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September 2003
Update

The Mayor and Council are very pleased to announce that Joseph M. Hartnett has been offered and has accepted the position of Montclair Township Manager, starting in October. He comes to us with exceptional experience and references and with great enthusiasm for our diversity, cultural activities and vibrancy.

Mr. Hartnett was selected after a four month search from a pool of sixty applicants. The position was advertised in newspapers and professional publications. Seventeen applicants received detailed questionnaires for response and the Council Personnel Subcommittee interviewed ten of these applicants. The Council reviewed resumes and interviewed the three finalists. Dan Mason of Jersey Professional Management served as search consultant to the Council.

Joe comes to Montclair from St. Peter’s College where he serves as Vice President of Business and Finance, responsible for: budget and finance, internal controls, facilities and infrastructure management, real estate acquisition and management, security, support services, legal services, human resources, strategic planning, investments, contracting, financing, community and government relations, and information technology.

Previously he served 19 years for the City of Rahway as City Administrator (1975-1990), Superintendent of Public Works (1974-1975), and Executive Assistant to the Mayor (1971-1974). During his tenure he was honored by the NJ State Legislature as “one of the top public managers in NJ” and for achieving “national distinction for innovative uses of technology.” Other public positions include: Commissioner, NJ State Budget Caps Commission; Chairman, Treasurer, Commissioner, Operations Chair, Environmental Protection Chair of the Union County Utilities Authority: Adjunct Professor, Kean University; Board of Directors, Union County Economic Development Corporation; Member and President, Rahway Board of Education. Mr. Hartnett has also been active in a long list of civic and charitable endeavors.

From 1990 to June 2001, Joe was Managing Partner of CNNJ, LLC of Woodbridge, NJ, a consultant to entrepreneurial ventures and over seventy major companies and organizations, including military and government agencies, financial institutions, Fortune 500 companies, hospitals and health care organizations, retailers, and public and private schools systems and colleges. He has a strong background in information technology and its application to a wide variety of management functions, budgeting and communications, and is presently managing a $1.3 million enterprise-wide IT implementation.

Joe’s wife Georgia, an attorney, is an executive at Union County College and their son Colin, a Star Ledger Scholar, is a senior at Brown University.