Closed Session Denials Cause Public Backlash for Committee

Controversy over whether committee members-elect qualify for closed sessions before their swearing-in came to a head at West Deptford’s committee meeting Thursday night.

Republicans Ray Chintall and Sam Cianfarini, who were kept out of a closed session the previous week involving a presentation from solar developer Ray Angelini Inc., were denied again, this time to a closed session dealing with information on pending tax appeals by Sunoco.

Chintall said he understood it was ultimately the decision of the committee as to whether he and Cianfarini would be allowed in, but stressed he and Cianfarini need to know what they’re getting into, with just weeks left before the final transition to a new government.

“That’s all we’re asking—not to go blindly into the new year,” he said.

Several residents sided with him, and came up to express their disbelief the two men would be barred from the closed session, a move several said went against common sense.

Ernest Kraus said a tax appeal the size of Sunoco’s—which Deputy Mayor Len Daws had pegged as potentially around $40 million—demanded the incoming committee members know the details as soon as possible.

“I think it would be a disservice to the citizens of this township…that two committeepeople-elect not be given all this information to be able to evaluate when this thing comes down,” he said.

Mayor Anna Docimo said she’s simply following the rules, and added this isn’t the first time committee members who have been elected, but not sworn in, have been denied access to closed sessions.

“The same exact thing happened with me when I was elected," she said. “I was not sworn into office, I could not go into the closed session.”

From a legal standpoint, township solicitor Michael Angelini said there isn’t anything in state law that specifically permits non-seated officials to participate in closed sessions before being sworn in.

The township committee could opt to allow them in, however, Angelini said, but Docimo raised concerns about the potential ramifications of allowing in people who aren’t sworn members of the committee.

“This is a process I guess maybe should be changed through the state or through legislation, but it’s not changed presently,” she said. “Until it’s changed, we’ve got rules to follow.”

Despite that, John Schmidt, a self-described government watchdog from Gloucester City, asked to know where in state law it prohibits committee members-elect from closed sessions.

“The election has been certified—they should be in there with you,” he said.

Terry Holovachuk, however, took issue with both the idea of letting Cianfarini and Chintall into closed session, as well as allowing them access to the requests for proposals information from professional firms bidding for township services. She said giving them that inch was a mistake in the first place, since they haven’t been sworn in to their positions on the committee.

“If they go into closed session with you, I want to go into closed session with you,” she said.

While the committee ultimately denied Chintall and Cianfarni access to the closed session, after it was finished, township administrator Eric Campo said there was no action taken, given the closed session was essentially just an updating of the committee on where the tax appeals currently stand.

Campo said the Sunoco cases—there are at least eight appeals currently on the docket this year, each dealing with a separate piece of the Eagle Point property—could head to trial at some point in the early part of next year.

And while there are various appeals dating back to the 1980s with Eagle Point, Campo said the focus is on Sunoco’s taxes from 2004 through 2011.

In the lead-up to that court action, Campo said the township is assembling its experts and getting its legal team in place to fight the appeal.

“We’re pursuing all options,” he said.

Campo couldn’t speak to specifics on the appeals, given the pending litigation.