Bhalla's City Hall re-org: "positions of COS and Deputy COS have been eliminated"

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In a surprise City Hall reorganization of senior staff positions, John Allen will be a full-time Assistant Corporation Counsel, Jason Freeman will be Director of Operations for the Mayor's Office and Caleb Stratton will serve as Assistant Business Administrator in addition to his Chief Resilience Officer role.

GA got some 'splainin' about what this all means from Jason Freeman, himself. 

"In 2019 both Patrick Wherry and Scott DeRosa left the administration for other opportunities elsewhere," Jason explained, "so this re-org allows City Hall to formally fill in roles without taking on new salaries." 

According to Freeman, Allen will take a large part of Scott DeRosa's portfolio, he and Stratton will continue their day-to-day work while taking on the portfolio that Patrick Wherry managed. 

"There are no salary increases in these transitions," he continued, "In a nutshell, these streamline operations and I'll help oversee all of that.  The mayor is trying to be more efficient, more effective and save taxpayer money."

What about Vijay Chaudhuri?

"Please tell me that Vijay isn't getting the boot!" 

Jason assured me, "No, Vijay is not getting the boot."

Its all good.  Now here is the City Hall announcement: 

MAYOR BHALLA ANNOUNCES SENIOR STAFF CHANGES

Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla today announced senior personnel changes: Caleb Stratton will serve as Assistant Business Administrator in addition to his role as the City of Hoboken’s Chief Resilience Officer. John Allen, will serve in the Office of Corporation Counsel full time, which expands on his appointment to Assistant Corporation Counsel last August, and Jason Freeman will take on the role of Director of Operations for the Mayor’s office.

For the past two years, Stratton has led Hoboken’s long-term resiliency goals and worked collaboratively across departments as well with different state and federal agencies to help mitigate the effects of climate change on city systems. As part of his responsibilities, Stratton has managed city-wide programs including energy security, climate change adaptation, community preparedness, sustainability, strengthening urban ecology, flood resistant urban design, and transit security as part of the Rebuild by Design project.

“Caleb has been key to the progress of our sustainability priorities – including the development of a municipal micro-grid in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories,” said Mayor Bhalla. “As we embark on an ambitious resilient infrastructure agenda, Caleb’s innovative approach will be essential to our success.”

Allen has served as Chief of Staff for the City of Hoboken under Mayors Dawn Zimmer and Bhalla and has played an instrumental role in the success of the two administrations. In his role in the office Corporation Counsel, Allen will bring his wealth of legal experience in municipal government including economic development, land use and labor negotiations, to work on behalf of the City as an attorney.

“John has been invaluable partner to me as my Chief of Staff and has established strong working relationships across county and state government,” said Mayor Bhalla. “I’d like to thank John for his service, and we are lucky to have an attorney who brings both public and private sector experience to address the legal challenges facing the City of Hoboken in a professional, ethical, and cost-effective manner.”

Freeman previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff since January 2018. In this new role of Director of Operations, he will be responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the Mayor’s Office and the Administration. This includes aiding in the crafting of policy, operational procedures and strategic decisions as well as overseeing budgeting and planning.

“Jason has played a dynamic role in my administration and always brings a strong work ethic,” said Mayor Bhalla. “His understanding of Hoboken’s issues makes him a vital asset to my Administration.”

The positions of Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff have been eliminated. This reorganization of senior personnel streamlines city government as the City of Hoboken heads into the New Year.