Dover Township: Three lawyers were paid to attend the same council meeting, but not one of them was up to answering a simple question posed for the second time in a month by Holiday City senior community leader Walter Seymour.

$104,765 Wasted On "Administrator" For $528G Grant

Seymour wants to know how the Republican Council and the Democratic mayor can justify an expenditure of $104,765 for administration services on a federal Community Development Block grant that is only $528,000 to begin with.

Seymour noted that township attorney Mark Troncone admitted at a council meeting three weeks ago that township employees administer the grant operations "on a day-to-day basis."

The $104,765 expenditure was described by Seymour as "another outrage by an administration that appears determined to waste taxpayers money every time it gets the chance."

"Another Outrage" By Brush & GOP Council? Kubiel Tries To Defend The "Outrage" - Then Clams Up

Councilman Brian Kubiel tried to defend the expenditure, saying the $104,765 was spent "to secure the grant and have it done," a representation that was apparently not quite true.

The "administrator" was hired after the township obtained the grant from the federal government.

Local governments are entitled to the block grants every year and routinely anticipate the revenue in annual budgets. "That's what we have congressmen for," another citizen noted.

Kubiel tried to amend his statement, saying "the original gr • • " but suddenly stopped in his tracks, as the reader will note from the attached OCP video.

Brush Implies Cagliostro Was Involved

Mayor Paul Brush admitted the $104,765 was "set aside for the administration of the grant money," and when Seymour pressed the issue, claimed the matter had something to do with the status of former township engineer Lawrence Cagliostro.

"We had no idea Mr. Cagliostro was retiring," Brush claimed, a statement that, once again, strained the mayor's credibility.

There are at least a dozen township employees who could easily administer the grant without adding additional expense for "administration," so the money, arguably, was "entirely wasted," Seymour suggested after the May 24th meeting.

Cagliostro Now Gets $70,000 Pension
And Sends In Monthly Vouchers To Boot

Cagliostro has been retired for months; he now has a contract with the township where, in addition to his $70,000 pension, he is paid by the hour for "engineering services."

Brush promised to have answers to Seymour's questions "within a few weeks."

This article prepared for publication 5/28/05.