Article originally publsihed February 11, 2025 on Montclair Local

Link to Original Article by Matt Kadosh

Montclair’s interim township attorney will get an increase in his pay, something he told the Township Council will allow him to provide the required legal services at $175 per hour.

The amendment to Joseph A. Garcia’s contract removes a 28 hour per week limit and increases the total contract amount by $10,000 for up to $40,0000, according to the resolution. The council had in December hired Garcia for 90 days starting January 1. Councilors approved the updated contract by a 7-0 vote on Tuesday.

“The demand here greatly exceeds the $10,000 number,” Garcia said. “Despite it greatly exceeding, I think I’m asking for a very modest increase in the monthly rate to allow us to provide you the services that you need.”

Meetings Gobble Attorney Time

The $10,000 monthly at $175 per hour means that he can bill 57 hours a month, which broken down weekly means a little over 14 hours of services a week. Much of that time is spent with the governing body at public meetings.

“Two weeks ago, we spent 6 ½ hours alone just in the council meeting,” Garcia said. “Tonight, we’re approaching hour five. So, you’re eating up half of the weekly allotment just by attending the council meeting.”

Paul Burr, the prior interim township attorney, was “doing a tremendous amount of work for you,” and had an additional person in his office to help him, Garcia said.

First Ward Councilor Erik D’Amato said he thinks it was a mistake to enact the cap in the first place as the town considers a long-term solution for legal counsel.

“We’re fooling ourselves because we actually don’t know what really the demand is because the attorney, Mr. Garcia, he’s working as hard as he can to try to squeeze more time into this limited amount that’s there,” D’Amato said. “So, we don’t have a good idea as to what a permanent contract with a firm would look like.”

Mayor: Full Time Attorney Needed

Mayor Renee Baskerville said the discussion underscores the need for hiring a full-time attorney.

“It’s a perfect example of why we should really consider retaining a full-time attorney, to be here that’s on salary,” Baskerville said.

Second Ward Councilor Eileen Birmingham said the township has job postings for two attorneys. The postings are for a “township attorney” and an “assistant township attorney.”

“So, I think it’s not unreasonable to pay the current attorney a little bit more,” Birmingham said. “So, I would be in favor of this resolution.”

The council also approved a resolution that would have Garcia’s firm Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri, Jacobs LLC, to assign litigation to other law firms.

Litigation Looms

“You have five or six matters that need to be tended to,” Garcia said. “Somebody needs to tend to them. You need to award a contract to somebody on that.”

Baskerville asked that someone whose firm is not going to benefit from the council’s vote explain the need.

Interim Township Manager Michael Lapolla said that since the council has not hired in-house counsel, “We’re just trying to fill the holes in the ship, so we don’t sink.” Part of what the prior township attorney did was manager outside law firms, he said.

“We have cases. We need lawyers,” Lapolla said. “And we need to, if you’re going to hire somebody full time on staff, which I personally think you need to do, in addition to outside counsel, you need to come up with a process and whoever that is, get it done.”

Email reporter Matt Kadosh at matt@montclairlocal.news