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After lawsuit against Township Council …
(by DAVID GRILL - October 16, 2008)
In response to the letters from David Herron [Oct. 9 edition] and Ted Mattox [Sept. 25 edition] regarding their lawsuit, what is clear is that both are masters of spin. Here are the facts:
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The court did rule that the MEDC [Montclair Economic Development Corp.] and MAC [Montclair Arts Council] contracts should have, on a narrow technical basis, been bid out.
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The court was clear that both MEDC and MAC are meeting their obligations under the contracts.
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The court ruled that the existing contracts can remain in place until they expire.
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The court ruled that there was no conflict of interest between either organization and township officials.
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The court ruled that the plaintiffs did not suffer any monetary damage and are not entitled to compensation.
In short, both organizations are doing their job, are providing a service, and all concerned (with the possible exception of the plaintiffs) have acted honorably throughout.
So after costing the taxpayer more than $200,000 in legal fees, we are left to bid out services being provided by two nonprofits run by local volunteers to provide services that would otherwise have to be provided by government, or not provided at all. Who, exactly, will be lining up to respond to these bids?
So thank you, gentlemen, for taking a principled stand over nothing and costing me money.
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