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Be Careful of Stones That You Throw

Written by Larry Roeder, Editor
2014-12-11

It is the responsibility of all elected officials to know the rules of governing

and conduct when acting in their official capacity. If you're a full-time legislator

with access to staff and legal representation, a lapse in either knowledge

or action is inexcusable.

But, when you get to the local level, with part-time elected officials who

are often your friends and neighbors with other full-time responsibilities,

not everybody has the knowledge of the intricacies of their legal obligations.

When they act, unknowingly, in violation of the law we expect them to right

the wrong as quickly as possible, refrain from violating the rule again, learn

from their mistake and move on with the business of the people.

This week we have two such instances.

First, the Upper Perkiomen School Board took a secret ballot vote at a

public meeting and failed to release the results of each member's vote.

The Consolidated Statutes of Pennsylvania clearly states in 65 Pa. C.S.A

Recording of Votes that "In all meetings of agencies, the vote of each member

who actually votes on any resolution, rule, order, regulation, ordinance or the

setting of official policy must be publicly cast…"

Two Letters to The Editor, published on the next page, from school board

members address the issue. One from member Raeann Hofkin states that

she is disappointed by the way the article in last week's edition ended and

that the article makes it sound as if the district did something wrong. Yes,

the district did do something wrong – see 65 Pa. C.S.A. Recording of Votes.

The second, from incoming Board President John Gehman offers a mea

culpa and thanks the reporter for bringing it to his attention. After the Town

and Country filed a "right to know" request, the information on the vote was

provided and is printed with the letters.

The second issue in this week's edition deals with a Marlborough Township

supervisor.

After researching the information regarding the charges to and fine

imposed on Supervisors' Chairman Brian Doremus as reported on page one

of this week's edition, one can see how the incidents unfolded. No matter

how slight some may feel the infractions were, Doremus was wrong and

will pay the price.

There was a time, not too long ago, that local officials were fiercely protective

of their municipalities and would question and protect other officials

from any wrongdoing, perceived or otherwise, by bringing it to their attention

immediately instead of letting it fester for years. That comradery seems to no

longer exist. Political partisanship has grown at a disturbing level locally and

sometimes the attacks officials launch against each other smacks of payback

or grandstanding, which is worse than partisanship.

Another rule frequently broken by local officials is voting abstentions.

Chapter 11 of the Ethics Standards and Financial Disclosure clearly states that

if any member of a governing body abstains from voting on an issue that the

member must: "prior to the vote being taken, publicly announce and disclose

the nature of his interest as a public record in a written memorandum filed

with the person responsible for recording the minutes of the meeting at which

the vote is taken." How often does that happen? We throw that tidbit out as

another weapon for those with a holier-than-thou feeling of moral superiority

who want to take down more local officials.

Just remember, pick your battles well and, unless you've made no mistakes

in your life, be careful of stones that you throw.

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