Conference/Public Meeting Agendas/Documents — Packet

131-12 June 26, 2012 RESOLUTION WHEREAS, the Township of West Orange retained the law firm of Fox Rothschild, LLP, to serve as it s special labor counsel at a rate of $150 per hour with a maximum fee of $10,000 consistent with the Township’s Billing Guidelines for legal services; and WHEREAS, Fox Rothschild did undertake such representation and has provided legal services to the Township of West Orange as to various employment and labor issues, including litigated matters, the legal fees and expenses for which have well exceeded the initially established maximum amount; and; WHEREAS, several litigated matters are continuing and require continued legal services to properly defend them; and WHEREAS, the uncertainty and unpredictability of litigation generally makes accurate budgeting of litigation expenses difficult at best, often impossible and misleading, and public disclosure of a litigation budget, or cap, offers no advantage to the Township and may send a message to the Township’s adversaries which is disadvantageous; and WHEREAS, the Township Council’s functions under the Faulkner Act include making overall budget appropriations for each year for litigation expenses, including legal fees, costs and settlements, but not for individual litigated matters; and WHEREAS, the number and nature of lawsuits filed by and against the Township in any year can vary greatly, as can the strategies to be employed in their prosecution and defense and the expenditures needed to adequately, competently and effectively provide such legal services; and WHEREAS, the prosecution and defense of litigated cases is an administrative-executive function under the authority of the Mayor in a Mayor-Council form of government under the Faulkner Act, the Mayor, with the assistance of the Township Attorney and Chief Financial Officer, having the ultimate responsibility for managing the litigation and costs thereof for individual cases within the total appropriation for litigation presented by the Mayor at the beginning of the budget process, considered by the Council during the budget process and finally determined by the Council and incorporated in the final adopted budget for the year; and WHEREAS,

inning of the budget process, considered by the Council during the budget process and finally determined by the Council and incorporated in the final adopted budget for the year; and WHEREAS, for any matter of litigation, strategic decisions, any and all of which necessarily affect the overall cost of litigation, are necessarily made by the attorney handling the case under the supervision of the Township Attorney and taking into account any broad policies established by the Mayor; and WHEREAS, invoices for legal fees and costs submitted by the attorney or law firm handling any particular litigation are initially submitted to the Township Attorney, or in some instances the Assistant Township Attorney when delegated by the Township Attorney, for review and approval for payment, and further subject to certification of availability of funds by the Chief Financial Officer, and review by the Township Council on a Bill List, before any payment is made; and WHEREAS, the Township Council, through its investigatory power, related to and concomitant with its budgetary power under the Faulkner Act, can and does from time to time in executive session confer with the Township Attorney and individual attorneys handling the Township’s various litigated matters, to keep apprised of the status of the litigation, the strategies being employed, the anticipated expenses, settlement considerations, and has the right and ability to convey its opinions and desires about how the litigation should be prosecuted or defended and ultimately resolved; and WHEREAS, for all of the reasons set forth in the preceding recitals, the use of a cap system for litigation attorneys is impractical, unwise, and contrary to the separation of functions mandated by the Faulkner