Administrator Announces Retirement

Township Administrator Frank Bastone has told department heads and Township Committee members he will be retiring at the start of December after five years serving Montville, officials said.

Bastone will be retiring Dec. 1, marking 33 years since he began working as a public employee in Morris County.

Bastone came to Montville in 2006. Prior to working in Montville, he was assistant administrator in Mount Olive.

"I think it's a significant loss to the township," Mayor Jim Sandham said Thursday. "He's done a very good job for us. He helped move the town forward."

"Frank's done a great job," Committeewoman Deborah Nielson said. "We'll be actively searching for a replacement."

Bastone said he will work with the Township Committee and staff on a very smooth transition.

Committee members talked about the matter in closed session Tuesday because it involved discussion of personnel whose duties might be affected when the town hires an interim administrator.

"As a result of the Township Administrator's retirement, the Township Committee should determine what process they want to establish in order to find a successor. I have attached a copy of the advertisement that was used for the last Administrator search process," Bastone wrote in his report to committee members for Tuesday's meeting.

Here's what the ad looked like five years ago:

Full service affluent NYC suburban community of 21,000, seeks personable, organized, communicative, reputable, involved, dedicated professional local government leader with minimum of 7-10 years of progressively responsible municipal management service. Over $35.8M total budgets, about 155 FTE and 12 departments, including administration, finance, clerk, police, parks & recreation, health, public works, engineering, land use, construction services, water/ sewer. Require Bachelor's degree; prefer Master's degree, with at least one degree related field. Prefer CMFO certification or equivalent. Seek added training/demonstrated skills in finance, budget, labor relations, human resource, economic development, technology, risk and general management. For more information about community, visit www.montvillenj.org.