Boro to repeat selection process BY ERIN O. STATTEL Staff Writer MATAWAN - Members of the Borough Council will be sifting through a new pile of proposals from professionals who want to provide services to the borough. The council will be reviewing the most recent proposals because a resolution, approved at the Borough Council meeting Feb. 19, rejected the previous Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued Nov. 15, 2007, and returnable Dec. 19, 2007. Under former Mayor Mary Aufseeser an RFQ was issued in November after the election and in January prior to the special mayoral election. At the Feb. 19 meeting, the resolution authorized the borough clerk to readvertise for RFQs for all professionals on the list that were noticed on the original RFQ, except for the Unified Planning- Zoning Board professionals and the position of alternate municipal prosecutor, which has been deleted from the list. According to the resolution, "the governing body…did not have sufficient time to meet and discuss the solicitation of request for professionals contracts as a consequence of the special election." "Basically, because of the special election no professionals were either reappointed or appointed for a full term," said Democratic Councilman William Malley. "I voted in favor of the resolution because I believe it is better for the town to have a larger pool of professionals to choose from, especially with the large amount of money the professionalswill be charging the town." Council PresidentMike Cannon, also a Democrat, agreed with Malley. "In some of the categories we just felt that we had limited choices," Cannon said. "We felt in some instances we needed more choices because oftentimes we have to go out and get other professionals anyway because they are not always available and neither are their associates." Cannon said that the categories of professionals in which the council felt there was a limited choice include labor attorney, borough attorney, prosecutor and public defender. "Personally, I will not hire anyone that will charge more money from the borough," Cannon said. Anyone coming in from the RFQ list will have to accept what the borough is willing to pay [for] that position." Last week, Mayor Paul Buccellato, a Republican, said he disagreed with the Democrats that going through the selection process for professionals again would widen the pool. "Going out a third time for proposals is not necessarily widening the pool," Buccellato said. "There is a cost associated with the readvertising and reviewing of the proposals and if things were done previously without the council's approval and monies were expended by the borough, then at the minimum, a reimbursement should be made for the second and third Request for Qualifications." At the March 4 meeting, council members approved a motion to extend the current professionals' terms to accommodate the selection process. Buccellato also said he felt that the resolution was introduced too late at the Feb. 19 meeting. "The timing of the presentation to the council and myself was done late when most residents left the meeting," he said. "Given the short time I had to review the resolution, if there is an allegation placing blame on the former mayor, there really should be some sort of investigation."