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.

• To see clips from the 1/1/08 meeting or any council meeting go to Council Meeting Video Clips & Updates (Click on any of the green words) Thanks to Joe Lemire for putting up the clips on http://www.08805.com/.

Until Next Time!

Ben

Auletta vs Nicholson Recount

The recount of the election results challenging my election is now history!

If you are curious to see how the recount was conducted view the video that we prepared 

I am pleased to report that the results stand and I actually gained one vote from the process (1 absentee ballet vote for me was missed in the original tally). I am happy to be able to put this behind me and to give my full attention to serving on the Borough Council. My intention is to be a proactive councilman and strive to engage more of our citizens in the practice of self-government by keeping them fully informed of what is happening in our governing body and in particular my personal thoughts on the issues facing us and the actions that we take.

My goal is to win over more of the voters through performing in response to the wishes and needs of our community and to actions that protect their interests. If I choose to run again I aim to earn a more decisive victory by helping to move Bound Brook forward with improvements that we can all be proud of!

That you for giving me the opportunity to do so.

Star-Ledger Article: http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1196746526108820.xml&coll=1

Courier News Article: http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071204/NEWS01/712040332/1006/NEWS01 

Until next time,

Ben

Councilman Elect Anthony Pranzatelli and I attend first class

I thought that you ought to know that we attended our first class in the "Powers and Duties of the Municipal Governing Body" (click red text to go to that website) class that is offered by the Center for Government Services at Rutgers University. It is a 15 hour, 5 session course that is geared to make elected officials more effective and productive.

We understand that municipal government responsibilities are broad, extensive, and impact on the quality of life of all citizens. Tony and I do take the trust that you have placed in us seriously and truly desire to safeguard your interests. To do so requires extensive knowledge of how government works as well as absorbing technical knowledge and proficiency in a multitude of subjects.

I believe that all those good citizens who desire to serve their communities should arm themselves with as many governing and management skills as they can. In fact I feel that this should be mandatory for all elected officials as well as candidates for public office so that they fully understand the nature of the office that they are seeking.

The NJ School Boards Association does indeed offer a candidate briefing seminar for all School Board Candidates. NJ under the NJ School Ethics Act requires mandatory training requirements that must be fulfilled by successful candidates during their first year of service on a school board. I was successful in completing a series of school board member courses while serving as a member of the Bound Brook Board of Education and achieved the "Certificated School Board Member " certification. The courses were extremely useful.

Until next time,

Ben

Bound Brook, NJ Veterans Day Mass, Breakfast and Ceremony Video

More on those to whom we owe so much:

The links below will bring you to Veterans Day videos of the special mass and the ceremonies that followed in Bound Brook. Also included is a link to the newspaper article regarding the event.

To see video go to http://www.youtube.com/djben1

C-N article on the event: http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071112/NEWS01/711120335/1006

Albert Einstein: I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.

Until Till next time

Ben

Nov 27 Council Meeting and my first legislative attempt!

I introduced my very first suggested resolution as a newly elected Councilman at this meeting.

It was a resolution requesting the council’s approval of a complete revision of our antiquated council by-laws. I prepared this rewrite using “Robert’s Rules of Order” and NJ Statutes as a source of information. This document will give you a clear insight into just what your council does and how they do it in carrying out the responsibilities of self-government. If you would like a copy contact me.

In future action I also plan to seek the preparation of an administrative code for Bound Brook. The purpose of the code is similar to what business organizations call a "Policy & Procedures Manual". The objective is to instill a more efficient and orderly administrative process and to make it easier to hold us all accountable for meeting our responsabilities as well as serving as guidelines for consistancy in doing our jobs. This will also help to make our government more “transparent” and make it easier for citizens to influence what we do. My personal objective is to make it easier for citizen involvement!

Until Next time,

Ben