OLD BRIDGE — Over a decade ago, a successful referendum helped make the position of township attorney an in-house post.
Now the Township Council is considering an amendment that would once again make the position contract-based.
The change, which was introduced at the Jan. 9 Township Council meeting, would allow Old Bridge officials to award a contractual agreement to a law firm to provide legal services for the township.
Mayor Owen Henry, a Republican, said that going to a contractual agreement with a law firm would help cut down on the costs of the Legal Department.
Instead of having law specialists for areas like taxes or labor, 95 percent of the township’s legal expenses would come under one contract, Henry said. In addition, since all costs would be in a lump sum, he said there would be no other benefits like sick days and costly pension and health care payments.
“It almost puts a cap on our legal expenses,” Henry said.
He noted that attorneys would be at the township offices and be present during council meetings and that the change only would be done as a trial for one year.
But Councilman G. Kevin Calogera, a Democrat, said he is concerned about the change and that he wants to make sure it will work as a means of providing legal services to the township.
“[Having an in-house attorney] was done to stop the use of outside law firms and to place a full-time lawyer in the legal department, which was to save money,” Calogera said. “Now it seems like we are going the opposite way with this.”
Councilwoman Lucille Panos, a Republican, said she personally pushed for the referendum years ago, garnering 2,500 signatures herself in support of the cause, and is now endorsing the amendment.
At first, she said the in-house attorney position may have saved money, but as positions changed and positions to the legal department were added over time, savings have turned into expenses.
“I amnow saying, you know what, it was a good idea back then, but let’s try something else,” Panos said. “If it’s a contract that will encompass everything, I think that would be in the best benefit of the taxpayer.”
Republican Councilwoman Mary Sohor said she, too, worked on the original referendum but now supports the amendment and said it can always be changed if needed.
“If it doesn’t work, if it’s something that we find does not become cost-effective, then by all means we can change it again,” Sohor said. “But to not allow the mayor an opportunity to try a new direction is not a good way to go.”
Currently, Assistant Township Attorney Carol Berlen is serving as Old Bridge’s township attorney, stepping in after former Township Attorney Jerome Convery retired in 2011.