From The Press of Atlantic City — ”I’m still so mad at myself. It’s ludicrous. The taxpayers should not be responsible for something like this.”

That’s what Committeewoman Kathy Chasey said in 1996, after voting to have the township pay the legal bill for a colleague investigated for misconduct.

At Tuesday’s public meeting, she cast a deciding vote to reimburse Mayor William Kennedy $1,000 for contesting an assault allegation, and when reminded of her quote, Chasey laughed.

“Our words come back to bite us, don’t they?” asked the former mayor, who was a first-year committee member in 1996. “I guess, after 13 years there, you come to realize that somebody should not be responsible for a legal bill that comes out of circumstances when they’re found not guilty.”

Mullica resident Lou Vitale filed a criminal complaint against Kennedy on May 13, saying the Democratic mayor punched him in the gallbladder at the previous night’s school board meeting. Kennedy’s counter-complaint accused Vitale of harassing him.

Folsom Judge Frank J. Raso tried the case Oct. 20, dismissing all charges.

Kennedy then said he intended to ask his four fellow committee members to add Pleasantville attorney Steven J. Feldman’s fees to the township’s bill list. A state law allows governments to “indemnify” a public official, paying legal bills and damages, provided he or she was acting in the public capacity in the context of the case.

“I’m never acting as a private citizen. I’m the mayor of Mullica 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Kennedy said after the allegations became known.

Committeewoman Janet Forman said during the case that if Kennedy was discussing township business during the confrontation, that qualifies. Committeeman Bernard Graebener agreed, and the Democrat joined Republicans Forman and Chasey in a majority “yes” vote Tuesday while Kennedy abstained.

“I felt that Bill’s appearance at that meeting was part of his official duty. The fact that he was found not guilty would obligate the township to pay for his attorney fees. I felt I had to follow the law. I couldn’t make a value judgment,” Graebener said Thursday.

Deputy Mayor Michael St. Amour, a Democrat, witnessed the Kennedy-Vitale incident and testified in court, corroborating Vitale’s account. He said in May he didn’t consider it part of the mayor’s duties to “grab and shove” someone.

When the trial ended, St. Amour predicted Kennedy could not win majority approval to pay his bill if he recused himself, apparently believing Graebener wouldn’t vote in favor. Instead, St. Amour cast the lone “no” vote.

Kennedy said Thursday he gave Feldman $1,000 as a down payment, and he estimates he’ll be billed for another $1,500. That, too, will go on the township’s bill list.