Title
Dept/ Agency: Office of the Mayor/Municipal Court
Action: (X) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Professional Service Contract
Purpose: Visiting Judges to preside over Court sessions in the event of the unavailability of the Newark Municipal Court’s full-time judges.
Entity Name:
1. Honorable Michael A. Hackett, J.M.C.
2. Honorable Chandra L. Rainey Cole, J.M.C.
3. Honorable Wilfredo Benitez, J.M.C.
4. Honorable Marvin Thomas Braker, J.M.C.
5. Honorable Lindal Louise Scott Foster, J.M.C.
6. Honorable Steven Brister, J.M.C.
7. Honorable Rashidah N. Hasan, J.M.C.
8. Honorable Samantha Mendenhall, J.M.C.
9. Honorable Rhea L. Moore, J.M.C.
10. Honorable Theresa Pollard, J.M.C.
11. Honorable Farrah Irving, J.M.C.
Entity Address: See Exhibit A attached
Contract Amount: Not to exceed $175,000.00
Funding Source: 2024 Budget/Office of the Mayor, Municipal
Court/NW011-010-0107-A-71280-2024
Contract Period: January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024
Contract Basis: ( ) Bid ( ) State Vendor (X) Prof. Ser. ( ) EUS
( ) Fair & Open ( ) No Reportable Contributions ( ) RFP ( ) RFQ
( ) Private Sale ( ) Grant ( ) Sub-recipient ( ) n/a
Additional Information:
As authorized by Cross-Assignment Order of the New Jersey Superior Court Assignment Judge for Essex County Vicinage.
body
WHEREAS, the Newark Municipal Court (the “Newark Municipal Court”) wishes to retain the services of Visiting Municipal Court Judges (the “Visiting Judges”) to preside over court sessions in the event of the unavailability of the Newark Municipal Court’s full-time judges due to illness and vacations; and
WHEREAS, the Cross-Assignment Order from the New Jersey Superior Court Assignment Judge for Essex County has authorized all Municipal Court Judges in Essex County be designated as Acting Municipal Court Judges for every Municipal Court; and
WHEREAS, Visiting Judges are considered a professional service, which is exempt from the requirements of public bidding pursuant to the Local Public Contracts Law, more specifically N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5(1)(a)(i); and
WHEREAS, the Local Public Contracts Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.) requires that notice of the award of contracts for “Professional Services” without competitive bidding must be published in a local newspaper; and
WHEREAS, the Contract is for an amount over $17,500.00 and is being award pursuant to a “Non-Fair and Open Process” pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.5; and
WHEREAS, the Visiting Judges have completed and submitted a Business Entity Disclosure Certification, which certifies that it has not made any reportable contributions to a political or a candidate committee in the City of Newark in the previous one (1) year, and that the Contract will prohibit the Visiting Judges from making any reportable contributions through the term of the Contract; and
WHEREAS, the Newark Municipal Court wishes to utilize the services of the Visiting Judges, pursuant to the Cross-Assignment Order, to preside over court sessions in the event any of the Newark Municipal Court’s full-time judges are not available, and enter into a Professional Services Contract in an amount not to exceed One Hundred Seventy Five Thousand Dollars and Zero Cents ($175,000.00).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The Chief Judge of Newark Municipal Court is authorized to utilize the Judges listed below to perform the services of Visiting Judges and
preside over court sessions in Newark Municipal Court, as needed, in
the event of the unavailability of the full-time Judges for the period of
January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024:
1. Honorable Michael A. Hackett, J.M.C.
2. Honorable Chandra L. Rainey Cole, J.M.C.
3. Honorable Wilfredo Benitez, J.M.C.
4. Honorable Marvin Thomas Braker, J.M.C.
5. Honorable Lindal Louise Scott Foster, J.M.C.
6. Honorable Steven Brister, J.M.C.
7. Honorable Rashidah N. Hasan, J.M.C.
8. Honorable Samantha Mendenhall, J.M.C.
9. Honorable Rhea L. Moore, J.M.C.
10. Honorable Theresa Pollard, J.M.C.
11. Honorable Farrah Irving, J.M.C.
2. The compensation for the Visiting Judge, upon submission and
approval of the Chief Judge of invoice/timesheet shall be at the rate of
$450.00 per day (herein defined as three (3) or more hours per day) or
$300.00 for half day (herein defined as less than (3) hours per day).
The total amount of the contract shall not exceed $175,000.00.
3. The contract is ratified from January 1, 2024 to the date of adoption of
this authorizing Resolution.
4. This Contract is awarded without competitive bidding as a Professional Service in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5(1)(a)(i) of the Local Public Contracts, and is awarded pursuant to the “Non-Fair and Open Process” of the State Pay to Play Law (N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.5)
4. This contract is awarded as an open-ended contract, pursuant to
N.J.S.A.5:30-5.5(b)(2). Pursuant to N.J.A.C.5:30-5.5(a)(2), attached
hereto are partial Certifications of Funds from the Director of the
Department of Finance, which states that funds in the amount of
$7,000.00, per Visiting Judge is available in the 2024 Temporary Budget. The remainder of the funding for this Contract will be subject to appropriation in the 2024 Budget
5. The authorization to utilize the list of Visiting Judges
is hereby ratified from January 1, 2024, until the date of adoption of this authorizing Resolution.
STATEMENT
This Resolution ratifies and authorizes the Chief Judge of the Newark Municipal Court to utilize Visiting Judges, pursuant to Cross-Assignment Order of the New Jersey Superior Court for Essex County, to preside over court sessions in the event any of the Newark Municipal Court’s full-time judges are not available for the period of January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024, for an amount not to exceed $175,000.00.