Winds Of Change Shake Up Montclair Town Government – Again

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The winds of change continue to blow through the top levels of Montclair’s municipal government.

The Montclair Town Council voted unanimously to approve Michael Lapolla as the new interim township manager during their special meeting on Tuesday. The vote came without the participation of two council members, who walked out of the meeting in protest over an alleged lack of transparency in the selection process.

Watch the full video of the meeting here.

When Lapolla takes the reins on Aug. 14, Montclair will have had four people occupy the town manager’s seat within the past five months.

Timothy Stafford was removed from his position in April amid accusations that he created an abusive workplace that cost the town some key female employees. Read More: Montclair Town Manager Gets The Boot; Council Votes To Remove Stafford

Brian Scantlebury took over as acting town manager when Stafford was removed. He’s now listed on the municipal website as deputy township manager.

In July, the council voted 4-3 on a resolution that temporarily put former town manager Joseph Hartnett back in the hot seat. Read More: Hartnett Takes Over As Town Manager In Montclair

Hartnett, the executive managing director at Government Strategy Group, was hired at a salary of $1 per week. He will now be passing the torch to Lapolla, who will earn $10,000 a month as a temporary employee without benefits.

The search for a full-time manager is expected to take several months.

The resolution approving Lapolla as interim town manager saw “yes” votes from Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller and council members Peter Yacobellis, Robin Schlager and Lori Price Abrams. Deputy Mayor Bill Hurlock was absent from the meeting.

Council members Bob Russo and David Cummings left the council chambers in protest before the vote was taken.

Russo expressed his displeasure with the selection process in an email on July 30 to Hartnett, which was also shared with Scantlebury, interim town attorney Paul Burr and assistant town attorney Gina DeVito.

“I have known Michael Lapolla since his days working for my political mentor and friend, Sen. Bill Bradley, who I even supported for president when I was running for mayor in 2000,” Russo wrote, adding that he “really doesn’t need to interview” Lapolla – although he’d like the chance to speak to him before he takes over as interim town manager.

“But what I do not like is this whole non-transparent and non-inclusive process and the musical chairs of changing managers every month,” Russo continued. “We have been through Stafford, to Scantlebury, to Hartnett and now a new ‘interim manager,’ beginning a search for a permanent manager just 11 months before our terms end.”

According to Russo, the town should have “left a fine deputy manager in charge” while the search for a permanent replacement continued – regardless of who carried it out.

“We should not be spending money we need for our schools and senior programs on another layer of administration at this time,” Russo said.

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“I’ve shared my concerns about how we got to this point,” Cummings said prior to the vote. “And looking back, I truly believe that there are several procedural flaws that must be discussed publicly before a vote is taken.”

Cummings said he has questions about a possible conflict of interest in approving Hartnett as interim town manager at the same time the council was approving a contract with Government Strategy Group.

Watch his comments in the following video (cued to the discussion). Article continues below.

Hartnett spoke about Cummings’ concerns during the meeting.

“Surprisingly enough, I actually agree with councilor Cummings that I have a conflict of interest,” Hartnett said. “And I had already informed the township attorney that I felt I had a conflict of interest while I’m serving as interim manager dealing with anything [involving] the business of the firm I’m associated with.”

Hartnett said he passed along Lapolla’s resume as part of the selection process, but said it wasn’t a conflict of interest because it “could have come from me from either position – so it really didn’t matter.”

“With the exception of that one thing … I have refrained and recused myself from being involved in anything that has to do with the business of the firm and the Township of Montclair while I am serving as the interim manager,” Hartnett said.

Watch his comments in the following video (cued to the discussion).

Other council members spoke about Russo and Cummings’ concerns after they left the meeting in protest.

“I don't like the spectacle that went on tonight,” Peter Yacobellis criticized.

“You know, some of us have never missed a vote,” he continued. “If you don't agree with or don't support what we're doing – what a majority decides to do on any given council meeting – you still stay here and do the job.”

“Everything that we have been doing is completely legitimate and completely legal,” Yacobellis said. “You can disagree with it, you can not like the outcome. But you cannot say that it's not legitimate. And you should not abdicate your responsibility and leave the council chamber and leave your responsibility in terms of representing your constituents.”

Lori Price Abrams said that Hartnett notified each council member about Lapolla as a possible interim replacement on July 20, and that they were all given a chance to “get on a Zoom” with Lapolla – and some of the council chose to take the opportunity.

Watch their comments in the following video (cued to the discussion).

During the public comment portion of the meeting, several residents spoke about their desire for a more stable township government, a transparent selection process for the town manager, and better cooperation and civil discourse all around.

Watch the footage below (video is cued to public comment).

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