Council accepts Trotta’s resignation with regret Boro administrator for two decades lauded by colleagues BY LAYLI WHYTE Staff Writer EATONTOWN — As the year comes to a close, an era in borough history will also come to an end as Michael Trotta, borough administrator for the past 21 years, has tendered his resignation due to poor health. Council President Theodore Lewis moved to accept Trotta’s resignation with regret at last week’s council meeting. “I headed the committee that interviewed and hired Mike,” Lewis said at the meeting. “I’d like to thank Mike for making me look so good. [The decision to hire him] was by far the best recommendation I made during my time with the borough.” Lewis will also head the committee to find the new borough administrator, but he said this process will not be easy, given the shoes that must be filled. “Mike demonstrated just how critical the job of administrator is,” Lewis said. “Before he came, there was never the level of professionalism that he brought to the job. I don’t even know what to look for. There was just something about him that made him so well suited for the job.” Trotta said in an interview this week that working for the borough has been a wonderful experience. “I had such support from the mayors and council members that I worked with,” he said. “I worked with three mayors and about 16 different council members. It gave me the opportunity to grow professionally. It was a dream job. “I’m so proud of the things that the council was able to accomplish during my time there. We acquired a lot of park land, the library, and the changes with the employees like paying for college tuition and graduate courses. Now the council is faced with the Fort Monmouth task. That’s probably the biggest change that this town has been faced with.” Mayor Gerald Tarantolo also had praise for Trotta, who came to the borough in 1985, the same year Tarantolo joined the council. “He did an outstanding job,” Tarantolo said. “We could not have been luckier than having a man of his character here in Eatontown. It is with great sadness that we accept his resignation.” Councilman Charles DaVis said that he has known Trotta since he served on the Eatontown Police Department. “I was always encouraged by Mike’s professionalism and his push for continuous growth in the department,” he said. “He was a mentor to me, and to many others in the department and in the borough. He was really an inspiration.” Tarantolo said that the borough is planning a going-away celebration for Trotta early in the new year. “He is certainly deserving of the recognition,” he said. “I’ve been mayor for eight years, and I never would have made it if it wasn’t for Mike because of the guidance he gave me. If anything made me look good, it was because Mike Trotta was there to help me. “Mike was an outstanding borough administrator and a good friend. That combination made my job much more palatable. You can have a good experience as mayor or you could have a bad experience as mayor, but to have someone like Mike Trotta working with you, it makes the job a real pleasure.” Tarantolo said that Trotta’s health has been failing since September 2000, when problems with his heart began. He said that Trotta underwent open-heart surgery in May, and that his doctors have not cleared him to return back to work. Since May, Assistant Borough Administrator Kathee Stauffer has served as acting administrator, and will continue to do so until a successor to Trotta is found. Lewis said that the borough will advertise the position in several publications, and that the borough may likely hire a professional firm to assist in the search.