Two months after former Mayor Dana Redd’s indictment, Camden lawmakers lift a cap on taxpayer money for officials’ legal defense

Two months after former Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd was indicted on state racketeering charges alongside Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III, city lawmakers voted to lift a cap on the amount of taxpayer money that can be allocated toward current and former officials’ legal defense.

City Council on Tuesday passed an ordinance that would authorize “reasonable attorneys’ fees” for current and former public officials in certain circumstances. That’s a change from existing law, which sets a maximum amount of money that may be allocated as provided in a city “reimbursement schedule.” The 2002 law set that rate at $125 an hour, officials say.

The ordinance does not elaborate on what would constitute “reasonable” fees. However, it says any dispute over the matter between the city and the current or former public official would be referred to a “neutral mediator,” who would make a recommendation.

As lawmakers discussed the matter, Council’s attorney, Howard McCoach, acknowledged that the legislation did not place a limit on the total amount of money that may be reimbursed. “There is no cap,” he said, adding that it aligns with state law.

Lawmakers did not say what prompted the legislation, and there was no mention of Redd’s case until a resident brought it up. Redd’s attorney, Henry Klingeman, declined to comment when asked whether his client intended to seek reimbursement from the city.

“We’re just amending a little bit,” said Council member Arthur Barclay, who introduced the ordinance. “It’s nothing new.” He declined to discuss the legislation when approached by a reporter after the meeting.

Council member Christopher Collins, who abstained from the vote, asked whether the city had ever paid for a current or former official’s legal defense when it wasn’t required by law to do so.

“Not too sure,” Council President Angel Fuentes responded. McCoach replied, “I’m gonna guess and say yes.”

The ordinance passed 4-0. A member of the public later questioned the decision, pointing to the city’s long-standing fiscal problems.

It now heads to Mayor Victor Carstarphen’s desk. If the mayor signs the legislation into law, it would then be subject to approval by the state commissioner of community affairs, who oversees Camden’s finances. The city’s $214 million budget for 2024 anticipates $131 million in state aid.

Tuesday’s vote comes after a state grand jury in June accused Redd of participating in a criminal enterprise led by Norcross that used its influence over government entities — as well as threats of economic and reputational harm — to obtain real estate on the Camden waterfront, property rights, and related tax credits.

Norcross, Redd, and four other codefendants have pleaded not guilty. Their attorneys have said the charges are baseless. Redd, 56, served as mayor from 2010 to 2018, and before that as a City Council member and state senator.

The indictment, handed up by a grand jury in Trenton, says Redd helped Norcross and his allies — referred to by prosecutors as the “Norcross Enterprise” — in 2014 to force a nonprofit community organization called Cooper’s Ferry Partnership to sell its rights to an office complex known as L3 for less than they were worth.

After extorting the nonprofit, the indictment says, the “Norcross Enterprise” sought to remove Cooper’s Ferry CEO from his job through threats to his reputation and economic harm — in part to benefit Redd, whose term as mayor was nearing its end.

The CEO, Anthony Perno, agreed to resign. He was replaced by Kris Kolluri, who left his job as CEO of the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors. Then Redd was named to Kolluri’s old job.

Around the same time, the state Legislature passed a bill that “made this path financially lucrative” for Redd, according to the indictment.

A 2007 law barred newly elected officials from the pension system, placing them instead in a different retirement plan. So when Redd left the Senate and became mayor in 2010, her pension was frozen. Under the new legislation signed by Gov. Chris Christie, Redd was “one of a handful of people who was permitted to reenter the prior pension system,” the indictment says.

“This alone significantly increased the amount she would eventually be able to earn from her pension,” the indictment says, adding that this amount went up even more when she took the job at the university board, a state government position that paid $275,000 annually.

Redd’s attorney, Klingeman, has said the former mayor “looks forward to fighting these false allegations so she can reclaim her good name.”

At issue during City Council’s meeting Tuesday was Article II of Chapter 44 of the city code, which authorizes legal support for current and former employees “for proceedings brought against them for any acts or omissions arising out of and in the course of the performance of their duties as employees or public officials.”

While the city is sometimes required to provide legal defense, the legislation passed on Tuesday was limited to employees “who are not expressly entitled by New Jersey law” to have the costs of their defense covered by the city.

As in the existing ordinance, the new one would allow the city attorney to refuse to provide defense if he or she determines, among other things, that “the act or the failure to act was because of actual fraud, willful misconduct, or actual malice.”

The new legislation says that if the current or former employee pleads guilty or is found guilty of any criminal charges, the city attorney “may decline continued defense and seek reimbursement of attorneys’ fees and costs.”

Vince Basara, a city spokesperson, said the new ordinance mirrors a state law that also authorizes “reasonable” fees. That statute says state officers accused of crimes arising from their official duties can have their attorneys’ fees reimbursed if the charges are dismissed or the matter is otherwise resolved in their favor.

No current or former Camden employee is seeking reimbursement for attorneys’ fees “at this time,” Basara said.

This story has been updated to clarify the circumstances under which the New Jersey Legislature passed a bill that affected Dana Redd’s pension.