Hiring of professionals to be on council agenda
BY LARRY HLAVENKA JR.
Staff Writer

HOWELL — Municipal officials will interview candidates for about 30 professional positions (special attorneys, engineer, planner, etc.) after Jan. 1.

At its reorganization meeting on Jan. 1, however, the newly configured Township Council is expected to name a township attorney, public defender, alternate public defender, municipal prosecutor and alternate municipal prosecutor.

When independents Angela Dalton, Michael Howell and Robert Walsh are sworn in to office to begin serving four-year terms, they will take control of the council. Republican Mayor Joseph DiBella and Republican Councilwoman Cynthia Schomaker are the other members of the governing body.

The change in who controls the council could mean changes may be coming among some of the outside professionals who are hired to provide services to the municipality. The work that is handed to the professionals and their firms can be worth tens of thousands of dollars over the course of a year.

The members of the council discussed how to hire new professionals during their Dec. 19 meeting.

From the present time until Jan. 1, council members said, they will review the application packets of firms and/or individuals who have expressed an interest in providing their services to the township and conduct telephone conversations with the candidates.

On Jan. 2 and Jan. 9, the council will hold special closed session meetings to interview other professionals seeking positions on Howell’s legal team — including affordable housing attorney and other similar positions.

At subsequent meetings, the council will interview candidates from other fields, such as planning, until all of the professional positions have been filled.

In the meantime, the township’s present professionals are expected to stay on an interim basis.

The deadline for professionals to submit their information was Dec. 4. The information packages were expected to be reviewed at a Dec. 12 public meeting, but the revised interview structure was agreed upon instead.

Walsh, who was already serving an unexpired term on the council, stressed that in an attempt to cut municipal expenditures, he did not wish to provide benefits or a pension for anyone who is hired as a township professional.

Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Filiatreault said that goal can be accomplished by paying fees to the professionals instead of salaries. He said that change in terminology would allow the professionals to be paid through a purchase order.

DiBella, Schomaker and Howell agreed with Walsh not to extend benefits or pensions to incoming professionals.

The council members asked Township Manager Thomas Czerniecki to discuss how cases and/or projects would be retained by current professionals or turned over to new professionals, should there be changes.

The governing body agreed to try to maintain a level of consistency with long-standing cases and retain the services of the professionals who have worked on those particular issues.

However, those grounds did not necessarily mean forgoing changes, either.

Other positions to be filled by the council in the new year are utility attorney, tax foreclosure attorney, tax appeal attorney, planner for affordable housing matters, township auditor, bond counsel, labor attorney, Rent Control Board attorney, utility engineer, community design consultant, township planner, consulting engineer, certified tree expert, wireless telecommunications consultant, environmental consulting services, surveying services, appraisal services, management consulting/ recruiting services, architectural services, Zoning Board of Adjustment attorney, Zoning Board of Adjustment engineer, Zoning Board of Adjustment planner, Planning Board attorney, Planning Board engineer and Planning Board planner.