On Saturday February 21, 2026, Sussex County Commissioner Director Jill Space and Deputy Director Jack DeGroot hosted the first Mayors’ Meeting of 2026 at the Hampton Diner in Hampton, New Jersey. The Sussex County Mayors’ Meetings were started in 2023 by Commissioner Chris Carney to provide an opportunity for municipal and county leaders to network, share ideas, and provide updates about what is happening around Sussex County. At this meeting, there were a record number of municipal leaders in attendance. Out of the twenty four municipalities in Sussex County, twenty of them were represented at this Mayors’ Meeting. Besides the mayors, deputy mayors, and other municipal officials that were in attendance, Senator Parker Space, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, Assemblyman Michael Inganamort, Sheriff Mike Strada, and Sussex County Historian Bill Truan were also in attendance.
This Mayors’ Meeting focused primarily on Sussex County’s plans for celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. Sussex County Deputy Administrator Lorraine Hentz presented to the municipal representatives Sussex County’s 250th celebration event that is happening on June 7, 2026 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Frankford, New Jersey. It was relayed to the municipal officials that there would be plenty of opportunities for them to be involved in this event and showcase each municipality’s unique history within in Sussex County and its relation to the American Revolution for this patriotic celebration. Sussex County Historian Bill Truan also talked about his efforts in celebrating America’s 250th, which included working with the Daughters of the American Revolution to identify people within Sussex County that were part of the revolution and place a special marker on their gravestones. The Commissioners and municipal leaders all expressed excitement for the upcoming festivities and looked forward to the upcoming 250th celebration later this year.
Besides providing updates about the county’s 250th celebration activities, there were other updates provided to the municipal leaders. Assemblypeople Inganamort and Fantasia of the Twenty-Fourth Legislative District provided a legislative update and discussed some of the pressing issues that are currently before the legislature. Sussex County Mike Strada also spoke and provided an update for what Sussex County was planning to do for the forth coming blizzard that was projected to hit New Jersey on Sunday and into Monday. Sheriff Strada also provided information on how Sussex County’s Office of Emergency Management and Department of Public Works would be working to help people get through the impending storm.
The next Mayors’ Meeting will be held sometime in the second quarter of 2026. The Sussex County Commissioners encourage all of the mayors of Sussex County to attend future Mayors’ Meetings so that they can hear about important county updates and be part of this engaging collaborative forum.