1. TOWNSHIP OF SOUTH ORANGE VILLAGE
101 South Orange Ave, South Orange, Essex County, New Jersey
Phone: 973-378-7715 web: http://southorange.org
January 20th, 2012 - For Immediate release
South Orange, NJ - The Village is pleased to announce that at the Board of Trustees
Meeting scheduled for Monday, January 23rd 2012, Village President Alex Torpey will
be asking the Board of Trustees to consent to his appointment of Barry Lewis to the
position of Village Administrator.
The Board, through a search committee of trustees, the Village President, Village
Counsel and Village Clerk, assisted by the expertise of the search firm Government
Management Advisors, conducted an exhaustive search which resulted in the finding
and selection of Mr. Lewis. The Village received over 50 applications for the position
from many qualified candidates. Throughout two months, and ahead of schedule, the
search committee narrowed the field down to a number of finalists, with Mr. Lewis
being the most qualified and best fit for South Orange.
Mr. Lewis acquired his B.A. In political science from the University of South Florida and
his J.D. from Florida Sate University College of Law. Mr. Lewis practiced law for several
years before focusing on the public sector, first through practicing local government
law before becoming a planning board attorney, then municipal administrator. Mr.
Lewis has extensive management experience, as the former administrator of Mine Hill,
NJ, Spring Lake, NJ and most recently the manager in Mountain Lakes. In addition to
his legal expertise and qualifications, Mr. Lewis is a Certified Municipal Finance Officer.
Mr. Lewis’ excellent history of strong fiscal management, IT and project management,
planning and development experience, legal expertise, labor negotiations, shared-
service implementation, grant writing, and creative budget balancing without
personnel layoffs made him an exceptional choice. The search committee reported
that there was strong consensus among the Board and Village President that this
candidate has all of the necessary academic and practical qualifications, specific
skillsets perfect for South Orange’s challenges and a personality that will fit well within
the Village.
Village President Torpey commented that, “Although there were many strong
candidates who applied for this position, and we thank all of them for applying, Barry
and his experience and references made a real impact on all of us. We are all
extremely excited to begin working with him, and will be beginning the transition
immediately upon his anticipated appointment Monday night.”
The Village President went on to thank former administrator John Gross for his years
of tireless service to South Orange, and the hard work of the interim administrator
Reagan Burkholder.
Mr. Lewis will be paid competitively at an annual salary of $147,500 and will begin
transitioning responsibilities immediately upon the anticipated appointment Monday
evening.
For any questions, please contact Alex Torpey at atorpey@southorange.org