Health Board Denies Conflict of Interest

Members of Hopatcong's board of health fended off its president's objections and ethical questions regarding employing the borough council's attorney as its own legal representative at Wednesday's meeting at the .

The health board voted, 6-1, to make John Ursin of Courter Kobert & Cohen its attorney. Ursin didn't attend the meeting.

After board President Mariano Gianni—the only "no" vote—refused to read the resolution appointing Ursin, board alternate Richard Bunce, who's also a councilman, recited the resolution into the record, saying twice that costs for Ursin's appointment would be covered through his current retainer.

Meaning, it wouldn't require extra taxpayer dollars, Bunce said.

But that wasn't before Gianni and resident Mara Modes expressed concerns.

Modes, a Democratic write-in council candidate, said that "since the board of health is supposed to be an autonomous body, isn't that a conflict of interest?" Bunce, running for council re-election in November, then asked in reply: "Whose interest is it conflicting with?"

Bunce added later, "We're not necessarily an autonomous board in the way you're talking. We have the authority to appoint whatever attorney we wish."

When Modes asked the board why Ursin, whose represented the council for years, wasn't appointed as the board's attorney sooner, Gianni said it was because previous boards would have considered the appointments conflicts of interest.

Board member Mike Francis, who's also a councilman, said changes in Hopatcong have removed possible conflicts of interest that could have arisen if Ursin was named board attorney. The biggest reason, Francis said, was because Hopatcong shared its health department with Sussex County in 2009.

Francis also said Franklin is the only Sussex County town that doesn't use its council attorney for health board business.

The move comes more than a month after the . The suit alleged Mayor Sylvia Petillo and the council broke state laws.

Attorney Phillip George of Eric M. Bernstein & Associates represented the board of health in the lawsuit. Hopatcong has contended the board not only didn't have the power to sue the borough, but that the board also didn't have the budget to consult or hire a lawyer.

Hiring Ursin also comes after Petillo said the board of health would become a council-run entity, filling the vacated or expired seats of current members with council members.

"We're confident that's not a conflict of interest and that the borough will be adequately represented," Francis said.

Board of health vice president Thom Forbes and board member Joel Servoss each didn't attend the meeting Wednesday. Forbes and Gianni, running on the same platform, , also a board of health alternate.