Council's Economic Development Consultant Appointment Approval Meaningless

It turns out the Township Council's approval of Mayor David Mayer's pick for economic development consultant at the township's Jan. 2 reorganization meeting didn't mean a thing.

That's because the appointment isn't the mayor's or Council's to make. The appointing power belongs to Gloucester Township Economic Development Corp., an independent nonprofit organization made of businessmen and township employees, officials acknowledged at Monday night's Council work session.

"The appointment on the consent agenda for an economic development consultant should not have appeared in that (resolution of consent)," Business Administrator Tom Cardis said. "You, as Council, do not have the authority to make that appointment. It should not have been a part of that resolution."

Government watchdog Joshua Berry and Mayer sparred over the process leading up to what Berry argued amounted to Council's seeming Jan. 2 rubber-stamping of the mayor's selection of relative economic development newcomer The Kolluri Group during an after Council's Jan. 23 meeting.

Cardis noted he has forwarded the Mayer administration's Kolluri recommendation to Economic Development Corp. President Joe Angeloni. It's worth noting that, as mayor, Mayer does sit on the Economic Development Corp.'s board of directors.

Solicitor David Carlamere indicated he noticed the economic development consultant listed among other Mayer appointments on the resolution of consent at the Jan. 2 meeting, but did not deem the erroneous inclusion worthy of stopping the meeting to have it removed from the document.

Council does not have to take any corrective action in regard to Kolluri Group being included in the Jan. 2 roll call, Carlamere said.

"We're going to watch for it next year to make sure it's not in there," he said.

Berry suggested again Monday that the township's appointment process needs to be tweaked, pointing to the now-irrelevant request for proposals (RFP) the township put out for the economic development consultant.

"The original RFQ has got a minimum of 20 years in economic development. Kolluri Group—depending on how you interpret the RFQ—is only two years or nine years," he said. "That's a problem that you guys voted for a company that clearly is not meeting the minimum requirements, and that's something you could be sued for."

The conservative watchdog made the distinction between minimum qualifications and desired qualifications.

"Part of why I talk about the minimum qualifications as being so important is ... in the private world, when you see minimum qualifications, if you don't have it, don't even bother applying," Berry said. "If you see desired qualifications, well, then that's great. Minimum is 10, desired is 20; I've got 17, maybe that's close enough."

Council will take a look at the process, according to Council President Glen Bianchini.

"We're going to take a look at it and talk to the solicitor and he's going to look at the process, work with Tom and we'll come up with something a little bit different," he said.

Carlamere indicated following the meeting that he does not believe Princeton-based businessman Kris Kolluri, who served as both Department of Transportation and Schools Development Authority chief under former governor Jon Corzine before founding his company in 2010, had been notified of the now-nixed Jan. 2 appointment or even Mayer's recommendation.

"I don't know if he's been notified of a recommendation, but he will have to be notified of the Economic Development Corp.'s appointment" if that happens, he said.

Cardis noted he advised the Economic Development Corp. to follow its own qualification standards, not those set out in the township's RFP, just as he's done with the township's Planning Board and Zoning Board,.

Mayer did not attend Monday night's Council work session.