Sparta's new councilman gets quick taste of public office

Sparta - With his right hand on the Bible and his wife and mother at his side, Sparta’s newest councilman was sworn into office last week in the township municipal building. Jerry Murphy’s first step into public office moved quickly, just the way he had hoped, but certainly not the way he had planned -- the atypical meeting lasted less than an hour. “It was very satisfying; it was something I had always thought about,” said Murphy, reflecting on the brief ceremony. “I was kind of looking forward to getting going.” Many of the more contentious issues brought before the public meeting had been settled by the time Murphy was elected in November to fill the vacant seat on the council. “It was kind of like business as usual; I felt very at ease,” said Murphy, who noted his familiarity with statutory formats. “It is time to move on and we’ve (the council) started to do that.” The former Marine had received a briefing prior to the meeting on some of the matters on the council agenda, which included a series of ordinances aimed at compliance with the state’s new stormwater management laws and the combining of bonds with Sussex County. Earlier this month, Murphy attended the League of Municipalities meetings in Atlantic City, where three council members and the township manager joined him. During his campaign, Murphy focused on high property taxes and the need for accountability on all levels of the Sparta landscape. He said a top priority is to “build a consensus in town centered around the board of education’s misguided attempts to build a new high school.” Murphy said the township is already at work to reach a consensus on the issue of crowded classrooms and increasing student populations. He said past attempts have centered around two different sets of demographics motivated by “selective interests” in town.