Mountainside Candidates Call on Council to Make Public All Settlements and Costs of Lawsuit

Council Must Be Honest about Lawsuit’s True Cost to Taxpayers

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ—Candidates for Borough Council Anjali Mehrotra and Ileana Montes today called on Borough Council to immediately make public all settlement agreements and costs to taxpayers that have arisen as a result of the lawsuit against the Borough. Mehrotra and Montes also called on the Council to give residents an update of the cost of the scandal at every public meeting to ensure transparency and accountability. To date, Borough Council has not released minutes from the July meeting where they voted to allow officers named in the lawsuit to retire without facing formal disciplinary action or the August work session where they approved settlement payouts for the officers.

“Council needs to stop covering up the scope and costs of this scandal and make the settlement agreements and all costs to taxpayers public now,” said Mehrotra, “Sweeping these issues under the rug is what got us into this situation in the first place, and it is time for our leaders to be honest about their decisions and the price taxpayers will have to bear.”

Borough Council has still not released minutes from their Council meeting in July and working session meeting in August, where they announced that no formal disciplinary action will be taken against officers named in the lawsuit and that these officers will receive settlement payouts from the Borough totaling nearly $40,000. Borough Council approved the payouts in a work session instead of at their regular open public meeting. Approving additional costs to taxpayers at working sessions sets a dangerous precedent that can lead to more secrecy and further lawsuits.

“Council is trying to cover their tracks the same way they covered up the issues in our Police Department,” said Montes, “Mountainside residents deserve to know the full costs associated with this lawsuit. Council needs to end the secretive process they have used to sneak decisions in behind residents’ backs and come clean about all the tax dollars they are spending on these settlements and other legal fees associated with the lawsuit.”

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