Millville's Lawyers: the Saga Continues


At the August 21, 2018 work session the reappointment of Doug Long’s law firm was discussed. Thank you once again to Commissioner Udalovas for questioning the appointment however, she was really not questioning the appointment or the need to go out to bid but rather how to pay Mr. Long. The question was whether to let Mr. Long bill hourly, or give him a flat fee for his work.

The city attorney, James Schroeder stated it is hard to have a flat fee for work. He stated that he does the same work being given to Mr. Long for Hamilton Twp. so while the issue is being looked into Mr. Schroeder will do the work. Mind you it is out of his contract so he will be billing for the work. He also stated if he has a question he will contact Mr. Long’s firm. That will be an additional fee. The attorney’s fees are spiraling out of control in the Commission’s effort to repay them for their support in the last election.

The city administrator admitted that the city has been paying Long without a contract while the city clerk added the work is out of the scope of his contract. The city has been paying the firm out of the labor account. Both actions are highly irregular. Furthermore, the City has COAH money which does not come from the City’s real estate tax dollars.  This would not cost local taxpayers. Why is that account not being used?

Mr. Schroeder told the Commissioners to appoint Long’s firm with a cap on the fee. That doesn’t mean a thing. Schroeder’s contract had a cap and when he went over it it was just increased. The same happened for the city engineer. So the cap does not mean anything to these Commissioners.

Can you believe that Commissioner Pepitone did not know what it meant to “table” a resolution? And after it was explained to him he didn’t know how to vote. This is a man who has been a freeholder and a member of the Board of Education. He should be thoroughly familiar with parliamentary procedure. But then maybe you don’t have to know the rules if you are just doing what others tell you to do.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Team Santiago Raises Your Taxes Again!!!

It is no surprise that Team Santiago raised Millville’s taxes again. Last year it was by 4.5% and this year it is 5%.   The county and the school board also raised their taxes so the taxpayer in Millville is looking at a 10% increase in their property taxes. This comes at a time when many individuals are out of work due to COVID-19 and there is no end in sight. This affects not only the taxpayers but every citizen in Millville as landlords will have to increase rents and businesses will have to charge more to meet expenses. So what did Team Santiago have to say for themselves when they voted for the tax increase –nothing. As usual they did not answer the public’s questions and did not explain their votes. Mr. Pepitone once again voted for the tax increase even though he is behind on paying his own taxes. He should understand the burden of taxes as it seems to be a burden to him. In his ending comments Mr. Parent said this was the toughest budget he had to work with (which
Read more

ANOTHER LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY

 Chief Farabella was just reappointed for another 3 years even though a lawsuit was filed against  Farabella and Pepitone by a city employee.The lawsuit is worth reading.  The allegations, if true, are startling. These allegations also raise the question should Farabella have been reappointed at this time? Did the commissioners look into the allegations prior to voting? The lawsuit involves the departments of Parent and Pepitone who both voted to reappoint Farabella. Did they do their due diligence? Of interest is line 55 in the lawsuit. It clearly states that Doug Long was performing legal duties for the city in 2019. Didn't the commissioners claim that Mr. Long was not involved in the city, only Marmero and Grace. Remember at election time the lack of transparency, the lies, the lack of due diligence and the waste of your tax payers money. Millville needs commissioners who are transparent, who do their due diligence and have the interests of the citizens of Millville at heart. Th
Read more

WHO WILL FILL QUINN'S VACANT SEAT?

Now that Quinn has resigned for the second time, what happens to his empty seat? The commission has the option to appoint someone until the next election which is November 2022. Who do the new commissioners think that person should be? The last time Quinn resigned, Commissioner Sooy held fast to the belief that the person who came in 6th in the election should fill the seat. This time the 6th place person is Robert McQuade.  This is the only fair  scenario as the present commission has not even been sworn in yet. Hopefully Commissioner Sooy and the new commissioners will agree that Mr. McQuade should be appointed. Robert Mcquade put the time in to run for the office. The voters had enough faith in Mr. McQuade that he came in 6th with over 2000 votes. It seems fair that he takes the seat.  In November 2022 anyone can run for this open seat and then the voters will decide who the commissioner will be for the remaining three years.   Comment and post who you believe should fill the open s
Read more