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Millville commissioners remove $20,000 marketing contract from agenda after split over priorities
Summary
Commissioners removed a proposed $20,000 economic-development marketing contract with Bill Horn after some members said funds should be directed to police recruitment; business owners and residents urged support for the contract.
The Millville City Commission removed from its work-session agenda a proposed $20,000 marketing and outreach contract with vendor Bill Horn after a divided discussion in which some commissioners said the city should prioritize using funds for police recruitment and other immediate needs while residents and local business representatives urged approval.
The item originated from a request-for-proposal process reviewed by three city officials, according to discussion during the work session. Bill Horn, who spoke to the commission, said his team has produced videos, social media and event support the city has used and argued the contract is good value. “I’m not the enemy,” Horn said, adding that he has worked unpaid at times and kept his bid low to serve Millville.
The disagreement centered on competing priorities. Commissioner Hewitt told colleagues he would not support spending on marketing while the police department remains understaffed, saying he preferred directing available funds to recruitment incentives. Mayor Rominek, by contrast, praised Horn’s work and the city’s social-media outreach, saying the vendor’s work “is not in question.” Several residents who addressed the commission during public comment backed keeping Horn’s contract, saying it produced positive visibility and was inexpensive compared with its local impact.
Commissioners discussed possible alternatives and additional due diligence. Some asked for time to check references and compare proposals; others noted the money was budgeted under economic-development lines and raised questions about whether it could be reallocated to police or other departments. A separate item on the agenda — a utility truck purchase of roughly $154,000 — was also raised as an example of other capital spending under consideration.
With no second for an apparent motion to proceed and several commissioners asking for more time to research, the commission agreed informally to remove the marketing contract from the current agenda. No formal vote on the contract took place during the work session.
The removal means the commission may reintroduce the contract at a future meeting should members obtain additional information on alternatives, references or funding restrictions.
