Pattye Benson

Community Matters

Pattye Benson

TESD Looming Deficit Continues to Rule Decisions . . . Property Taxes to Increase + Middle School Latin & German to Disappear

January 25, 2011
52 Comments

Last night was T/E School Board’s monthly meeting. I attended the Board of Supervisors Meeting but I am pleased to provide Ray Clarke’s notes. In reading Ray’s notes, I understand that the school district has to make difficult decisions but it is disheartening to see that the district made the decision to phase out Latin in the middle school (as well as German).

I have mentioned it before but will repeat, our daughter had 12 years of Latin before going to college and then to medical school. Latin proved to be a significant help to Lyndsey with other languages, science courses undergraduate and later in medical school, In medical school, her background in Latin provided a ‘bonus’ in the way of help; a foundation that some of her fellow students lacked. As a first year resident, her background in Latin continues to assist her daily. Beyond a medical career, there is much to be gained in life lessons through the study of Latin. My fear is that if the school district phases Latin from Middle School, the interest and enrollment will continue to go down for Latin in the high school. This is unfortunate news.

An interesting aside, I received an email from someone outside of the school district who is thinking about relocating to our area. In researching the school district, he had found Community Matters and had several questions, including whether we had an Earned Income Tax and rate of property taxes. He also wanted to know the timeline for teacher contract negotiations . . . interesting.

Notes from Ray Clarke from the T/E School Board Meeting:

Two important votes at a very well-attended School Board meeting on Monday night. (Good result from all the district Communication activities). Again, 5 to 4 to pursue the request for Exceptions to enable a 4.2% property tax increase. Also, 7 to 2 (Bookstaber, Buraks) to phase out middle school Latin and German.

Public comment on the Exceptions broke down into the usual extremes. I was taken by a small business owner who brought the perspective of the commercial properties that pay 20% of the education bill in T/E. When a small business revenue is down, these inexorable tax increases have a very real impact on the bottom line. On the other side, a parent commented on the choices that everyone makes on whether to live in T/E, implying that those who don’t like the property taxes should move. If we think the district has a crisis now, what would be the state if all the seniors are forced out and replaced by school-aged families?

Generally all members of the School Board that did speak (all except Bruce, Motel) were against tax increases; the majority favored keeping options open while more data is gathered. This position will of course be untenable when we get to the final vote (Proposed Final: May 9th, then Final: June 13th). One data point I’m interested in: the February 14th banker report to the Finance Committee on the Fund Balance, borrowing rates and debt capacity – hope springs eternal! Kevin Mahoney made very thoughtful comments (well, I agree with them, anyway) that everyone would do well to watch on the replay.

Much positioning re the next TEEA contract; it will be interesting to see how the talk (eg: fix the contract, abolish the matrix) translates into action. Also notable in this regard: President Cruickshank implied that the pension increases are “going to Harrisburg” – well not really, they are part of the compensation of teachers here in T/E – which we need to take into account when negotiating the other parts.

It was helpful to have the discussion about the Latin and German programs. Students and parents had actually been voting with their course selections: enrollment has been on a downtrend to small levels. Rich Brake encouraged the administration to take all possible steps to encourage selection of these languages in the High School, as many do for Italian and Chinese now. I do like the idea that the current focus is to really push for fluency.

The Board went to great lengths to emphasize that it values all community comments, so let’s make sure that all perspectives are heard, and that those perspectives are based on actual data, not emotion!

Sidewalks Subcommittee Presentation Off Tonight’s Supervisors Agenda

January 24, 2011
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Tonight’s Board of Supervisors meeting will not include Tory Snyder’s Sidewalk Subcommittee presentation on the agenda as previously advertised. I received a voice mail from Mimi Gleason stating that the sidewalks subcommittee presentation has been postponed to the next Board of Supervisors meeting on February 7. The stated reason for the change — Bob Lamina is away on business and unable to attend tonight’s meeting and EJ Richter is on vacation. There was a desire to have all the supervisors in attendance for the presentation and that would not be possible tonight. Interesting.

Next township meeting of importance this week . . . Personnel Committee (Bob Lamina, Phil Donahue, Michele Kichline) to interview the 4 supervisor candidates on Wednesday evening. Open to the public.

