Let residents select their own topics

In the News • MARK ROSMAN
I can understand the new mayor of a town trying to get the year off to a good start and attempting to preclude municipal meetings from turning into a circus. That person has my respect and support in running an efficient meeting.

However, I cannot support the abridgement of free speech, and that is what could happen in Manalapan this year if a rule established by Mayor Richard Klauber is not challenged.

Speaking at the Jan. 14 meeting of the Township Committee, Klauber listed the rules to be followed when residents address the governing body during the public comment portion of this year's meetings.

Klauber said each speaker will be given a maximum of five minutes to address the committee and said there will be no exceptions. I support that stand and encourage the mayor to stick to it. There have been claims made in the past that one person or another has, for political reasons or because of political affiliations, been permitted to exceed the time limit.

Five minutes is plenty of time to say what needs to be said to the governing body. Anything more than that is too much.

Klauber went on to say that in 2009 no resident will be permitted to publicly discuss a lawsuit in which the township is a party. Klauber, who is an attorney, said, "I believe it is best to let them (lawsuits) play out in court."

Township Attorney Ron Cucchiaro added his comment that litigation involving the municipality is an item to be discussed by the committee in closed session, away from the public.

I suppose that means Manalapan residents will not be able to ask their elected officials about a payment of $6,264.60 that was made to the Scottsdale Insurance Company and approved by the Township Committee on Jan. 14. The payment was for the defense of Committeeman Andrew Lucas in an ongoing case that involves the township and its former municipal attorney, Stuart Moskovitz.

This is a case in which officials have said that the township is not incurring any costs because the attorney who is representingManalapan is handling the case on a contingency basis.

Manalapan had already paid more than $6,000 to an expert at the start of the litigation, plus other attorney fees it deemed negligible (that's your money). Adding on that $6,200 payment to defend Lucas, who became a third party defendant, brings the legal bill to at least $12,000 by my account.

While I respect Klauber's right to set ground rules for the public comment portion of a township meeting, it is a slippery slope to tell people at the start of the year what they may and may not discuss when they come forward.

Litigation is the dirty little secret of municipal business. It is extremely difficult to get answers about litigation involving a municipality, especially in a public forum.

Cases often drag on for years, attorneys change and there is often little to no accounting available of what the case is actually costing the community.

While Cucchiaro was correct in saying

that Manalapan officials may discuss litigation in closed session, I think that is mixing apples and oranges.

I doubt that Manalapan residents will come forward to ask their elected officials to describe the exact strategy being pursued in a particular litigation. If they do attempt to ask a question such as that, Klauber will be perfectly correct in saying, "Sorry, we can't discuss that aspect of the case."

But if a resident comes forward and asks about the status of a particular case — has a hearing been held recently? have other defendants been named? what bills are being paid in connection with the case? — there is no good reason for elected officials to decline to answer the questions.

The only reason to prohibit those questions from even being asked is because you do not want to answer irritating questions week after week.

I heard this same topic — public discussion of municipal lawsuits — addressed perfectly by attorney Michael Herbert when I covered a Marlboro Planning Board meeting not too long ago. Herbert is the attorney who represents the Planning Board.

In public session, Herbert told the board members that he wanted to bring them up to date on several lawsuits involving the board. (By doing so he became the first attorney in New Jersey history to publicly acknowledge that municipalities and boards get sued).

At that point one Planning Board member tried to stop Herbert from providing the update by saying that he (the board member) did not believe litigation involving the board could be discussed in public.

Herbert responded by saying, (this is great), "Of course litigation can be discussed in public. I'm not going to tell you my strategy, I'm going to tell you where we stand in theses cases." He then proceeded to name the ongoing cases and to update the status of each item of litigation.

It was a beautiful thing to hear. (I know, I need a hobby).

So I am hoping that the prohibition on speech that has been placed on Manalapan residents by their new mayor will be reconsidered, even if it means allowing people to ask what may occasionally be an annoying question or two.

Mark Rosman is the managing editor of the News Transcript. He may be reached at gmntnews@gmnews.com.