Others believe it's okay to stick with the companies that Town Hall has gotten used to.
The three opposition members of the narrowly divided seven-man Town Council, including 1st Ward Councilman Gary Jeffas, 2nd Ward Councilman John Bueckner, and 2nd Ward Councilman Michael Gonnelli, all voted Jan. 9 against awarding professional service contracts to a list of applicants that was drawn up and approved before Jeffas and Gonnelli took office.
The three said that the town should open itself up for more bids.
But Mayor Dennis Elwell has noted in the past that the professionals on the list are experienced with town business due to their prior work in Secaucus. He also said that the town has the right to work with the professionals with whom they are most comfortable.
In addition, some of the businesses have roots in Secaucus, and the professionals live here.
But is there anything wrong with opening the process to see if there's a better deal out there?
The list of contractors came up for discussion again at the Jan. 23 council meeting, when one councilman said that there was confusion about the way the town advertised for bids on the internet.
Without opening up the process to more bids, the opposition says, the town flirts with violating the spirit, if not the actual statutes, of state "pay-to-play" campaign finance reforms. Those reforms are aimed at keeping campaign contributors and politically connected firms from getting town contracts.
So who's on the list, anyway? The proverbial and the powerful
Some of the names on Secaucus' list are a who's-who of powerbrokers in the county, while others are less familiar.
While many of the contracts are for attorneys, some say that having a powerful fleet of attorneys means avoiding more expensive settlements.
For the position of town attorney, the Secaucus-based firm of Leanza and Agrapidis, P.C. was contracted to do the job at a rate of $235 and hour in an amount not to exceed $112,600 for the 2007 budgetary year. Frank Leanza, one of the partners at the law firm, has served as town attorney since Jan. 2000.
The law firm of Weiner Lesniak, L.L.P. was contracted to serve as a special tax counsel to the town of Secaucus for an amount not to exceed $86,160. New Jersey State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Elizabeth) is a partner in this law firm and is one of the most powerful Democratic political power brokers in the state. He has served as the chairman of the State Democratic Committee, and was chairman of former Gov. Jim McGreevey's close but unsuccessful first gubernatorial campaign in 1997.
Also on the list is Lyndhurst law firm Scarinci and Hollenbeck, L.L.C. to be the town's labor attorney for this budgetary year in an amount not to exceed $56,375. The firm is well connected in Hudson County; partner Donald Scarinci has been a close ally of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez since their high school days in Union City.
The Newark-based firm contracted by Secaucus to be the special bond counsel is McManimon & Scotland, L.L.C. for $195 an hour in an amount not to exceed $10,500. The firm has received many county contracts in the past and is also currently involved with the redevelopment of the former Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne.
The 2007 professional services contract list also includes the PMK Group as Town Engineer, for an amount not to exceed $37,700. One of the principals of the Cranford-based group, Gerald Perricone, lives in Secaucus.
The PMK Group happened to play a key role in the critical event that led to the election of Mayor Dennis Elwell. Elwell rode to victory in the 1999 mayoral election after the previous Secaucus mayor, Anthony Just, was accused of covering up the spread of contamination underneath homes close to the site of the former Keystone Metal Finishers factory on Raydol Avenue. The PMK Group served as the environmental engineers who were hired to map out then eventually clean up the contamination, which affected about 40 properties in Secaucus.
Others on the list of 21 contractors and professionals include:
· Chasan Leyner & Lamparello, special attorney litigation, $165 per hour, not to exceed $45,000.
· Chasan Leyner & Lamparello, Planning Board attorney (Cindy Nan Vogelman), $165 an hour up to $45,000.
· Cifelli & Davie, special counsel miscellaneous, $150 an hour, not to exceed $16,180.
· Zipp & Tannenbaum, special tax counsel, not to exceed $84,460.
· Nowell Amoroso Klein Berman, municipal prosecutor, not to exceed $62,400.
· Krivit & Krivit, special counsel/federal regulatory specialist, not to exceed $52,500.
· Cooney Bovasso Realty Advisors, Inc., real property appraiser, up to $150 an hour not to exceed $59,225.
· Otterstedt Insurance Agency, risk management consultant, an amount not to exceed 6 percent of annual assessment.
· Suplee, Clooney & Company, town auditor, not to exceed $69,190.
· Electronic Risk Consultants, for electronic equipment insurance, not to exceed $53,174.
· Meadowlands Hospital, core activities health service provider, not to exceed $59,518.
· Sungard HTE, Inc., computer support services, not to exceed $31,555.
· Kevin Couch, Zoning Board of Adjustment attorney, $175 an hour up to $20,000.
Mayor Dennis Elwell was not immediately available for comment about the professional services contract list due to the recent snowstorm, while Councilman Gonnelli had "no comment at this time" about the list.
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