JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP — The Township of Jefferson announced today that the Superior Court of New Jersey, Morris County, has issued a Final Judgment of Dismissal in case MRS-L-001085-25, formally ending litigation brought against the Township on May 18, 2025, by a self-proclaimed citizen group, Concerned Citizens for a Better Jefferson. The Court filed its decision on August 22, 2025, denying the Order to Show Cause and granting the Township’s motion for dismissal.
Oral arguments and motions filed by both the Township of Jefferson (defendant) and the plaintiff, Concerned Citizens for a Better Jefferson, were heard by the Honorable Judge Stuart Minkowitz in Morris County Superior Court on July 7, 2025.
This ruling by Judge Minkowitz confirms that the Township and the named defendants acted appropriately within the law, dismissing all counts regarding alleged violations of the Township Salary Ordinance, the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), and the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) in their entirety. With the plaintiffs’ motions denied and the case dismissed, the matter is now fully resolved in favor of Jefferson Township, sparing its taxpayers from prolonged, unnecessary, and expensive litigation.
Within Judge Minkowitz’s 20-page Final Judgement of Dismissal, he found that the plaintiff(s) lacked legal standing in the matters before the Court. It was revealed that Concerned Citizens for a Better Jefferson was not a “duly formed organization.”. It appears this made-up name was intentionally created to conceal the identity of the actual plaintiff(s). During and after the July 7 oral arguments, the plaintiff’s attorney attempted to amend the lawsuit by adding a single individual, identified in filings as Robert Vander Ploeg, Jr.
Mayor Eric F. Wilsusen issued the following statement: “As I said publicly on June 3, public trust is essential. My administration takes community concerns seriously and operates with transparency and accountability, while vigorously defending against claims we believe are inaccurate or mischaracterized. I believed then—and am even more certain now—that this civil action was politically motivated, designed to embarrass me and my administration for future political ambitions.
As Mayor, I was confident from the start that no laws were violated by my Administration or by the Township Clerk’s office. Sadly, both the Township Administrator and the Township Clerk were also named personally in the civil suit, causing them unnecessary and undue stress from the pending litigation. What is troubling is this initial anonymous filing by the alleged concerned group—claiming to act in the interest of taxpayers—ultimately cost Jefferson taxpayers approximately $15,000–$20,000 or more, in direct and indirect costs, legal fees, and staff time, to defend what the Court found ultimately to be a baseless lawsuit. A final tally of costs is being conducted. That is time and money that should have been spent on real Township priorities.
I would like to sincerely thank the many residents who have reached out to offer their support throughout this matter. I am disappointed that some jumped to premature conclusions before all the facts were revealed.
Since my election in 2018, and even more importantly over my 40+ years in public service to our community, I have remained committed to serving our community with integrity, and I will continue to do so.”.
In the interest of transparency, all court documents related to this case are available for public reviewed by clicking here.
