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Legal Fees Rising In Dispute Over Township Appointments
By Catherine Snipe
An ongoing legal debate to decide the fate of several township appointments may get more expensive.
The township council in February voted to pay up to $17,500 for legal work, but the cost is now closer to $50,000.
The money will pay the firm of Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt & Fader, who are representing township employees and appointees involved in appointments made during the township's January reorganization meeting.
At the time, township Clerk Virginia Lampman was serving as interim mayor. As mayor, she changed the township's designated law firm and appointed new planning board members.
Lampman's term ended days later when Dan Kelly became mayor, replacing disgraced Mayor Joseph Scarpelli.
Kelly, a Democrat, believes the appointments should have been his to make, and that they were rushed through by Lampman at the behest of the Republican council. He filed suit in January, asking a Superior Court judge to decide the issue.
Now, fighting the legal battle is beginning to cost more money than expected.
While the township council has voted to approve the legal bills, it has not been without criticism.
Now in its third month, the issue was something council members said is escalating toward subpoenas and trial after several individuals called to provide information in the case refused.
Council members are urging Kelly to end his suit, though Kelly said previously it is the township, not him, dragging out the issue and playing politics.
Regardless, the township is legally obligated to pay for legal counsel of its employees, said township attorney Jean Cipriani.
In February, the council approved the firms of Carbone and Faase to represent the council, and Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt and assign Fader to represent township employees and appointees.
Kelly has used the law firm of Stephen Secare, and said the costs will come out of his own pocket.
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