Eatontown Borough Council President Dennis Connelly, left, and Mayor Gerald Tarantolo discuss the appointment of a municipal court judge during the Jan. 1 meeting. NICOLE ANTONUCCI/STAFF EATONTOWN — An email sent by a borough councilman over the appointment of a municipal court judge may have violated the Open Public Meetings Act, another borough official contends.
In a Dec. 12 email, Council President Dennis Connolly supported the Jan. 1 appointment of Richard Thompson as municipal court judge. The email was sent to Mayor Gerald Tarantolo and council members Anthony Talerico Jr., Janice Kroposky and Mark Regan.
“I am aware of the memo, but I didn’t respond to it. I am of the opinion that the email is in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act,” Tarantolo said in a Jan. 9 interview.
“They are talking council business on the Internet. You have to talk council business in an open environment. If anyone wanted to challenge that, they could. I wouldn’t have done it and I purposely ignored it.”
Under OPMA, official municipal business must be discussed in an open forum and, if more than three council members are involved, it is considered a violation of the act.
In the email made public by Connelly, he wrote that Thompson should be appointed rather than attorney Gene Melody, who also applied for the post.
At the end of the email Connelly states: “I hope that this helps everyone reach the same conclusion to appoint the most qualified individual as municipal judge for the next threeyear term. That person is Richard Thompson.”
Talerico said he also had concerns that the email was a violation of the Open Public Meetings Act because it was sent to a majority of the council members.
“I responded to the email saying, ‘The email was sent to four elected officials, meaning five were involved. Please don’t include me in any email where the Open Public Meetings Act was violated,’” Talerico said in an interview.
Connelly said in an interview that the email was an attempt to explain that Thompson should be appointed based on his experience.
“I never said that we have to hire a judge that supports police. I said that we need professionals for prosecutor and judge, and I think that is different,” he said in an interview on Jan. 9.
A spokesman for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on whether the email constituted a breach of OPMA. Spokesman Charles Webster would also not confirm or deny whether an investigation is underway.
The controversy was touched off by Connolly’s comments in the email, which made reference to declining revenues and police summonses.
“This borough has just lost thousands of dollars in expected revenue from not appointing the right person for this same position. If the job is not handled to our satisfaction [like we just experienced], we are unable to guide, discipline or dismiss the person we select,” Connelly stated.
The email continued: “Our police department is full of young, aggressive officers that have been producing more summonses than we have seen in several years. If these officers get discouraged by our selections for the position of judge and or prosecutor, this town will see those numbers decline.”
In response to the controversy, Talerico asked the council at the Jan. 8 workshop meeting to create a policy for the appointment of a municipal court judge.
In 2011, when the Borough Council appointed Judge George Cieri as municipal court judge, the process included a Republican and Democrat who took applications, met with the rest of the council in executive session and made their recommendation, he said.
“I feel that it was a good, thorough and robust action, and I would like to see that take place if and when we appoint another municipal judge in three years,” Talerico said.
In an interview, Talerico said the controversy could have been avoided if a process were in place for vetting candidates for municipal court judge.
“I think it was a byproduct of not having a thorough process,” he said.
Connelly disagreed, stating that there already is a process in place, which involves having council members review résumés from candidates and make recommendations.
“The mayor, Councilman Regan and I met and went over the appointments, so there were three who are sitting on this body that went over the appointments,” he said in the interview.
Bayer said the criteria for selecting a municipal judge require the candidate to be a New Jersey resident and a practicing attorney for five years.
When asked by Councilman Kevin Gonzalez how other municipalities make judicial appointments, Bayer replied that the process differs per municipality.
Tarantolo called for a consensus, and members of the council took a motion not to create a policy.
Kroposky was not present during the vote.
Tarantolo, who did not share his opinion during the meeting, said in an interview that since the balance of power on council has shifted to a Republican majority, his main goal is to create a smooth transition that keeps the borough moving forward.
“It’s done, and the end result is that we have an individual that will serve as a judge. I have no qualms that the person can do the job and do the job well,” he said.
“The fact is that both candidates met the requirements established, so I wasn’t concerned. This is something internal between Talerico and Connelly. I was staying out of it.”
Melody declined to comment and Thompson was unavailable.
Newly appointed Borough Attorney Andrew Bayer did not return calls seeking comment.