What do these things have in common . . . St. Davids Golf Club, Planning Commission, BAWG, Sidewalk Subcommittee, land development authority, STAP, Board of Supervisors?

January 20, 2011
22 Comments

What do these things have in common . . . St. Davids Golf Club, Planning Commission, BAWG, Sidewalk Subcommittee, land development authority, STAP, Board of Supervisors?

In looking at Tredyffrin’s Planning Commission agenda for tonight’s meeting, I discovered an interesting item listed under ‘new’ business — “Draft Amendment to the Subdivision & Land Development Ordinance”.

To understand the Planning Commission agenda item, you will need to recall a Board of Supervisors motion from this past December. At that meeting, Supervisor Bob Lamina questioned whether the Planning Commission should continue to have land development authority in the township . . . he thought that authority over land development should revert to the supervisors (as was the case many years ago). However, to make an ordinance change requires a public hearing, which is scheduled for February 28.

Here’s the significance of the Planning Commission agenda item . . . the Planning Commissioners are expected to draft the amendment that will relieve them of their land development authority and give that authority to the Board of Supervisors.

There are more connections. How many of you remember the community discontent and hostility over St. Davids Golf Club and the recommendation contained in the BAWG report suggesting the township accept $50K in lieu of building sidewalks. Even though there was a signed contract between the township and St. Davids requiring the sidewalks, the Board of Supervisors pushed through a motion to return the $25K escrow money to the country club; removing the sidewalk requirement. After much media publicity, many letters to the editor, accusations of Home Rule Charter violations, claims of deal-making and resident outrage, the Board of Supervisors reversed their earlier decision.

The reversal of the Board of Supervisors decision to return the escrow money had an interesting caveat attached. St. Davids escrow money and the decision to require the construction of sidewalks was put ‘on hold’ pending the outcome of the Sidewalks Subcommittee recommendations. At the same time the supervisors reversed their decision, they created a Sidewalks Subcommittee whose goal was to adopt a formal sidewalk policy to recommend to the Board of Supervisors. Members appointed to the joint subcommittee were supervisors (Phil Donahue, EJ Richter, Michele Kichline), Planning Commissioners (Tory Snyder, Bob Whalen, Trip Lukens) and representatives from Sidewalks, Trails and Paths ‘STAP’ (Sean Moir, Beth Brake, Jim Donegan).

If you are interested in the St. Davids Golf Club-BAWG report background, go to the top right of Community Matters and enter the words, St. Davids in search. Or for a particularly passionate post, read St. Davids Golf Club Decision Reversed but, . . . Was There Full Disclosure, Transparency, Deal-Making and the corresponding 68 comments. (click here for that specific post).

The Sidewalks Subcommittee began meeting last spring. I attended most of the meetings and was impressed by their efforts. The committee engaged community members through public meetings and accepted input from interested citizens. They created maps and conducted a township-wide survey to get a consensus on sidewalks, bike trails and paths needs throughout the township. Their analysis was thorough and thoughtful.

At their last meeting (which I attended), the Sidewalk Subcommittee summarized their findings in preparation for a presentation at the upcoming Monday, January 24 Board of Supervisors meeting. Chair of the Sidewalk Subcommittee and a Planning Commissioner, Tory Synder will make the presentation and deliver the committee’s recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.

Are the supervisors going to take the recommendations of the Sidewalk Subcommittee or will their efforts be ignored? Will the St. Davids sidewalk requirement currently ‘on hold’ affect the supervisor’s decision to accept the Sidewalk Subcommittee recommendations? Will the signed contract between the country club and the township remain intact?

Supervisor Michele Kichline is an attorney and served on the Sidewalks Subcommittee . . . Michele knows contract law; how will she guide her fellow supervisors?

Here’s the million-dollar question – Does the proposed ordinance change to remove land development authority from the Planning Commission to the Board of Supervisors have any relationship with the St. Davids sidewalk issue? Remember, the Planning Commissioners required the sidewalks as part of country club’s land development project.

Do some of the supervisors think that if they take back land development authority, they can override the Planning Commissioners decision to require St. Davids to build the sidewalk?

