WURTSBORO — In a move to stem what it perceives as negative publicity, the Town of Mamakating Town Board last Saturday voted to hire the Washington, DC-based West End Strategy Team, a PR firm.

Supervisor Bill Herrmann and board members voted unanimously to hire the firm “to advise and assist the Town in support of litigation, to discredit and rebut false statements and claims made against the Town, its officials and residents, and to promote the general welfare of the Town, at a cost not to exceed $25,000.”

Much of this publicity, Hermann noted, stems from the various lawsuits developer Shalom Lamm has filed against the town. Plaintiffs, the resolution charged, “use the media and spokesmen in an effort to denigrate the Town of Mamakating, and its officials and residents who object to certain plaintiffs' actions.”

Various publications were cited for sloppy journalism. See more in the March 31 paper.