Bid Process Evokes Partisan Divide; Council Splits 3-2, Mum but Miffed

VILLAS – On March 7, Lower Township Council met. That meeting included partisan rancor over a perception by the independent mayor and deputy mayor that the bid process for professional service contracts in the municipality was flawed and in need of review. 
Republican Councilman David Perry (R-Ward 2) raised a vigorous defense of township employees who are responsible for processing those bids. Perry accused the Mayor Michael Beck and Deputy Mayor Norris Clark of criticizing the hard-working professionals of Lower Township for their work. He said it was actually “harassment and ridicule” of those employees.
Perry’s defense emanated from the Feb. 17 council meeting when that issue was broached by Clark.
At that meeting, Clark voiced the need for an independent review meeting and suggested that the state Comptroller’s Office website contains a “best practices for awarding service contracts guide” to help local governments avoid misuse of public funds due to sloppy bidding processes.
The New Jersey League of Municipalities was also identified as a possible source of expertise and may recommend an independent auditor of sorts to conduct that review.
After some debate over wording, a motion was introduced and passed in February that requested the township solicitor to contact the League of Municipalities “to gather information about what options” that organization could suggest to result in a better bidding process.
This issue was to have been discussed by council in closed session March 7, but Perry’s statements about the issue brought the conflict among council to a head.
After a series of heated words about the issue between council members, Beck was clearly frustrated by the public partisan bickering; he declined to engage in a debate over whether an independent review was a criticism of township employees, and reminded council members that the planned closed session was the proper forum for the debate because employee performance issues might be raised. That would be a violation of state law, he said.
Beck closed the debate and requested that the media contact him after the closed session for additional information about council’s intentions. At that, Councilman Erik Simonsen (R-Ward 3) requested the media also contact him after the session so that both sides of the issue could be heard.
The Herald reached out to Simonsen and Beck on March 8 to interview them regarding “both sides” of the issue.
Beck’s View
Beck was first to respond; he was still frustrated by the partisanship displayed at council meetings not just over this issue, but the bickering and fighting that has been evident in council over the last several months and longer.
Beck stated “We got ambushed last night” referring to the critical remarks made by Republican council members and the presence of so many vocal supporters who showed up for the meeting.
Beck repeated that he had only asked the solicitor to reach out to the league for information about best practices, and had not criticized anyone, except for wondering if council itself is responsible for a failed system.
Beck had nothing of substance to offer about what occurred at the closed session, saying he was constrained by the requirement to keep personnel matters confidential.
He stated “There is no support for looking forward about this (issue),” referring to an independent review of the bid process. Beck lamented council’s bickering nature and stated “We can’t resolve this issue this way”.
Simonsen’s View
Simonsen stated that he also was constrained by the rules that prevent personnel issues being discussed in public. He acknowledged that the solicitor had, in fact, contacted the league after the February meeting, but would say no more about what transpired at that meeting.
Simonsen stated that he was not in favor of a review of past bidding practices such as recommended by Beck and Clark; he acknowledged that he would consider a special committee of some sort to look at best practices and “develop some new guidelines” for the future.