Mansfield Township Committee introduces a redesigned ordinance aimed at preventing "pay-to-play" practices.
By: William Wichert
MANSFIELD A redesigned ordinance aimed at preventing the "pay-to-play" practice of awarding no-bid township contracts to political contributors is back on the table.
Five months since the original "anti-pay-to-play" ordinance caused a rift between members of the Township Committee, the governing body unanimously introduced a new ordinance at its April 13 meeting.
Most committee members said the ordinance provides a strong stance against "pay-to-play" policies in an attempt to establish trust in the municipal government, but at least one official said the latest proposal is too vague.
The ordinance, which will be up for final adoption at a public hearing on Wednesday, can be broken down into three parts: a new process for awarding municipal contracts; an anti-nepotism policy; and a prohibition on using political contributions to award such contracts.
This last section was the primary focus of the original ordinance put forward by former Independent Township Committeeman Ray Stupienski in December. The Republican majority of the committee, including four current members, postponed voting on that ordinance in order to do more research, but Mr. Stupienski said at the time that he believed his colleagues had put off a vote because they had each received contributions from companies with existing township contracts.
A review of the political contribution reports filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) has shown that all of the current Township Committee members received campaign contributions from these companies over the last few years.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, Township Committeeman Jaime Devereaux said the current ordinance before the committee has nothing to do with those contributions, but instead is only a response to residents’ calls for an "anti-pay-to-play" ordinance.
"We don’t regret any thing we did in our campaign (last fall)," said Mr. Devereaux. "It (the current ordinance) was not done because of guilt for something we did during our campaign. The positive thing is we’re putting out a ‘pay-to-play’ ordinance that will probably be the standard that other towns in Burlington County can follow."
The provision within the current ordinance regarding "pay-to-play" practices, however, goes into less detail than the original ordinance drafted by Mr. Stupienski. That ordinance would have prevented awarding contracts to any company that made contributions to township candidates within one year before the start of the contract, but the language in the current ordinance is more broad.
"No candidate for office … shall directly or indirectly give or promise any person any office, position, employment benefit or anything of value for the purpose of influencing or obtaining the political support, aid, or vote of any person…," according to the proposed ordinance.
Mr. Devereaux said specific contribution amounts were not included in the ordinance, because they are already covered by the Code of Ethics already in place at the state and municipal level.
"It’s (not) necessary to put all that language in there," he said. "The language is already set in stone."
But Township Committeewoman Terri Tallon-Hammill, who replaced Mr. Stupienski on the governing body, said she thought the language within the current ordinance regarding political contributions was too vague.
"I just think it’s lacking in the area that it should have language that it says we will not take contributions," said Ms. Tallon-Hammill in a phone interview on Monday. "I think it just needs to be cut and dry."
Her fear is that political contributions by companies holding township contracts could lead to overcharging and mediocre work after the contract is awarded, she said. Ms. Tallon-Hammill said these concerns were not based on actual experiences with companies doing business with Mansfield Township, but instead on stories she has heard elsewhere.
"If one of our professional groups make a contribution to our township, they’re getting it back somewhere," she said. "Then we pay it back at the taxpayers’ expense."
The current ordinance, however, would alter the entire practice of awarding professional contracts, which are currently given to companies on a "no-bid" basis.
The ordinance would require potential contractors, including township engineers and attorneys, to submit a proposal to the township on an annual basis, according to the ordinance. The need for these proposals would be publicly advertised in newspapers, the ordinance states. These proposals would be evaluated by a Departmental Review Committee, consisting of either township employees and/or elected officials, who would then make their recommendation to the governing body, according to the ordinance. The evaluation would be based on experience and fees of the professional companies, the ordinance states.
Deputy Mayor LaVerne Cholewa said by phone that she hopes this new system will provide for a more open environment that would attract more Burlington County businesses to the township.
"It’s a way for us to give small business owners a way of getting contracts," said Ms. Cholewa. "It seems like everyone assumes it’s all big business and it doesn’t have to be all big business."
As for the residents, Ms. Cholewa said she hopes the proposed ordinance will instill renewed faith in the Township Committee and show people that their elected officials are not involved in "pay-to-play."
"The majority of us have no intention of (practicing) ‘pay-to-play,’" she said. "We want the person who does the best job."

