West Deptford Committee Stands Mum on Sunoco Settlement

The West Deptford township committee isn't budging.

Despite being under fire from Gloucester County officials seeking more information on the $15 million settlement with Sunoco on and being hit by a lawsuit from a township resident for allegedly violating the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), the committee stayed mostly silent on the issue at Thursday night's work session.

Most of what was said came from a lengthy statement from Mayor Ray Chintall, which rehashed many of the same points—including the committee's inability to comment on pending legal matters—that have come up since last week's approval of the settlement.

He touched on , as well as the OPMA lawsuit, saying the township is committed to following state guidelines.

“Compliance to the law is paramount in my mind and the rest of the committee,” Chintall said.

To that end, Chintall said the public portion of County Counsel Matthew Lyons' OPRA request has been fulfilled, but a request for closed-session minutes and supporting documents for the settlement won't be released until final approval of the deal.

“This governing body will not jeopardize the future negotiating capabilities of the residents of this township by revealing the details of this settlement of this litigation until we know that this deal is finalized,” Chintall said.

As for , Chintall said there's still no comment from him or the rest of the committee.

Chintall also criticized the state's Business Retention Act, a 1992 law he said plays a huge role in the move to a quick settlement. Facing a Feb. 14 court date on Sunoco's appeal of the Eagle Point assessment, Chintall said the Business Retention Act and its effects on that assessment prompted the move to try to reach a settlement, rather than risk “another massacre on Valentine's Day.”

“Action was necessary,” he said.

While Chintall reiterated there wouldn't be any further comment on the specifics of the Sunoco settlement, there was some dissent among the committee members.

Committeewoman Denice DiCarlo questioned whether anything could be disclosed about the deal, given the public concern.

“Is there any information we can give the public at all about the tax impact?” she asked.

Solicitor Anthony Ogozalek said he'd ultimately defer to the township's attorney for special tax appeals, John Lloyd, but beyond the $15 million figure, he said it would be best to keep things close to the vest.

“Not until it's been signed by a judge,” Ogozalek said.

And beyond that, committeeman Sam Cianfarini pointed out that the tax rate's affected by more than just the Sunoco settlement, and budget discussions currently underway could have more of an effect, depending on what the term of the repayment for the Sunoco settlement ends up being.

“I think it'd be way premature to say anything about the tax impact,” Cianfarini said.

The full version of Chintall's statement, as it was presented to members of the press, is attached above as a PDF.