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Oxford committee elects Norton mayor, fills deputy post and ratifies slate of municipal appointments
Summary
At its Jan. 7 reorganization meeting Oxford Township elected Gerald Norton mayor, named Georgette Miller deputy mayor and unanimously approved a slate of municipal appointments and professional-service contracts, including legal, engineering and auditing firms.
Gerald Norton was elected mayor of Oxford Township at the committee's reorganization meeting on Jan. 7, 2026, and sworn into a one-year term after a unanimous roll-call vote. Georgette Miller was nominated and approved as deputy mayor in the same meeting.
The reorganization session—opened by Registered Municipal Clerk Lee Geller—also included approval of a broad set of mayoral appointments and committee liaisons for 2026. Appointments approved by unanimous motion included Michael Brady as licensed sewer operator and Jean Paul Reece as IT computer personnel; Kevin Murray as Director of Recycling/Clean Communities; Jeff Gordon as zoning officer; and Doug Ort as deputy emergency management coordinator. The committee also approved liaison and committee assignments (finance, roads/streets, public safety, recreation, and board liaisons) and Land Use Board class and alternate members.
The committee voted unanimously to authorize several professional-service contracts for 2026. Resolutions approved non-fair-and-open contracts or appointments for township attorney (Lavery, Selvaggi & Cohen at $150/hour), township engineer (Universal Technical Resources Services, Inc.), township planner (Van Cleef Engineering Associates LLC), auditors (Suplee Clooney & Company), and bond counsel (Gibbons LLC). The bodies adopting these resolutions certified required business-entity disclosures and fiscal-availability procedures where applicable.
Clerical and procedural motions were routine and carried on unanimous roll calls (Ayes: 3, Nays: 0). Mayor Norton confirmed in response to public comment that resident Peggy Hissim remains the township's 911 coordinator. No contentious debate or roll-call dissent was recorded on appointments or contract authorizations.
The committee closed the reorganization meeting and opened its regular session; it approved the Dec. 17, 2025 meeting minutes by unanimous roll call. The committee scheduled follow-up work on redevelopment items and the 2026 budget with township staff.
