Borough Attorney Phil Boggia is defending himself against council members who said he failed his professional duty by not informing them of a lawsuit involving the delay of the new municipal hall and police station.
"The allegations are completely inaccurate," Boggia said.
A lawsuit was filed March 13 against the borough’s planning board, the borough, and the developer for the i.Park project on the southern end of River Road. Woodcliff Realty, owner of a neighboring North Bergen condominium, alleged that the planning board approved i.Park’s plan despite an incomplete application, a defect in public notice, and a conflict of interest with two voting members.
Boggia filed an answer to the complaint on behalf of the borough April 7 and attended a case management conference April 14 with the attorneys for the plaintiff and other defendants.
The public learned about the suit at a May 5 Mayor and Council work session when Councilman Denis Gallagher asked for an update on the i.Park project. Mayor Nancy Merse said there was a lawsuit involving the developer and a neighbor.
Independent Councilman David Weschler said someone later told him that a copy of the suit was on an online message board. That’s how he learned the borough is named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Boggia said the borough is served with suits all the time and when he gets one he sends it to Clerk Barbara Rae as he did with the i.Park suit. He said there’s no policy in place for him to send the suit to every council member.
"I don’t know why it’s an issue other than the fact that they want to politicize it," he said. "I’m shocked they’re turning it into something else."
But Weschler said even if Boggia sent the suit to Borough Hall he still has a professional duty to keep his clients informed. At the May 19 mayor and council meeting Weschler said he was upset "my attorney sat next to me for two months" and never mentioned it, especially since there was a council meeting the night of the case management conference.
Boggia said he was offended by Weschler’s rebuke and thought the councilman could have handled it differently.
"If it bothered him so much he could’ve called me and said, ‘Hey, Phil, what’s this about a lawsuit?’" Boggia said. "But he chose to wait several days to do it at a public meeting."
Weschler, who works as an attorney, said he doesn’t agree that he was being unfair.
"I think it’s very important to hold the lawyer and other officials who we are paying a lot of money to give us good advice to a high standard," Weschler said.
Councilwoman Beatrice Robbio motioned at the May 19 meeting to fire Boggia but only she and Gallagher, both independents, voted in favor of the motion. The three democrats voted not to and Weschler, another independent, abstained from voting.
Weschler said he was "right on the edge" of voting to fire Boggia but didn’t.
"I’ve had employees that maybe did things that could have gotten them fired but I gave them a second chance," he said.
Weschler said he knows there’s a political side to this but doesn’t want to guess anyone else’s motivation. He said he is upset Boggia tried to downplay the seriousness of the lawsuit by comparing it to all the tax appeals the borough receives. Weschler said tax appeals go to an administrative body and aren’t the same as lawsuits.
"This suit can affect how quickly we go forward with that project," he said. "I just didn’t think he fulfilled his responsibility."
Boggia said every time an issue comes up it’s the same council members and residents from the Independent Coalition for a Better Edgewater group making the same allegations.
"There’s just no merit," he said. "With the primary coming up they’re just trying to use the newspaper as their mouthpiece."
