The City Council debate over paying long overdue legal bills may come to an end in less than two weeks if the council adopts the city’s 2012 municipal budget. A special meeting on April 9 to consider adoption of a budget amendment, according to Council President Rhavi Bhalla, would enable a public hearing and final adoption of the new budget on April 18.
That budget, he said, will provide funds to pay roughly $450,000 in legal bills that have been fought over for months.
The Zimmer Administration wanted to pay those bills through a simple line item transfer of money left over in various accounts in the 2011 municipal budget. But that move requires a 6-3 “super majority” vote for passage, which was repeatedly denied by Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s four opponents on the governing body.
Passage of the amendment and the full budget only require a five vote majority, Bhalla said.
‘Weiner Lesniack bills were received by the city on a timely basis.’ – Corporation Counsel Mark Tabakin
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“Legal bills are not as defined as perhaps going out and buying parts for a vehicle or something that you can predetermine what the cost is going to be,” he said. “You can’t predetermine the cost of legal bills.”
He said some of the bills were being covered by a financial line transfer approved by the council in early December 2011, and that they were only seeking the approval to pay them.
“We ran out of money at the end of the year for legal bills. That’s been discussed. Everyone knows. We have plenty of money in the rest of the budget to transfer to cover those legal bills.”
Mason pointed out a bill not covered by the line transfer from, the corporation counsel’s firm, Weiner Lesniack.
“I’ve got a bill, and it happens to be from Weiner Lesniack. It is dated for March of this year; however, it’s got bills from July. If we have issues with our own Corporation Counsel getting bills in on time how in the world do we expect other counsels to do so?”
Corporation Counsel Mark Tabakin offered a lengthy explanation, but basically insisted “Weiner Lesniack bills were received by the city on a timely basis.”
Russo introduced a resolution to investigate why legal bills remained unpaid dating back to 2011.
Russo charged that the Zimmer Administration was mishandling the timely payment of bills like its predecessor, the Roberts Administration, which pushed city health care bills into the budget for the following fiscal year. The issue was one of several that caused the state to install a fiscal monitor in Hoboken for one and a half years after they were unable to pass a fully funded budget in 2008.
Councilwoman Theresa Castellano also feared the city was moving in a dangerously similar direction.
“It leads to the same kind of problems that the Roberts administration had; which is, underfunding, not having the proper numbers. I really hope that all of you can take a new look at how business is conducted in the city.”
The majority pushes back
Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allies on the council objected to the word “investigation” in the resolution, saying her opponents sought to accuse the administration of wrong doing.
“The Roberts administration, the finances of that administration, they were disastrous,” said Council Vice President Peter Cunningham. “That budget was overspent by twelve and a half million dollars. We’ve got a surplus here in the city. I would continue to work, try and work with the business administrator if you’ve got a problem with the way bills are being handled.”
He also criticized what he viewed as Russo’s politicking.
“I fully don’t support this and I think maybe you should be less obstructive when it comes to the budget year.”
“You have a trust in this administration, whereas, I trust to verify,” Russo said. “That’s what I’m asking to do here.”
Council President Ravi Bhalla had similarly sharp words for Russo.
“My problem with this so-called “investigation, Councilman Russo, is it casts an assumption of wrong doing. It is my opinion that this isn’t much more than a political ploy, especially when you’re dealing with an administration that had a fully funded budget that came in less than what it anticipated in terms of expenditures”.
Russo’s resolution was voted down 5-4.
Other business
The council voted in favor of amending the authorization for a contract with Maraziti, Falcon, & Healy as representation for litigation relating to the Monarch Development. The original authorization, approved March 25, authorized a contract for $150 per hour. The on-going litigation is to stop the construction of two, eleven-story towers on the northeast corner of the city’s waterfront.
Tabakin said he first discovered the error while reviewing the bills sent to the city by Mr. Maraziti for the in-progress lawsuit.
“The original resolution was for one hundred and fifty dollars an hour,” he said. “Maraziti was retained as redevelopment counsel at one hundred and ninety dollars an hour and he built his economic model of managing the city at one hundred and ninety dollars an hour and he’s not willing to take the representation for one hundred and fifty dollars an hour.”
The amendment was approved by the council in an 8-1 vote.
The council approved an ordinance to create open competition for insurance services to the city.
A professional services contract with Suburban Consulting Engineers, Inc. was authorized for services as an Urban Parks Planner, not to exceed $8,215 a year.
A payment to Salomone Brothers for additional work on various street projects was approved for $50,607.29. This money was to be paid out of a state grant received in 2010 for said projects.
The council approved submission of a grant application for the 2013 HTS State Pedestrian Safety Enforcement and Education Fund.
A resolution by Councilman Russo asking for Councilwoman At-large Carol Marsh and Council Vice-President Cunningham to pay for a meeting they walked out of in February was tabled by a 5-4 vote.