Rajsz: “… an expert on
retainer …”
MONTICELLO – A costly suit filed by Orthodox Jewish plaintiffs in Bloomingburg who claimed they were victims of discrimination in recent elections, will cost the county even more.
The Sullivan County Legislature, meeting in executive committee, said
it will consider retaining special legal counsel to deal specifically
with election issues in the village. That followed committee action
on a resolution to enter into an agreement with a court-appointed monitor
for the Board of Elections.
Former appellate Judge Carmel Ciparick is the monitor. She was agreed to by both the County Attorney’s office and attorneys representing the Orthodox voters.
Legislator Nadia Rajsz, whose district includes Bloomingburg, made the suggestion, calling it a general recommendation.
“We have experts in the field for other agencies in the Government Center,” Rajsz noted. “And I think the Board of Elections does need to have an expert on retainer, not to be here on staff 24/7 but when they need to have a question answered, that they have the availability and expertise of this individual.”
County Attorney Cheryl McCausland was not certain this was needed, saying the general task of her office is to handle legal issues facing county agencies.
“I am not sitting here convinced that the board, the legislative board, is involved in matters,” McCausland said.
She added that if the legislature believes special legal expertise is needed, whoever is retained should work with her office.
This could prove very expensive. The resolution states that “… the hourly rate for Monitor Ciparick shall not exceed $750.00/hr.” By court order, the monitor remains in place for five years, through March 2, 2021.
The cost of retaining special counsel would be in addition to that. And all of that is on top of the $575,000 the county is paying to settle the lawsuit.
The county will also print ballots and voting materials in Yiddish, for Bloomingburg, starting with the presidential primary in April.