Why change the land development ordinance now? Just coincidental timing or is the ultimate goal to release the country club from their contractual agreement with the township.

The St. Davids Golf Club sidewalk business was a very hostile time in our local government’s history. When elected officials go behind a closed-door and make decisions, the perception can be as bad as the fact. Let’s keep the door open! Here is one resident who does not want to see another similar watershed moment . . . the citizens of Tredyffrin deserve better.

_______________________________________________________

Important Dates:

  • Planning Commission Meeting, Thursday, January 20, 7 PM
  • Board of Supervisors Meeting, Monday, January 24, 7:30 PM
  • Land Development Ordinance, Public Hearing, Monday, February 28, 7:30 PM

Chester County DA Candidate Steve Kelly Provides His Comments

January 19, 2011
2 Comments

Below are comments that I received from Steve Kelly, the third candidate in the Chester County District Attorney race. Mr. Kelly states that he was not given an opportunity to respond for the Daily Local article. If this is accurate, than I am particularly pleased to offer Mr. Kelly the forum for his remarks. Mr. Kelly mentions that the straw poll vote count is incorrect . . . can someone please provide the correct numbers?

There are two remaining Chester County Republican Committee interviews scheduled for the district attorney candidates, tonight and tomorrow nights. I understand the politics of this process but I am hopeful that committee people give all three candidates fair and honest consideration.

Dear Pattye,

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the newspaper article in the Daily Local. I am disappointed that I was not given an opportunity to respond by the author of the article. I saw that the reporter stated that he made an attempt to reach me but I never received a telephone message or email from the reporter and so I question whether there was a sincere attempt to reach me. I am also disappointed that the article incorrectly reported my straw vote total although I am told there was a correction in the newspaper today.

At this point, I believe that the District Attorney and First Assistant adequately addressed the substantive issues raised by the newspaper reporter. It is my desire to refrain from criticism of the other candidates and to focus on the positive message offered by my campaign. I believe the other candidates are fine gentleman and are certainly qualified to be DA. I am as well.

I graduated from the National College of District Attorney’s Career Prosecutors Course in 1993 and was one of a few prosecutors in the nation to be invited back to teach on the faculty. I have over twenty years under my belt as a prosecutor and wear many hats in the office. I supervise a team of prosecutors, run the grand jury and help direct most of the major investigations in the county, oversee our HIDTA drug task force and oversee all major drug trafficking investigations, act as director of police training and I maintain a trial caseload. I tried two murder trials last year and since 1990, I have tried more jury trials in our courthouse than any other attorney. I have also litigated death penalty cases and won record setting sentences.

My goals are influenced by my training in the field of economics and I want to start with the recognition that we have to do a better job of preventing crime. Most crimes are committed at night and are committed by repeat offenders so I want to lead an effort to place curfews on felons who are on probation or parole. Such curfews should be enforced by probation officers partnering with police. The current model of supervision that relies on probation officers working 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. simply is not sufficiently effective. I also want a strong prisoner re-entry program. Because we know that idle time is the devil’s workshop, if a parolee is not working, looking for a job or going to school, then he or she should be performing community service. At the same time, I want the justice system to collaborate with church groups to enlist their help with mentoring parolees. I want a renewed emphasis on addressing truancy. If we can keep kids in school, they have a better chance of graduating and becoming contributing crime-free members of society. I want to partner with our secondary schools and colleges to help identify and address common problems.

There are many community-policing concepts that help save lives and money and I have the experience to implement them. Using many of these same ideas, I led a highly praised effort from 2001 to 2003 that earned Coatesville the Pennsylvania award for the “Weed and Seed Community of the Year.”

Another goal I have concerns training. Our police officers risk their lives every day as they respond to crime and they do a fantastic job. They would agree with me however that better training of police and prosecutors will lead to improved service to our community. What is more, better training can lead to cost savings in the criminal justice system. With travel and overnight accommodation expenses, outside training can be expensive. Therefore, we need to provide high quality in-house training for attorneys and detectives. I have had tremendous success in providing training to local members of the Pennsylvania State Police. I also started a police-training unit three years ago that designed and implemented an accredited CSI training program for local and federal agents. Graduates receive certificates as certified crime scene technicians. We just had a graduation ceremony this past Friday and I was proud to see over twenty officers and FBI agents complete this intensive ten-month program.

