By AUBRIE GEORGE
There was no change to township professionals during last night’s reorganization meeting, much to the dismay of some residents and one Council member.
Council approved a resolution to appoint Richard Hunt of Marlton-based law firm Parker McCay as township solicitor for the year, in addition to roughly a dozen other professional appointments.
Several residents publically questioned Hunt’s billing history with the township, many referencing a recent article in a local newspaper that claims Hunt charged the township for services that are supposed to be included in his contractual retainer fee. The article also shows Medford’s legal fees as higher in comparison to surrounding municipalities.
Township officials called the article factually inaccurate, defamatory and slanderous and said they were taking action against the newspaper’s editor and publisher with a letter that outlines its inaccuracies.
Officials said there had been two bids submitted for the township solicitor position and that Parker McCay had submitted the low bid.
Councilwoman Victoria Fay voted against the resolution to appoint Hunt and said she was not comfortable that the right professional had been selected. Fay also made a motion for Council to conduct a thorough audit of all township professionals’ contracts, but that motion failed.
Fay abstained from voting on all further resolutions appointing township professionals, saying that she was not comfortable voting and that she thought the process of selecting township professionals was flawed.
See a future print edition of The Sun for full coverage of last night’s meeting.