Legal tender

“In law, nothing is certain but the expense.”

Samuel Butler, British satirist

Legal work by the borough attorney and his firm produced more than $82,000 in invoices through the first five months of 2026, a pace that could end up eclipsing a half-million dollars in earnings over a three-year period.

The firm – Savo, Schalk, Corsini, Warner, Gillespie, O’Grodnick & Fisher – has invoices approved at most Borough Council meetings, but there are typically no discussions that reveal the complete reasons behind the billing. The invoices list the attorney who worked on a specific task, the date and amount of time billed. Some entries identify the topic related to a specific charge. Others have limited details, simply stating that a discussion was held with a named council or staff member.

Chris Corsini, one of the firm’s partners, serves as the primary counsel to the governing body, but other members occasionally work on Middlesex Borough legal matters. The firm is paid $195 per hour, according to the invoices.

Savo, Schalk does not handle every legal task for the municipality. The totals mentioned at the outset do not include services rendered by specialized attorneys who handle labor matters, bond sales, Joint Land Use Board cases and other work.

The bill list for the Tuesday, July 14 council meeting included the latest payouts to Savo, Schalk. They were:

• $13,533 for legal work during the month of March.
• $12,577 for April legal work.
• $4,060 for an item listed as Jane Doe v. Borough. This appears to be a lawsuit filed more than two years ago in which two women allege they were sexually abused by a volunteer firefighter more than four decades ago, according to news reports.

During a budget review earlier this year, Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk said the municipality’s efforts to address quality of life issues has helped drive up legal expenses. Inside – Middlesex recently reviewed the 2026 Savo, Schalk invoices after obtaining them through an Open Public Records Act request.

Nine sets of Savo, Schalk invoices were released, the two most recent are dated May 31. Through its July 14 meeting, the Borough Council has paid out about $64,000 of the invoices’ collective total through May of more than $82,400.

The five-month billing through May 2026, puts Savo, Schalk on a pace to earn more than $197,000 working in Middlesex Borough this year.

Savo, Schalk earned $155,844 in Middlesex in 2024, according to a pay-to-play report filed with the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission. The firm was paid $158,133 for work done in the borough last year, CFO Caroline Benson said in an email.

The invoices reflect quality of life issues mentioned by Mikolajczyk. They show billing for work on illegal home occupancies, inoperable vehicles and a recent ordinance regulating homes with so-called “mother-daughter suites.” There was attorney time also spent on a zoning issue related to a Dorn Avenue home.

The billing shows other legal matters as well. Many entries are noted with the words “affordable housing.” The Savo, Schalk billing included redevelopment work, tax foreclosures, and a Police Benevolent Association grievance.

There is an ongoing effort to defend the borough against tax appeals filed by commercial property owners. Those appeals produce continual billing from legal counsel.

The invoices show repeated work by Corsini in early 2026 on the agreement with the Board of Education to place Class III officers in local schools. From the start of the year through early March, there are two dozen invoice entries related to the special officers. Some involve discussion among borough officials. Others are communication with the board’s attorney. The Class III entries account for 21 hours of legal work, a tab of $4,095.

All told, the council was billed $204,000 for legal work last year. That was $20,000 more than the amount allocated for collective legal services in the 2025 budget. Attorneys from firms other than Savo, Schalk billed the council for roughly $46,000 in specialized legal work, according to Benson. The $204,000 figure does include charges by the attorney who serves as Joint Land Use Board counsel. He is paid from the JLUB budget.

(Copyright 2026 Dave Polakiewicz. All Rights Reserved)

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