MANALAPAN — The Township Committee has placed the community’s legal affairs back in the hands of a local attorney. Donald M. Lomurro, of the firm Lomurro, Davison, Eastman and Munoz, of Freehold Township, was hired as municipal attorney by a 3-2 vote when the governing body reorganized on Jan. 6.
The move returns the law firm that represented the township for more than a decade before a change was made several years ago when Democrats took control of the committee.
Initially, the new Democratic majority appointed Norman Kauff as the township attorney in 2000. He replaced Robert Munoz, of the firm Lomurro, Davison, Eastman and Munoz.
Munoz served under the township’s previous Republican administration.
Kauff resigned from the township attorney’s position in April 2001 and was replaced by the firm of DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick, Gluck, Hayden and Cole, of Teaneck. That firm assigned Matthew J. Giacobbe to be Manalapan’s township attorney.
The move drew fire from some residents who questioned what they claimed was Giacobbe’s lack of experience as a municipal attorney and the DeCotiis firm’s ties to and influence with state Democratic politicians.
Giacobbe eventually left the DeCotiis firm and joined the firm of Scarinci and Hollenbeck, of Secaucus. He remained the township’s attorney through 2002.
Now, the job has gone to Lomurro.
Giacobbe was being paid $125 per hour as township attorney, according to Township Administrator James Dever-eaux. He said Lomurro’s hourly rate has not been determined yet. The new attorney will be paid at the rate of the previous attorney until his contract is agreed to, Devereaux said.
Committee members Drew Shapiro, Rebecca Aaronson and Beth Ward voted in favor of Lomurro’s hiring. Committee members Mary Cozzolino and William Scherer voted no on the hiring.
Shapiro, who will serve as Manalapan’s mayor in 2003, said, "I did throughout the year have some concerns about the legal fees, which I discussed with the township administrator. He worked together with me on this. It is for that reason that we looked into a firm that was local and of smaller size with a very good reputation."
Aaronson, who will serve as deputy mayor in 2003, said, "We wanted someone more local. Mr. Lomurro knows the town. His firm was previously on staff for 10 years."
She said the previous municipal attorney’s firm was based in north Jersey and added, "A town like Manalapan needs a firm that is more suited to our needs."
Ward said, "We found that Mr. Lomurro had a pre-existing relationship with the township and although there are not a lot of pending litigation issues now, they have a very nice track record and they worked well with the town before. We also found them to be more cost effective. That was a large issue in making that determination. Although they are not directly in Manalapan, they’re close enough. We feel very comfortable in making this change."
Scherer said he voted no to the change because he was very satisfied with Giacobbe and his firm.
"I thought they did a wonderful job," said Scherer. "They won many lawsuits, defeating builders, representing the town with expertise in all different areas that they were assigned and I saw no reason to make a change at all."
Cozzolino said, "I felt that the township was represented in an exemplary fashion by Matt Giacobbe. I believe he was a zealous advocate for the town, and against the builders. I have some concerns in going back to the Lomurro firm that we’re turning back the clock and going back to the days when the builders ran roughshod over the town."
— Dave Benjamin