridge repair, the creation of a new construction debris control program and installation of several new playgrounds.
The meeting also saw council approve its calendar of regular meetings for 2018.
Regular meetings are scheduled to take place once a month on select Tuesday evenings starting at 6:30 p.m. in the courtroom of the Evesham Township Municipal Complex at 984 Tuckerton Road.
Meetings are scheduled for Jan. 23, Feb. 6, March 6, April 3, May 8, June 19, July 17, Aug. 21, Sept. 11, Oct. 16, Nov. 20 and Dec. 11.
Residents can learn of any cancellations or additions to the schedule in advance of the meetings at the municipal complex or on the township’s website at www.evesham-nj.org.
