Council Cuts Ties With On-Leave Howell Manager

HOWELL, NJ — The Township Council has terminated its contract with on-leave Township Manager Brian Geoghegan.

The council took the action at a special morning meeting on Aug. 25, Mayor Theresa Berger confirmed.

The vote to terminate the contract was unanimous, Berger said.

Berger said certain details of the termination are still being worked on with Geoghegan's lawyer.

Geoghegan had been on a paid, three-month leave, as required by law, but Berger said he is no longer being paid with the termination, which was effective Aug. 25.

Because the termination is a personnel matter, she was not able to go into more detail at this time, she said.

Geoghegan's exceeding his paid time off is an issue still being looked into, Berger said.

The termination resolution referred to the time off issue, with the town "seeking removal of the Township Manager for exceeding use of the contractual pay time off provision set forth in Section 6 of the Employment Agreement."

Berger was not a supporter of Geoghegan at the time of his appointment, she said.

The Township Council had voted unanimously to place Geoghegan on a paid three-month leave on May 24. Geoghegan was manager for five years.

The Township Council named Township Attorney Joseph Clark as interim manager in May. Clark had been acting as deputy manager, and was already involved in the day-to-day running of the administrator's office.

According to Geoghegan's LinkedIn page, he retired in 2014 as the Traffic Bureau Supervisor in the Jackson Police Department. He also was business administrator in Ship Bottom and was a borough administrator in Highlands. He was named Howell administrator in 2017.