Thank you again for this opportunity and please know that I will continue the fight to keep Chester County a safe and welcoming community.

Steve Kelly

Chester County DA Candidate Tom Hogan Responds

January 19, 2011
1 Comment

Chester County district attorney candidate Tom Hogan has responded to my email request for comment to yesterday’s Community Matters post, “Chester County DA Race is Heating Up . . . Candidates Taking the Gloves Off” — his remarks are below.

Mr. Hogan’s comments and the earlier remarks of Mr. Carmody would indicate that the gloves in the DA race are indeed off!

Pattye –

I am aware of Mr. Carmody’s communications with the Republican committee people of Chester County as we are both working to earn their endorsement; I am certain that Mr. Carmody has seen my communications to committee people as well. I have heard rumblings throughout the committee process and from the DA’s office about use of County resources in campaigns.

The taxpayers of Chester County want open government and fiscal responsibility that separates the partisan political from good government. If it is proven to be true that Mr. Carmody has utilized taxpayer-paid resources for his campaign, this is very troubling and could be detrimental to the Republican ticket as well as open Mr. Carmody to legal actions being brought against him. For his sake and the sake of the office, I hope it is not true.

In the coming weeks, I will continue to present my positive record as a county and federal prosecutor, as well as my endorsements from the law enforcement community to the committee people and citizens of Chester County. I believe that when they compare my record to that of my opponents, they will agree I am the best choice to serve as their District Attorney.

Thank You.

Chester County DA Race is Heating Up . . . Candidates Taking Off the Gloves

January 18, 2011
7 Comments

Following November’s mid-term election, I wrote of news in the Chester County District Attorney’s office . . . District Attorney Joseph Carroll decision to run for Common Pleas Court judge seat and not seek re-election as the county DA. At the time of the announcement, there was speculation about possible DA candidates including Tredyffrin’s solicitor Tom Hogan among others.

Fast forward, a couple of months and the district attorney race is now in full campaign mode. Three candidates, Tom Hogan, former prosecutor and partner in Lamb McErlane law firm; Assistant District Attorney Pat Carmody and Deputy District Attorney Stephen Kelly are vying for the endorsement of Chester County Republican Committee and it appears that the candidates are taking the gloves off for this race!

The GOP is conducting interviews with the district attorney candidates at various locations throughout the county. So far, the organization has held three straw polls and the voting of the committee members is as follows:

West Chester area: Carmody 47 votes; Hogan 24 votes; Kelly 10 votes
Tredyffrin area: Hogan 51 votes; Carmody 16 votes; Kelly none.
Southern Chester County area: Hogan 31 votes; Carmody 30 votes; Kelly 18 votes

If my math is correct, the current vote count has Hogan leading with 106 votes to Carmody’s 93 votes and Kelly’s 28 votes. There are two more straw polls this week leading up to the Chester County Republican Convention on February 15 that decides the candidate endorsement.

I do not typically weigh in on county politics, (there is more than enough going on with Tredyffrin and our neighboring townships to keep me busy) but I will make an exception with the district attorney race. The Sunday Daily Local ran an article on the district attorney race that caught my attention. In the article, the writer claims that during a GOP interview, DA candidate Hogan suggested administrative inconsistencies and the need to ‘clean up’ the district attorney office.

I was surprised by the immediate defensive reaction to Hogan’s criticism of the district attorney office by District Attorney Carroll and Assistant DA Carmody. I believe citizens prefer placing their confidence in a district attorney, like candidate Tom Hogan, who is willing to take a stand to improve the process and to make government better. There is nothing wrong with Hogan suggesting there is room for improvement in the DA office. You set your goals, ever-increasing the level of standard, and then work to achieve that objective. As taxpayers, isn’t that what we should expect and what we want from our elected officials?

We know that change can be difficult for some; people get comfortable with doing things the same way they have always been done; my guess is that the Chester County District Attorney office is no different. From my association with Tom Hogan over the last few years, his approach does not simply accept status quo but rather an approach that seeks to make government more accountable, and more efficient. ‘Raising the bar’ by raising expectations makes for good government.

