From The Press of Atlantic City — A second round of discussion about whether to change government-hiring procedures yielded a change of heart and new majority support at Tuesday night’s Township Committee meeting.

Mayor William Kennedy shifted in support of Committeeman Michael St. Amour’s proposal to solicit job qualifications for the township’s engineer, solicitor and auditor in 2009. This year and in years past, those contracted jobs were awarded by majority vote with no formal prelude.

Bernard Graebener, the third Democrat on committee, also voted in favor, while Republicans Kathy Chasey and Janet Forman voted against. Forman again lambasted St. Amour for not practicing “open government,” which he had called the central principle of his proposal.

St. Amour had met with another engineering firm interested in competing with longtime township contractor Marathon Engineering, Forman said, and then neglected to mention the meeting when he first proposed the competition policy at the committee meeting two weeks ago. St. Amour did not deny the meeting took place but objected to the notion that he had acted improperly.

Kennedy had at the previous meeting voiced his disinclination to change vendors simply for the sake of change, although he said he didn’t oppose competition. The mayor, who strongly supports Marathon, warmed to the idea that setting job qualifications could weed out the more inferior of the unfamiliar candidates.

Several members said they were unclear whether the idea was to solicit monetary bids – essentially, contractors proposing their own salaries – or to get lists of qualifications, or both. St. Amour’s motion Tuesday night included no financial provisions.

Kennedy is the lone committee member facing re-election Tuesday. His opponent is Republican Joseph Maultz.