Christopher Carney sworn in, picked as director as Sussex County board sets 2025 leadership

Christopher Carney and Allen Henderson were sworn in as members of the Sussex County Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 1, 2025, and the board selected its 2025 leadership.

Carney was administered the oath by county surrogate Gary Tuzano and was later nominated and confirmed as director for a one-year term ending Dec. 31, 2025. Allen Henderson was sworn in to a three-year term that begins immediately and expires Dec. 31, 2027. Jill Space was nominated and confirmed as deputy director for 2025.

The leadership votes were taken by roll call after the oaths. County Clerk Jeff Parrott read the board's official certificate of election and stated, "I do hereby certify that the foregoing is true, full and correct statement of the determination of the board of canvassers thereto appended." The board then conducted formal nominations and roll-call confirmations for director and deputy director.

The new and returning commissioners used their first remarks to outline priorities for 2025. Commissioner Jack DeGroot highlighted farmland preservation work underway and said the county will seek to place a continuation of the county's Farmland Preservation, Recreation and Open Space trust fund on the Nov. 4, 2025 general election ballot. DeGroot said the county expects a new state farmland appraisal formula to take effect this spring and said he hopes updated appraisals will increase preservation applications; he said the board aims to manage demand and pursue roughly four preservation applications annually.

Commissioner DeGroot also described a phased launch of a county seed library through the Division of Senior Services, with phase 2 enabling residents to order and pick up seeds and later phases offering workshops and program evaluation. He emphasized continuing partnerships with Sussex County Community College and the Sussex County Technical School and named an agricultural internship begun in 2024 with Hudson Farms as a model to expand.

Commissioner Allen Henderson thanked residents and said he ran on "transparency, accountability, and responsibility," and pledged to seek equitable solutions and avoid favoritism in appointments. Deputy Director Jill Space, who noted a family medical emergency but said she accepted the board's trust, thanked colleagues and county staff and reiterated a focus on fiscal responsibility and maintaining infrastructure and services.

Mayor Kevin O'Leary of Lafayette Township offered a public comment congratulating the new commissioners and praising Henderson's commitment to "honesty, integrity, and transparency."

The board approved a consent agenda of routine resolutions and adopted multiple appointments and operational items during the meeting. Several formal items were grouped on consent and approved by roll call.

The board opened and closed public comment during the meeting; no agenda-item public comments were received. The meeting adjourned after the scheduled business.

The meeting opened with an invocation by Father Philip Michael Tangora and a public notice statement under the Open Public Meetings Act, chapter 231, P.L. 1975, displayed and read at the start of the meeting.