The municipality’s 2024 legal expense payout continues to grow, due to an apparent bit of financial catch up.
The Borough Council approved a $16,354 payment to its legal counsel Savo, Schalk, Corsini, Warner, Gillespie, O’Grodnick & Fisher at its Tuesday, May 28 meeting. Of that total, $2,355 relates to two tax appeal cases the firm worked on for the municipality in November 2019, according to an invoice from the firm.
Yes, the council recently paid a bill incurred, in part, for services rendered 55 months ago. So far, there’s been no explanation for the back-billing.
Most of the 2019 work – totaling $2,070 – relates to a parcel owned by the City of Plainfield that is not specified on the invoice. It is an apparent reference to 200 Clay Ave. The invoice refers to a motion for summary judgement filed by that Union County municipality.
The remaining $285 relates to a tax settlement for a parcel whose block and lot numbers are not specified on the invoice.
Savo, Schalk partner Chris Corsini attends most council meetings and handles the majority of the firm’s work for the borough. The 2019 appeals were handled by firm partner Michael O’Grodnick, who typically handles Middlesex Borough’s tax cases.
The Savo, Schalk invoice’s first two pages, which relate to the 2019 work, contain notations initialed by “CB,” which was apparently CFO Caroline Benson.
“Recv’d 5/13/24. Checked records never paid,” the notations read.
It is unclear whether Savo, Schalk waited more than four years to submit an invoice for the 2019 legal work, or if the borough had received an earlier invoice and not paid it.
The two back-billed cases involve work done from Nov. 4 to Nov. 26, 2019. Those dates are roughly one month before then-Mayor Ron DiMura was indicted.
The most recent bills paid to Savo, Schalk, and municipal labor counsel Apruzzese, McDermott, Mastro & Murphy, were obtained on Friday, June 7 by Inside – Middlesex after the filing of an Open Public Records Act request.
When asked about it later that day, Mayor Jack Mikołajczyk said he was not aware that the most recent Savo, Schalk invoice included distant back-billing. The mayor said he intends to inquire about the circumstances.
The council approved payment of the bill on May 28 but received no explanation – at least publicly – from Corsini. As mayor, Mikolajczyk did not vote on the bill’s payment. Council members who approved it, did not comment on the back-billing.
Earlier this year, the council began including a check register with each meeting agenda. The register notes all vendors who will be paid at the session and how much. The May 28 check register stated that part of the Savo, Schalk payment was for 2019 tax appeal work.
An email sent to Borough Administrator Michael LaPlace on June 7 asking about the back-billing received no response.
The $16,354 payout to Savo, Schalk on May 28 brings the total paid to the firm to roughly $40,400 for the first quarter of 2024. The firm earned $106,000 working for Middlesex Borough in 2023, according to a filing with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission.
In March, along with the 2019 work, the firm billed for time spent on various matters including current commercial tax appeals, the Daisy Park conveyance to the federal government, and former Presbyterian Church parcel negotiations. The church matter accounted for $1,967 in charges that month.
Apruzzese, McDermott billed for work on various Middlesex Police Department and Department of Public Works labor matters.
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