Is Latest Wildwood Council Member Official?

After Wildwood's most recent city council member was at the May 9 council meeting, some residents indicated the process followed that evening violates the city's governing charter.

Don Kozlowski was nominated by Wildwood Mayor Tim Woerther and ratified by city council members in a divided 8 to 6 vote that Monday. The move came after David Hamrick, who had been elected to the Ward 1 slot on April 5, announced he could not assume the post because he was moving to Colorado for a new job.

According to Wildwood's city charter, established in 1995, voting of council members requires a "majority of members of the city council," or nine of the 16, overall council members to be proper and binding. The guidelines were established such that the mayor breaks a tied vote of 8-8 among the council members, which has occurred.

When the May 9 meeting started, only 15 council members were seated. One member, John McCulloch, was absent that night, leaving only 14 present.

The vote of 8-6 for Kozlowski did not meet the requirement of nine votes, and therefore is deemed null by some.

Wildwood resident and former city council member, Bart Cohn, said throughout the history of Wildwood, it has taken the vote of nine council members to decide or change critical matters such as ordinances, city administrative decisions, master plan considerations and council appointments.

"It has always taken nine votes to do anything in Wildwood government, and it's been that way for the past 16 years," Cohn said. "There's no way the system was meant to work in a way that was less than that."

City attorney Rob Golterman issued a legal report about the situation, which accompanies this article.

Woerther said the intent tonight at the city council meeting is to have a motion to reconsider the appointment.  "If that motion passes—a simple majority of those present is required—then I would be seeking a motion to have the council vote on the appointment.  This would require nine votes to have the appointment approved," he said.