Yesterday, I received an anonymous email in regards to the district attorney race from a concerned Chester County resident. Attached to the email were several Carmody campaign-related documents, including his campaign business card. The individual who sent the email was concerned that candidate Carmody was using his personal cell phone number on the literature. I did no appreciate the individual’s concern until I opened the attachment containing the official telephone contact list from the DA office. Curiously, the same cell phone number that Carmody uses on campaign materials is also his office contact number in the District Attorney office.

So what does this mean? Is Carmody’s cell phone personally owned or county-issued? Regardless if the phone is county owned property or personally owned by Carmody; it is interesting that he uses the same telephone number in his campaign literature and his county office. Would this imply that Carmody takes campaign calls at the district attorney office? Is this but a small legal campaign detail overlooked by a person running our legal system? Does this suggest that the district attorney’s office doubles as his campaign headquarters? If nothing else, Carmody’s actions make me wonder about what line is drawn between campaigning and working for the people of Chester County. The merging of political activities with the people’s work is a fine line.

Certainly, I lay no claim to understanding the inner-workings of the District Attorney’s office but as a response to Carroll and Carmody over Hogan’s criticism of the DA’s office, I am reminded of a line from Hamlet . . . “you doth protest too much me thinks”. Perhaps, Hogan’s criticisms were hitting a little too close to home.

Martin Luther King . . . His nonviolence preachings as important in 1968 as 2011

January 17, 2011
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Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

There is something very poignant about honoring the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr. today as our country grieves the violent actions of a mentally disturbed young man nine days ago. The reasons behind the gunman’s heinous shooting spree at a ‘Congress on Your Corner” gathering may always remain a mystery. Clearly, the horrific attempt on the life of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the sadness over 6 lives lost and 13 wounded has jarred the American public.

Of course, the assassination of Dr. King on April 4, 1968, also stunned the nation he was trying to change for the better. Nonviolence was the central theme of Dr. King’s work to bring civil rights to all Americans. He understood the power of words and employed a wonderful eloquence to teach the importance of peace and nonviolence. Dr. King passionately inspired us through his words and deeds.

In his 1957 essay on the nonviolence movement, Dr. King wrote, “The end of violence or the aftermath of violence is bitterness. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation and the creation of a beloved community.” Later in that same piece, Dr. King also explained, “I never intend to adjust myself to mob rule. I never intend to adjust myself to the tragic effects of the methods of physical violence.” These words of Dr. King are as meaningful today as they were sixty-four years ago.

We cannot help but worry about the recent aggressive, violent outburst unleashed in a typically innocent public setting, and what the tragedy says for our country’s future. Whether devoted to the community like Martin Luther King or as an elected official like Gabby Giffords, these leaders put themselves and their values before the world and suffered the consequences. From finger-pointing rants at a lectern to the senseless vicious act last weekend, we have been brutally reminded that our leaders can be focal points for physical attacks by irrational motivations.

As we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday today, we remember Rep. Giffords courageous spirit and similar belief in people. In a 2009 commencement speech at Scripps College in California, her alma mater, Giffords told graduates that she ran for office to “put right things that were wrong and represent those who didn’t have a voice.”

If he were still here with us today, Dr. King would join the nation in this time of grief and sadness. The dream of Martin Luther King was to see every person, regardless of the many barriers humans set up to separate us, to walk hand in hand in harmony and love. Recalling Dr. King’s words, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

The memory of King’s courage and commitment to peace should guide our country and national leaders in the coming weeks and months as they address the cause and effect of the senseless violent act in Arizona and the darkness shrouding America. In Dr. Martin Luther King’s memory, as Americans, we cannot afford to simply adjust to violence.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Encouraging Real Estate News in Tredyffrin . . . Average Sales Prices Increased 8.4% in 2010 . . . Is the Quality of our School District a Factor?

January 15, 2011
5 Comments

In discussion of the T/E school district budget, several people referenced real estate sales, prior sale prices, assessment values, etc. and speculated on current real estate values. Discussion also centered on whether the quality of the school district affects the value of our real estate.

