It’s kind of funny how Highlands first Mayor, David Miller, selected the first borough clerk when Highlands officially became a borough in May, 1900.
After the new borough council was elected along with Mayor Miller, Charles Snyder, Atlantic Highlands attorney, officially swore them in to the new offices of governing the brand new town, now no longer part of Middletown.
The first thing they had to do was name a borough clerk. Two men had applied for the position: Fred Johnson and William Ahearn.
The mayor liked both gentlemen and did not want to make the choice. So he turned it over to the other council members.
There was a tie vote, which went the decision was back in the mayor’s hands to break the tie. He didn’t want to do that either, because he did not want to offend either gentleman.
So he did the only thing he could! He tossed a coin, and the first borough clerk, by the flip of a coin, was Mr. Johnson.
But wait! Before he was even sworn in, the following week in fact, Mr. Johnson resigned from the position. No reason given. Simply up and quit.
But Mr. Ahearn, who would seem the logical choice, was not appointed even then.
That’s how Jesse Sculthorpe became the first official working borough clerk in the new borough of Highlands.
There were other appointments, all of which went quite easily. Mr. Snyder, who had sworn in council, became the borough attorney, and Alonzo T. Derby became the marshal. Assistant marshals were W.E.Parker and Job. G. Liming. John Burdge became the Overseer of the Poor.
The only other appointment made at the organization was for the Board of Health and five gentlemen were named to that: Allen Reed, Charles Rogers, John Layton, James Taylor and George Foster.
Taxation was the next topic and the governing body felt they were so much better off as an independent community rather than part of Middletown. They figured the first year they would bring in $500 in taxes and another $1100 for license fees, giving them a total of $1900 to run their new town for a full year.
That was a good deal and the town could be affluent, they all agreed. They estimated Middletown never spent more than $500 in the territory which was now Highlands in any year.
