Early this year, longtime Fire District attorney Kate Sendzik submitted a resignation letter citing an “increasingly complex and fragmented” Board of Commissioners. She said it was “difficult to give advice” and this left her feeling “ineffective” as Counsel. Unsurprisingly, Ms. Sendzik did not respond to The Mount Holly Reporter about why it was difficult to give advice, but today’s court order may be a clue.
Judge Terrence Cook ruled that Commissioner June Gaskill, who is married to a District employee, had a conflict of interest when she voted on appointment of the Fire Department Director. That’s because in the words of the Judge:
The law is well-settled that public officials must abstain not just in cases of actual bias, but whenever the potential or appearance of a conflict of interest is present. Commissioner Gaskill’s participation and affirmative vote for the appointment of the Director violated the Local Government Ethics Law and common law conflict principles.
Accordingly, Resolution 2025-10 appointing Jason R. Carty as Director of Fire Services, and any employment contract entered with him, are declared void ab initio. Defendants are enjoined from permitting Commissioner Gaskill to participate in any future vote or official act as a Commissioner on matters involving the appointment, employment, or supervision of any position potentially exercising authority over her spouse while he remains a District employee.
And so, the Fire Department is once again without a Director. But perhaps worse, the District wasted its money on a lawsuit that it lost and wasted its candidate search and interviews, which will have to be repeated. This erodes public trust in the administration of the Department. Perhaps this episode will convince the Commissioners to actually listen to the public, many of whom advised that their procedures were faulty and their actions were in violation of both the Open Public Meetings Act [“Sunshine Law”] and the Local Government Ethics Law.