Nationally, we hear much negative real estate news so I was curious if there was any current real estate information available for Tredyffrin. I was particularly interested to know our community fared in the year-end 2010 statistics. Some good news to report . . . the township is doing better than just holding its own. In fact, Tredyffrin Township real estate appreciated in 2010, along with the rest of the Main Line.

Prudential Fox Roach realtor John Flanagan (www.mainlinejohn.com) provides information from TReND, the area’s Multiple Listing Service. In 2010, the average sales price in Tredyffrin increased 8.4%, or $35,054, from $412,490 in 2009 to $447,544 in 2010. The numbers used in this analysis included all types of properties — single-family homes, condos, twins and townhouses.

Interesting to note that the number of houses that went to settlement in Tredyffrin was the same in 2010 as 2009 . . . 374 transactions. The total sales volume increased in Tredyffrin in 2010 from approximately $154 Million to $167 Million. What about the average asking price on houses in Tredyffrin, any change? Yes, we find that sellers were asking approximately 7.2% less for their homes in 2010 than they did in 2009. The average asking price by sellers in 2009 was $507,803; where in 2010, the asking price was $470,806. Depending on when the seller purchased the house, the lower asking price may also be more realistic.

As the real estate problems deepened in the country through 2010, I would assume that it takes longer to sell houses in Tredyffrin (as is the case in many parts of the country). However, apparently that is not the case. In our township, there has been little change on that score; in 2009 the average days a house was on the market was 68 days and in 2010, the average time on the market was down by one day to 67 days.

Although the increase in sales prices in Tredyffrin Township for 2010 is a positive indicator, it may be too early to call it a trend. Following on the heels of housing depreciation during the 2006-2009 period, we hope that last year’s encouraging real estate news continues in 2011. So . . . do you think the quality of our school district is factor?

Tredyffrin’s ‘Personnel Committee’ to Interview Supervisor Candidates

January 13, 2011
7 Comments

Here is the latest installment on the Tredyffrin’s interim supervisor appointment . . . I feel like keeping this interview process transparent has become my life’s work. With so many things going on in the world, why is it so important that this township process work correctly? Because it just is.

So where does the interview process currently stand? Well, here goes. I emailed our township manager Mimi Gleason (and copied township solicitor Tom Hogan and the Board of Supervisors) the link to the specific Community Matters post, along with reader comments. In my email, I addressed the issue of the supervisor’s Personnel Committee conducting the candidate interviews vs. the Board of Supervisors. I suggested “. . . the appointment of an elected official is not a personnel matter.” Further suggested that the “. . . situation could be easily remedied if all the supervisors were in attendance on January 26 and participated in the interview process.”

Here is Mimi’s response to that email:

Pattye,

The full Board must vote on the appointment of the interim Supervisor in a public meeting and will do so.

There is no problem with the Personnel Committee, or any other subcommittee of the Board, interviewing the candidates. The Home Rule Charter does not require the Board of Supervisors to interview the candidates. However, in the interests of full transparency, the Board has chosen to have interviews conducted by the Personnel Committee and has invited the public to the interviews. The Board is going beyond the minimum requirements of the Home Rule Charter and the Sunshine Act in order to provide even greater public access to this process.

I’ll be around all afternoon. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Mimi

After receiving this email, I still had questions for Mimi and sent the following email (copying Tom Hogan and Board of Supervisors):

Mimi –

Thank you for your response, however I do still have a few questions.

(1) You say that the Personnel Committee, or any subcommittee of the Board of Supervisors can interview the candidates, then why the ‘Personnel Committee’ vs. the Finance Committee or any other subcommittee? If appointing an elected official is not a personnel matter, why choose the ‘Personnel’ Committee for the interviews?

(2) Bob Lamina stated at the Board of Supervisors meeting that the candidates would be interviewed by the supervisors. By having a ‘committee’ rather than the Board of Supervisors interview, is this really meeting the objective?

(3) I appreciate that there is no requirement for the Board of Supervisors to interview the candidates in public; however, didn’t that option go away when the township advertised and solicited resumes for the vacancy; which was then followed by Bob Lamina’s statement that the supervisors would interview the candidates. Bob made a commitment to the residents that the supervisors would interview the candidates – there was no caveat from him that the interviews would be conducted by a subcommittee, Personnel Committee, etc. The implication of his words was ‘all the supervisors’ would interview.

