To pay or not to pay.
That’s a question the Board of Selectmen is wrangling with.
Since November, the board has been going back and forth over a $19,259 legal bill submitted to the town by former Planning and Zoning Chairman Vincent Vizzo Jr.
The bill was sent to the town by Westport Attorney Alexander Trembicki, who represented Vizzo in an ethics complaint filed against him last July by Oxford resident Richard Kopf.
Because Teodosio could not represent Vizzo and the Board of Ethics at the same time, Selectmen advised Vizzo to hire his own attorney.
Last week the Board of Selectmen met with Town Counsel Fran Teodosio but could not make a decision on whether to pay the bill.
They forwarded it to the full Board of Selectmen meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall.
On Nov. 17, the Board of Ethics found that Vizzo had violated the Town of Oxford Code of Ethics in that he did not disclose to the Planning and Zoning Commission his personal business relationship with Town Planner Brian Miller (an independent contractor) when he recommended giving Miller a raise at PZC’s April 3, 2008 meeting, according to the Board of Ethics minutes.
According to the minutes, the Board of Ethics viewed this as “a technical violation,’’ of the code and recommended to the Board of Selectmen that it (selectmen) “take no action with regard to Mr. Vizzo.’’
Selectman David McKane, a Democat, said Tuesday that the board is not questioning whether the town should pay for an attorney to represent Vizzo.
“The town should pay for an attorney to represent him because we are legally obligated to do so, but not at this cost. This bill is excessive,’’ he said.
Former Selectman Augie Palmer, a Republican, agreed. “The bill is too high. Don’t pay,’’ he said.
First Selectwoman MaryAnn Drayton-Rogers said town officials have some questions about the bill and said it is about double what the board feels Vizzo should have paid.
Trembicki, who spoke on behalf of Vizzo, said he has had some conversations with town officials about the bill in the last week and is now awaiting its payment.
“Our position is that the town should pay this bill and we’re hoping it’s settled as soon as possible,’’ he said.
Vizzo did not receive the backing of the Republican Town Committee to run again for the Planning and Zoning Commission. He ran for re-election as a petitioning candidate and lost.
Vizzo had sat on the commission for 14 years.
