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The Asbury Park city government has a new chief executive officer.

At its meeting Wednesday night, the City Council appointed John “Jack” Kelly [above] as the new city manager. Kelly brings 33 total years’ of municipal experience to the city. Until last summer, Kelly had worked as business administrator for Jersey City for three years. He previously served as the chief financial officer in Orange Township.

The vote was 5-0.

“We are confident he is going to do a very, very good job,” said Mayor Myra Campbell at Wednesday’s council meeting. “We all feel that we have selected the best person to lead Asbury Park forward.”

“We really narrowed it down, we know it’s an important job and we feel we have the right guy,” said Councilwoman Sue Henderson. “There’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve but I think he’s going to be good.”

“Glad he’s come aboard,” said Councilman John Loffredo.

“I’m excited about Mr. Kelly,” said Councilwoman Amy Quinn. “He has redevelopment experience, came from a socially progressive town, a town that had similar issues as Asbury in terms of violence and crime, has great ties to the state, and a great relationship with the state already, so I’m really hopeful that he’s the guy that’s going to move Asbury along.”

“Me and Councilwoman Quinn voted for him in October, November, December, January — he was our first choice, I don’t know what took the rest to get on board,” said Councilman John Moor. “I was ready to bring him on Nov. 1.”

Kelly’s contract will run from Feb. 1 to Dec. 31.

With a change in the form of government approved by voters last year, the city will elect a new mayor and council this November. The terms of all appointees will end on Dec. 31 to allow the government to fully reorganize.

Kelly will receive a $140,000 annual salary pro-rated for the eleven months he serves. Anthony Nuccio will stay on as acting City Manager until Jan. 31.

While in Jersey City, Kelly oversaw 3,000 employees and handled a $1 billion budget, he said.

Asbury Park is a unique town going through its own gentrification process, Kelly said.

“There are homes that are dilapidated that are falling down, there’s infrastructure and city water source systems that aren’t capable of handling increased capacity,” he said. “New streets, sidewalks, street lights, improvements to the boardwalk … that’s what I think about when I think about gentrification.”

What he remembers of the city, however, is from an earlier era.

“What I remember about Asbury Park is, of course, like most people coming here as a kid,” said Kelly, 55, who grew up in Belleville and is now a resident of Millington.

Kelly’s vision is to make Asbury Park “the greatest Shore town in the state,” he said.

“It’s great for the city, and we’re looking forward to working with him,” said Anselm Fusco, senior vice president of boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette.

The first thing Kelly will be checking up on is how the city handles itself in emergency management situations in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens, he said.

“I think the very first thing, especially with Hurricane Sandy in the back of everybody’s head, is to make sure that we have a good, working, emergency management plan,” said Kelly. “How would we handle people in Munroe Tower if that were to flood, do they have power if the power goes out? Do we have seniors in high-rise buildings that are without power?”

“I hope we all embrace and support him as he steps into the role of moving the city forward,” said Campbell.

Voters elected a majority of newcomers in the May election. That new majority — Campbell and Council members Amy Quinn and John Moor — chose not to reappoint the previous city manager, Terence Reidy, who served in the post for 10 years. Re-elected incumbents John Loffredo and Susan Henderson had supported Reidy’s appointment.

The city manager in Asbury Park serves as the municipal government’s chief executive officer. The City Council functions much like a board of directors by setting policy and overseeing the performance of the city manager. The mayor has no executive powers, and has few powers different than the rest of the council.

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