Princeton Creates 2 New Deputy Administrator Positions

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton has created two new deputy administrator positions as part of an organization-wide leadership team with Municipal Administrator Bernie Hvozdovic, the Municipality announced Tuesday evening.

Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton, and Health Officer Jeff Grosser, have been promoted to the newly-created positions and will work alongside Hvozdovic.

Stockton has been appointed Deputy Administrator for Infrastructure and Operations and will oversee the departments of Public works and Engineering, as well as the Municipal Arborist, and newly-hired Open Space Manager.

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As Deputy Administrator for Health and Community Services, Grosser will oversee the recently combined departments of Health and Human Services, as well as the Recreation Department.

Officials said the newly created positions and wide restructuring are the results of a lengthy analysis of the municipal staffing structure that began in the Personnel Committee with the previous administrator and continued with the current administrator.

Meanwhile, Hvozdovic will supervise the Deputy Administrators, and directly oversee the Police, Court, Clerk’s Office, Emergency Services, Finance, and other departments.

“These promotions recognize Deanna Stockton and Jeff Grosser’s many years of outstanding leadership and dedicated service to the municipality. They have earned the respect, trust, and confidence of their colleagues, the governing body, and the many residents who benefit daily from their commitment to Princeton,” Hvozdovic said in a statement.

“This restructuring will ensure that the municipality functions in a more efficient and cost-effective manner as well as being even more responsive to community needs and priorities.”

Stockton has been Municipal Engineer since 2016, previously serving as Assistant Engineer and a Design Engineer in Princeton. For over 15 years she has led a wide variety of award-winning design and construction projects. Stockton was responsible for the Stony Brook Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridges and Pathways, the Mountain Lakes Dams Reconstruction and Lake Dredging, the Community Park Pool Reconstruction, and the Mary Moss Playground Renovation.

In a statement, Stockton said she was “excited” to lead the combined organization and the teams within. "Specific to my expanded responsibilities for the combined Infrastructure and Operations Department, we are bringing together Engineering, Public Works, Parking, Fleet, Sewer Operations, and Open Space in order to better maintain and improve Princeton’s public assets by more efficiently planning and executing improvements of roadway, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, and public building infrastructure,” Stockton said. “In the near term and as a result of this year’s record rainfall events, we will be focusing on our storm sewer system and our Open Spaces, and their resiliency against the more frequent and erratic weather events.”

Grosser currently serves as the Director of Health, overseeing the Health Department and Bureau of Rental Inspection for the Municipality of Princeton.

Under his leadership, the health department became only the third local health department in New Jersey to achieve national public health accreditation in November 2018 through the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB).

Grosser said he was “grateful and proud” to be appointed to the new position. “I’ve devoted most of my educational and professional career to improving community health. Through the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all witnessed the importance of intersectoral and intergovernmental collaboration,” he said.

“The new structure of the Department of Health and Community Services intends to coordinate new processes for advancing shared goals of making Princeton a healthier place to be.”

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