By MONSY ALVARADO STAFF WRITER (NorthJersey.com)
DEMAREST – After weeks of disagreements over who would represent the municipality in legal matters, the Borough Council has hired a new attorney.
Douglas Doyle of the firm Edwards & Caldwell in Hawthorne was appointed to a one-year term by the Borough Council during a special meeting Monday night.
Doyle will be paid a $3,000 retainer fee, plus $110 per hour worked. The borough spent $143,000 in legal expenses last year, and officials plan to budget the same amount this year.
“Based on résumés and past experience, my mind was made up with Mr. Doyle,” said council President Raymond Cywinski, who submitted Doyle’s name for a vote.
Doyle serves as attorney to the Zoning Board of Adjustment in Midland Park, and as general counsel to the North Arlington Redevelopment Authority. He also serves as special counsel for the state, the county, and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, working on various litigation matters.
The appointment, which was unanimously approved, comes after the Borough Council rejected two nominations for the job by Democratic Mayor Jim Carroll.
The mayor had planned to appoint Catherine E. Tamasik of the law firm DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Wisler, but the council voted against the appointment last month. The firm had represented the borough for about 20 years, but Cywinski said it was time for a change, in part because of concerns over “pay to play” – a practice in which lucrative contracts are awarded in return for campaign contributions.
Carroll then nominated former Closter Democratic Mayor Edward Rogan for the post, but the council voted against him as well. Members said they weren’t given enough time to review Rogan’s résumé.
“There was no advance notification of that name put forward,” Cywinski said.
Carroll said that although he was glad the council agreed on an attorney, he would have preferred that the vote take place during a regular meeting.
“They pushed this through,” he said.
Cywinski said he called a special meeting because the council was going to hold a work session to discuss the budget and he wanted to give Doyle a week to prepare for the borough’s next regular meeting on Monday.
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