TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—The Township Council approved a new business administrator, the vote 3-2, on Aug. 15, at the end of a five-plus-hour regular meeting.
Welcomed aboard was Mark C. DiCarlo, who served 26 years as a Morris Township police chief, lieutenant and patrol officer.
His hiring was effective as of Aug. 15, said the township clerk. Mayor Peter Calamari requested the council vote on the administrator near the end of the long session. There was no public discussion of the candidate leading into the vote.
Voting in favor were council president Desserie Morgan, vice president Stacey Feeney, and member Daisy Velez.
Voting no were members Steven Cascio and Thomas Sears. Neither gave a public reason for their vote, at least from the dais.
“Thank you. I think we’ll all be very pleased,” said Calamari, after the vote, which filled a vacancy left by Robert Tovo, a former Borough of Mountain Lakes police chief and borough manager, who started in the position in October 2018 and resigned in July to pursue other opportunities. His LinkedIn says he’s been president of a Boonton-based security group, and COO of a Towaco-based security outfit, since June.
Calamari said he had a few items ready to assign the new administrator.
DiCarlo, a former Morris Township police chief for five-plus years, was appointed through Dec. 31, 2025 at a starting salary of $134,100.
Cascio explained his “no” vote to Pascack Press: “Being a police chief does not automatically qualify you as being a good administrator, as we saw with the last one in the township. There was no rush to appoint somebody as we found out at the meeting, unbeknownst to us (some on the council) that Mr. Tovo was getting paid since his resignation.”
He added, “Due diligence was not met by either Mr. Tovo, labor counsel, or the mayor for this position, as a simple Google search revealed questions about this candidate’s ability to deal with the public and government workers on a daily basis.”
In late 2019, a lawsuit was filed against Morris Township from a police sergeant claiming he was subjected to harassment and hostility after filing complaints against high-ranking officers in the department, including then-chief DiCarlo.
According to the Daily Record, which serves Morris County, the suit details a series of exchanges between DiCarlo and a sergeant in his department going back to 2017. The sergeant reported some of his exchanges with DiCarlo “as inappropriate,” the report says, “including several in which his promotion to sergeant was threatened.”
The news outlet reported that Morris Township “denies the allegations and the suit will be aggressively defended.”
We invited DiCarlo to speak to this, and he replied promptly, “I’m sorry, however I am unable to comment on any litigation. Thank you.” We are looking into the suit’s status.
DiCarlo retired from the Morris Township Police Department on July 1. He said at the time, “It has been a pleasure serving you since 1996. I am most thankful for how well the members of the Police Department are appreciated and treated by the community. It has been a pleasure working with the Township Committee and Township Administrator Tim Quinn, who have always supported the Morris Township Police Department.”
DiCarlo’s résumé cites initiatives/challenges and results in school safety and security, diversity and inclusion strategy, community engagement, body-worn and in-car cameras, risk management, employee relations, morale, health and wellness, and critical incidents.
He has a master’s degree in administration and public service, College of St. Elizabeth, Florham Park, and a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice, Thomas Edison State College, Trenton.
Additional education and training includes the FBI National Academy, Critical Incident Response Procedures for Schools, and New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police.
DiCarlo’s résumé notes “20-plus awards and letters of recognition” plus three Officer of the Year awards, and three exceptional-duty awards.
The business administrator is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the town. The position’s powers and duties, outlined in the Township of Washington Administrative Code, include:
- Assist the mayor in the direction and supervision of the departments in such manner as the mayor may require.
- Prepare and compile budget studies, analyses and schedules, and assist the mayor in such manner as required in the preparation of the annual municipal budget.
- Develop and administer the municipality’s personnel program and the complete system of personnel records of municipal officers and employees.
- Prescribe and enforce rules and regulations for the efficient management of the municipal government, not inconsistent with the charter and this code.
- Coordinate the operation and administration of the various departments, offices, boards and agencies of the municipal government.
- Maintain a continuing review and analysis of budget operations, work programs and costs of municipal services.
- Serve as the purchasing agent, administer the centralized purchasing system as set forth in the code and supervise municipal purchasing in accordance with applicable law.
- Supervise the administration of the State Uniform Construction Code Enforcing Agency and the State Uniform Construction Code Board of Appeals as established by ordinance.
It’s also a position under a microscope. DiCarlo steps into a town with big ambitions after, in Calamari’s general view, previous administrations were less than aggressive about infrastructure and town property maintenance.
Two large public land acquisitions and construction of a new firehouse/ambulance headquarters had been demanding the administrator’s attention this year, and some questioned Tovo over concerns about due diligence studies on the swim club and the now-canceled acquisition of 95 Linwood Ave., the former Charlie Brown’s restaurant property.
Residents have raised concerns about needed traffic studies as part of due diligence to acquire the 95 Linwood Ave. site. No studies were undertaken prior to or after the township’s $1.35 million offer on the property.
The 95 Linwood site, targeted for a new DPW and then a police department, was canceled due to discovery of underground piping from prior gas pumps used on site. The gas pumps were pointed out by a resident during a public hearing, but not identified by the environmental consultant, Lisko Environmental, that was hired to investigate the site.
The township concluded its purchase of the former 6.1-acre swim club property on April 29, following identification of “historical fill” on the site, which was not considered significant. The property was purchased for $750,000, which required an $800,000 bond issue. (The town is waiting for word on its application for significant county conservation Open Space funds.)
Some seasonal DPW equipment and vehicles are now stored there as the site awaits a more comprehensive engineering study to assess future uses.
The township also saw county work begin this month on a much-anticipated overhaul of the Pascack Road–Washington Avenue intersection. The work was halted almost immediately over supply-chain issues. The police have said they’ll update residents over social media.
Tovo also took heat from some wondering why he was not at public budget hearings.