BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

HOWELL — The Township Council has voted to eliminate the services of two paid economic development consultants.

The two firms, MGR Resources and MB Gluck Shaw, currently under contract to Howell, each receive $48,000 annually, according to municipal officials.

The services of MB Gluck Shaw were retained this year. MGR Resources, and more specifically its chief officer Barry Lefkowitz, have been working for Howell for almost seven years.

The elimination of the positions followed a discussion initiated by Councilman Juan Malave who clashed with fellow Councilman Peter Tobasco over the elimination of Lefkowitz’s position.

As he has in the past when the matter was discussed, Malave continued to contend that Lefkowitz was being credited with bringing commercial development to Howell that would have come regardless of the consultant’s involvement.

According to Malave, it is Howell’s demographics that have attracted the large commercial ratables now lining Route 9 and not one person’s individual’s efforts.

Tobasco said while there was merit to the argument that businesses will come to town regardless of whether Howell had an economic development consultant, that view was missing the point. According to Tobasco, desirable businesses based on the west coast that are looking to move east could be persuaded to come to Howell if their directors knew to look there.

“If you’re from California you may not have heard of Howell,” said Tobasco, who said that is why the township benefited from someone like Lefkowitz, an established consultant with national connections who works to persuade such entities to choose a particular town.

Tobasco said at a time when council members were making budget cuts due to revenue concerns, they should not be taking actions that would reduce or eliminate the continued efforts of a professional who brings in commercial ratables that offset the residential tax base.

According to Tobasco, Lefkowitz can be credited with bringing in an additional $2.5 million to Howell’s commercial tax rolls. Tobasco said compared with what Lefkowitz has been paid, he has generated a 10-to-1 return.

“The revenues brought by him pay for his position,” the councilman said.

The other four council members disagreed with that position and the vote to eliminate Lefkowitz’s position followed the discussion.

However, in stating he recognized that desirable commercial ratables must be deftly and expeditiously handled, Mayor Joseph M. DiBella put on for discussion at the council’s next workshop meeting the possibility of developing an ordinance that would provide for the position of an economic development consultant who would be paid by the commercial entity soliciting to open its business in Howell.

DiBella said the venture could be viable if commercial entities saw the need for an overseer to see projects through to completion.

The mayor’s suggestion for the economic development consultant ordinance followed an exchange between Councilwoman Cynthia Schomaker and Township Manager Bruce Davis over her suggestion that Lefkowitz’s duties be taken over by Davis and his staff.

Telling Schomaker “there are only so many hours in a day,” Davis also voiced consternation over the continuing cuts being made by the mayor and council of personnel whose services were going to have to be performed anyway.

Noting that the council had already eliminated the deputy manager position for which finance officer Jeffrey Filiatreault had been receiving a $15,000 stipend, Davis said, “I really start to wonder what is afoot here.”

In response to Schomaker’s continuing query as to whether he could assume the duties of an economic development consultant, Davis said, “It’s unrealistic to think you’ll get the same service from in-house staff,” adding of the additional workload, “I suppose [if] you load enough on, I’ll cave in.”

The votes on Howell’s two economic development consultants were taken separately. Tobasco voted with the other council members to terminate MB Gluck Shaw, and was the lone dissenter on the vote to also terminate Lefkowitz’s firm.

Speaking of Lefkowitz’s expertise, Tobasco said the township only stood to continue to benefit from his efforts.

“He’s not someone whose legs you want to cut off,” the councilman said.

Karen Leshak, the president of the Howell Chamber of Commerce, told the Tri-Town News that regardless of who is retained to fill the position, an economic development consultant is necessary to ensure proper commercial development.

“We want clean, desirable ratables. That is what a rainmaker does,” Leshak said.

Malave said he does not mind pursuing DiBella’s suggestion for an ordinance creating a paid economic development consultant’s position paid for by a commercial entity, except, he said, that he does not want it to be Lefkowitz.

The council is expected to discuss DiBella’s idea at a future meeting.