Health Board Member Blasts 'Foolish' Lawsuit

Not everybody on Hopatcong's board of health supports the in March.

That the lawsuit exists is "foolish" and the problems between the council and the board of health could be resolved without involving the courts, Joel Servoss said.

"This is borough money," Servoss said. "This is taxpayer money. To fight over something like this and to get lawyers on both sides to run these darned fees up, that doesn't make any sense."

In a 15-page lawsuit, the board of health, represented by Eric M. Bernstein & Associates, alleges Mayor Sylvia Petillo and the council broke state laws when it passed legislation granting Administrator Robert Elia power to appoint health department employees.

The lawsuit also says the council violated the Open Public Meetings Act and New Jersey Civil Service Commission laws.

Servoss not only said he disagreed with the legal action, but that he wasn't informed that the board of health had sued the council until early April, or about two weeks after the suit had been filed.

In a separate interview, board member Yvonne Syto also said she didn't know about the lawsuit. Board member James Vanderhoof didn't return a message seeking comment and Vice President Thomas Forbes declined comment.

Servoss on Monday also disputed board President Mariano Gianni's that the board voted to sue the council outright at its February meeting. Servoss, and later Syto, said the board voted to authorize Gianni to speak with an attorney and take legal action if necessary.

Gianni, reached by phone Thursday, said he agreed with Servoss and Syto's recollection. He also said he planned to inform the board of the March 15 lawsuit at its late-March meeting, but couldn't since it was canceled due to lack of proper public notice. He added that he was worried he'd violate the Open Public Meetings Act if he told the members about the lawsuit outside of a public meeting.

"You can't do anything, really, because we're working against the Sunshine Law," the nickname given to the Open Public Meetings Act, Gianni said. "But the lawsuit was brought up at the February meeting. There was a possibility of it. A possibility means anything was possible."

An Open Public Records Act request by Patch filed Thursday for a recording of the board of health's February meeting has yet to be completed.

Councilwoman Estelle Klein, a 15-year board of health member and its current council liaison, said she backed the lawsuit Wednesday.

"[The lawsuit] has to be," said Klein, who also said she didn't learn about the suit until early April. "It has to be. That's the only way you can make your point.  … They field something illegally. Can't let that stand.

"[The board of health] had to do the lawsuit. The town isn't going to do anything about the illegal ordinance they passed. The only choice they had was the file a lawsuit."

Klein also said she opposed the creation of a new health advisory committee, a volunteer group that will be concerned with community health outreach but won't have the board of health's ability to pass laws. Klein was the lone “no” vote when the council formalized the committee Wednesday.

Hopatcong plans to insert council members into expiring board of health seats until it becomes a council-run entity, Petillo said. Councilmen John Young and Mike Francis were recently elected to the board.

Petillo said the lawsuit was "very unfortunate and frivolous."

"We believe it was not property authorized," she said. "We are sure many of the health board members did not understand that they were giving a blank check to their lawyer. If you are going to launch a major lawsuit against your borough, your resolution better be crystal clear.

"It should say, 'I hereby vote to authorize to sue the town.' It should have clear objectives and the board members should know exactly what it should cost the taxpayers. After listening to the tape from the board of health [meeting] in February, it is clear that none of these things even occurred to them."

The board of health will meet at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the health department.