Several Pleasantville residents expressed concerned about the new administrator's old ties to the city.

Robert Laws was appointed city administrator at Monday's City Council meeting.

Laws previously acted as community liaison when the city was on the verge of privatizing its waste-management system in 2022. That deal was ended by heavy community opposition.

For many, Laws was seen as the public face of the issue.

"When I saw that he was one of the applicants, I just thought that was very, very nervy of him to apply," Mayor Judy Ward said as she addressed the public toward the end of the meeting.  

The mayor was on the four-person panel that picked Laws. Five people applied, with four interviewed. It wound up between Laws and another unnamed candidate who was not as qualified, Ward said.

In the end, "(Laws) was the best applicant," she said. "He interviewed very well."

Ward said they talked with him about the city's future.

"It wasn't an easy, easy decision," she said. "But when we tallied everything up, everyone agreed that he was the best applicant we had for what we needed."

"I'm always concerned when you have conflict of interest issues," resident Jerry King said before the vote.

He referred to Laws as "almost like a hired gun" for Bernhard Capital Partners, who was poised to take over the city's waste management at one point. 

Resident Tim Jones said he believes it is a bad decision, but hoped that — if Laws was put in the position — "he's the best administrator the city has ever had." 

Domingo Rodriguez also pointed out that Laws is a Republican serving as committeeman in Hamilton Township, which he said seems in contrast to the Democrat-leaning Pleasantville.

Laws did not address the public, but did clarify his position on the undone deal to BreakingAC following the meeting.

"I never worked for that company," he explained of Bernhard Capital Partners. 

Instead, he said he was put in place to get the additional deals to benefit the community, such as $15,000 that would have benefited the Pleasantville Jokers Football Organization.

Laws said he would have had a seat on the five-member board for the waste-management group if the deal had gone through because he was seen as neutral. Two seats would have gone to Bernhard and two to the city.  

Laws will be paid $125,000 annually in his new position.

Council also unanimously appointed Kenia Nunez-Acura as the city's chief financial officer. She had been serving as acting city administrator.

She will make $110,000 annually.

More transparency

Residents also expressed concern that the city is not as transparent as others.

Jones, of the Pleasantville Concerned Citizens Committee, said if you go online to places like Egg Harbor Township and Somers Point, there not only are full agendas but packets that include whole ordinances and resolutions that are up for votes.

That is not the case in Pleasantville.

As if to highlight the issue, the agenda printouts available at Monday night's meeting had a full page missing that included 17 resolutions.

City Clerk Davinna King-Ali apologized for the mistake.

But residents also asked why things like the list of bills are not detailed.

Council President Carla Thomas said it was the way Nunez-Acura had chosen to do it, but that things could be changed.

Nunez-Acura said she would take the suggestion.