Why is the mayor placing all the blame for the lawsuits on the town council?

Because he doesn't want the community to notice how deep his involvement is. The mayor and police chief were aware of the planned expansion of the ultra-orthodox community prior to Sept 2016, long before the eruv was illegally installed. The attached emails prove this. Mayor Laforet also expressed interest in strengthening our town's park ordinances and implementing a no-knock registry and asked the council to prioritize these actions. See the attached emails. It seems he was hurrying to get the signs and ordinances rushed through before the eruv was installed. But ordinances take time for discussion and the council and legal team simply couldn't get these things accomplished prior to July. So when the media and out of town residents started to falsely claim in July that Mahwah is anti-semitic and bigoted, Bill Laforet changed his tune and stated that the entire council should resign for attempting to implement the ordinances that he suggested. It's no wonder the town is so divided. Our leader is not leading. He is too busy protecting his democratic reputation that he is throwing his own council and community under the bus. We must stand up against this bully. We know who we are despite the lies the media — and our own mayor — are spreading about us.