Municipal agreements with the Montclair Arts Council (MAC) and the Montclair Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) were "improperly classified" as Extraordinary Unspecifiable Services (EUS) contracts, which are excluded from the state’s requirement for open public bids, according to a verdict issued last month by New Jersey Superior Court Judge Walter Koprowski Jr.

The organizations’ arrangements will remain in effect until they expire in four months, after which the contracts will have to enter into a competitive bidding process.

Former At-Large Township Councilman Ted Mattox, who levied the complaint in 2006 against the nonprofits, his six council colleagues and other officials, has proclaimed victory. Representatives of the MAC and MEDC, however, are optimistic about the verdict.

"The court not only acknowledged MAC’s benefits to the community but it affirmed the expertise, training and experience of MAC’s board and individual volunteers," according to a statement issued by the Montclair Arts Council. "In addition, the court concluded that all services were fully performed properly under the township contracts, the 2008 contract will stay in place and be funded and no funds previously paid to MAC need to be returned."

The MAC’s statement noted, "The clause in the EUS code on which the court relied to render its decision centered on the "continuous ongoing" nature of the services provided. The court determined that the EUS exception is not available to long-term consultants."

Members of the arts nonprofit echoed the sentiments of Township Manager Joseph Hartnett’s initial response by stating, "… Public/private partnerships are indeed being strongly promoted throughout our state for the benefit of all communities, and the intent would certainly be to be able to enter into these partnerships on a longer term basis."

"The ‘continuous ongoing’ services clause in the EUS code is inconsistent with this objective," the release stated in regard to the judge’s notation that, according to New Jersey regulation, there are presumptions that services provided in a continuous nature are not subject to the EUS contract categorization.

The MAC’s contract has been in place for nearly three years and the MEDC’s contract has existed for more than 11 years.

Contacted for response to the verdict, MEDC President Stephen Schuckman told The Times, "The MEDC is pleased that the judge took the stand that we are a professional organization and we do provide a service of expertise to the community. I was very pleased that the ruling was that MEDC was in no way acting improperly and that we have performed our services properly under the contracts."

Schuckman said MEDC members are "glad to put this behind us so we can get back to work and continue our service to the township."

He intends to follow up with how the New Jersey law will apply organizations and situations.

"Right now, what remains to be seen is what direction the township will take," Schuckman said. "We certainly need to enter into discussions with the council and the manager to determine how they are going to go forward in the future."

The judge ruled that the MEDC agreements are not void due to a conflict of interest alleged by Mattox. Former Mayor Ed Remsen founded the nonprofit and Township Attorney Alan Trembulak was the nonprofit’s previous pro bono counsel. Both officials participated in discussions and/or decisions related to the MEDC.

The verdict also addressed financial issues.

According to Koprowski’s judgement, New Jersey’s Local Public Contracts Law "requires that public entities must acquire goods and services through a public bidding process if the value of the contract exceeds a certain threshold, either $17,500 or $25,000 depending upon the local ordinances."

In 2008, the former council members authorized an agreement with the MEDC for $36,000 and an agreement with the MAC for $72,000.

Despite the ruling, Koprowski wrote, "Both entities relied in good faith on the township’s determination that bidding was not required. Moreover, nonpayment of these funds would result in severe prejudice to both entities."

When reached for an update on the verdict’s ramifications, Hartnett told The Times that he was recently contacted by the New Jersey Dept. of Community Affairs’ Division of Local Government Services deputy director to say that state representatives disagree with the judge’s decision.

Hartnett said the DCA official expressed an interest in working with municipal officials to rewrite contract regulations so that such exclusive agreements would be allowed.

"They are very concerned about what effect this has on relationships throughout the state, because they agree that [the MAC and MEDC] are extraordinary unspecifiable services and they are trying to encourage municipalities all over New Jersey to do more agreements like this," Hartnett said. "So we were very gratified that the state agreed with what we had done in this case."