Belleville Planning Board Suspends Meetings Amid Scrutiny

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Belleville Planning Board has temporarily suspended its meetings amid accusations that several appointments have been made illegitimately.

In February, the board’s vice chair, Andrew Conte, alleged that six of the board's Class IV members – who were appointed at the mayor's discretion – have been “illegitimately” occupying their seats since July 2019. After his presentation, the board voted to adjourn on the advice of counsel, with the intent to further probe the allegations. Read More: Belleville Planning Board Adjourns After Vice Chair's Allegations

Since then, other Belleville community leaders have been pushing for more investigation into the appointments, including former school board member Michael Sheldon, former town commissioner Vincent Frantantoni and former mayor Mario Drozdz.

The issue reemerged at the Belleville Town Council meeting on April 12, and again at the planning board meeting on Thursday, when the board’s attorney, Rose Tubito recommended the temporarily suspension.

Tubito cited the expert opinion of Michael Kates, a municipal land use attorney who was asked to determine the validity of six appointments of Class IV members of the planning board by Mayor Michael Melham from July 8, 2019 to June 28, 2021.

Kates wrote that despite Melham’s assertion that he has the authority to appoint those planning board members, the town council has actually had that power ever since Belleville switched from the commissioner form of government to the council-manager form. Read his full opinion here.

If it’s eventually determined that the members were illegally appointed, it could cause major problems for the township, NorthJersey.com reported.

“Everything we voted on is subject to review and scrutiny,” board chair Raymond Veniero said during Thursday’s meeting.

According to Tubito, the issue could possibly be rectified if the planning board members in question are brought before the mayor and council and ratified.

“These questions have been raised before, and answered by both the planning board attorney and the township attorney,” Melham told Patch when asked to comment on the allegations in February.

“Sadly, there are those interested in stunting our progress and are attempting the use the planning board as their political platform,” Melham said.

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