(4) If only 3 of the supervisors are going to interview the candidates in the Community Room (without it being televised) how is that the other 3 supervisors (Olson, Richter, DiBuonaventuro) will know the candidates responses to the questions. If this interview process is public, will there be minutes taken of the meeting? How do the 3 supervisors who conduct the interviews discuss the matter with the 3 supervisors who do not attend the interviews, without breaking the Sunshine Law. I understand that the vote will be in public, but how can the supervisors discuss this matter prior to the public vote if 50% of the board does not participate in the interviews?

Mimi, you say that the supervisors are going beyond the requirements to provide transparency. If that is the case, then why not just have a quorum with 4 supervisors present for the interview process and remove doubt and questions about the process. The Board of Supervisors have an opportunity to make this process right.

I will put off posting information related to this topic on Community Matters until after business hours today. It is my hope that all supervisors appreciate the importance of the interview process and will be encouraged to participate . . . or at a minimum, one more supervisor beyond the 3 supervisors currently onboard.

Pattye

Rather than emailing her responses, Mimi called and we talked through my questions/concerns. Here is where we stand . . . the Personnel Committee, consisting of three supervisors (Lamina, Kichline, and Donahue) will conduct the supervisor interviews on Wednesday, January 26 at 7 PM; the public is welcome. Neither Mimi nor any other township staff will be present for the interviews and there will be no minutes of the meeting taken. The three candidates conducting the interview will apparently brief the other three supervisors on the interview process and the candidates.

Mimi explained that it was difficult to find an available date for all supervisors for the interviews. I asked if that was the reason there were only three supervisors instead of all six supervisors attending the interviews and she was not sure why. I suggested that an easy scheduling solution would be for the interviews to be conducted before or after the regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday, January 24. Presumably, all supervisors could attend and since it was a public meeting, there would be a record of the meeting with minutes. I was told that this option was considered but not accepted . . . it was thought the interview process would take too long and they wanted the candidates to have sufficient time.

Although I encouraged a fourth supervisor should attend the interview process to have a quorum, at this point that appears unlikely. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if one of the other three supervisors, either JD, Paul Olson or Evelyn Richter, stepped up and agreed to participate in the interview process on January 26?

The appointment of an interim supervisor is a serious duty of our elected officials (even if only for a few months) and I do not want to see the process manipulated by politics.

What do I mean manipulated . . . ? Only one of the four supervisor candidates, John Bravacos, has stated that he will not be on the ballot for the Special Election in May. Presumably, the other three candidates, Eamon Brazunas, Mike Heaberg and Kristen Mayock, all intend to participate in the Special Election required to fill the vacancy.

To be clear, I am not questioning the credentials of these three candidates but the only non-political appointment for this interim supervisor position is John Bravacos. Additionally, John Bravacos is a former township supervisor and former chair. To appoint one of the other three candidates would be politically motivated and give an advantage to that individual in May’s Special Election. For the record, a Republican (Warren Kampf) held the vacated seat and John Bravacos is a Republican.

No Breaking the Sunshine Act in Tredyffrin . . . Interim Supervisor Candidates to be Interviewed!

January 13, 2011
9 Comments

I am pleased to report that interim supervisor candidates, John Bravacos, Eamon Brazunas, Mike Heaberg and Kristen Mayock, will be interviewed on Wednesday, January 26, 7 PM. The Board of Supervisor’s Personnel Committee (Bob Lamina, Phil Donahue and Michele Kichline) will conduct the interviews in the Community Meeting Room at the township building. The interview process will be open to the public.

I know some have questioned my need to see the interim supervisor candidate process remain transparent. I am very process-oriented and believe that less problems are created when procedures are followed. I think it’s OK to question the way things are done but unless a process is ‘officially changed’; it is important that the rules are followed. If you don’t like a specific rule, fine . . . work to change it. Just don’t arbitrarily break the rule because you know better. Although some may question my dogged approach to transparency in regards to the supervisor vacancy — for me, it is about encouraging an open public process from our elected officials.

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