Wednesday, January 2, 2008

My Reasons For Opposing Borough Attorney Appointment of James G. O'Donohue of Hill Wallack LLP

Here is a little insight as to the discussion involving the appointment of James O'Donohue as the Borough Attorney.

It is simply a matter of economics! 


We have the opportunity to secure the services of an extremely competent Attorney and his firm at substantially lower cost than the firm that was re-appointed at the reorganization meeting.

Three firms applied for consideration. All three are contributors to political organizations. Because of this they are subject to NJ’s new “Pay to play” laws and consequently Bound Brook considered them under the “Fair and Open Process” rules. The law is an effort to establish limits on political contributions to elected officials. These rules are also meant to protect the right of individuals and organizations to participate in the political process. The rules add “transparency” to the process of awarding contracts that are not subject to the rigor of the formal bidding process.

The law includes several standards of procedure that are designed to protect the public interest. One such standard used is “choosing the lowest responsible bidder” as used in traditional public bidding.

The three firms and their bids were:

  • Hill Wallack (James O'Donohue) $195.00 per hour
  • Mason, Griffin & Pierson $175.00 per hour
  • Ventantonio & Wildenhain (Elia Pelios) $155.00 per hour

    As you can see, our present attorney’s bid was 26% higher then the lowest bid.

    My reason for preferring Ventantonio is obvious; the firm is the “lowest responsible bidder”. There’s no hidden agenda, no ulterior motives. My support lies with the firm I feel can do the job well at a fair and competitive fee.

    As I stated at the meeting, “Loyalty to friends and supporters is admirable, but when that loyalty overrides the best interests of the community it should be discarded.

    In addition to being able to secure the services of a competent attorney the firm is local – Warren, NJ – and should have a better “feel’ for the needs of Bound Brook as well as having extensive local and statewide contacts, and offer easily accessibility. They have the expertise needed – understanding of municipal legal issues. Also, they are large enough to provide the services required, yet small enough for it to be important for them to maintain Bound Brook as a client.

Until Next Time!

Ben

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Give 'em hell Ben. You were elected to be a steward of Bound Brooks money, and you are doing a fine job. If Pilatos buddy had bid the same low price as your preference, I'm sure you wouldnt have minded selecting him. Its a simple matter of fiscal responsibility. Again, keep up the good work.