A motion to fire the Upper Perk Police Commission's solicitor failed along municipal lines Monday.

        Vice Chairman Kris Kirkwood, Vicki Lightcap and Bruce Lord, Pennsburg's members, voted in favor of the motion to remove Philip Gazan.

        Chairman Robert McCluskie, Ryan Sloyer and Marita Thomson, the trio representing East Greenville, cast a vote in opposition.

        "The issues with the solicitor highlight the problems with this commission," said Kirkwood, the president of Pennsburg borough council, in a statement after the meeting. "Pennsburg has asked for support because of how we feel about the solicitor. East Greenville refuses to validate those feelings."

        Prior to the vote, Kirkwood accused Gazan of failing to properly share information with officials from Pennsburg in the present and the past, billing the commission for issues related to an anonymous police donation last year for five months after the issue was concluded, allowing insurance issues to drag on longer than necessary, failing to make sure insurance carriers adhered to their contractual obligations, billing Pennsburg officials for asking questions about billing issues, relying on Chief Michael Devlin to answer questions asked of him in regards to personnel manners and procedures and representing Sloyer in a bankruptcy procedure.

        Gazan denied the final accusation during the meeting, prior to the vote.

        Lord, vice chairman of Pennsburg borough council and an alternate to the police commission, offered the motion to fire Gazan.

        Pennsburg officials accused the solicitor of overcharging the borough. According to Lightcap, borough officials budgeted $7,500 for commission legal fees in 2015, but spent $15,239.

        Following the meeting, Sloyer decried the Pennsburg contingent's motion to remove Gazan, who has served as the commission's solicitor since 2004.

        "Mr. Gazan is not partisan," Sloyer said. "He looks out for the best interest of the police department. He's the best solicitor this commission has ever had."

        Debate over the solicitor's allegiance commenced during discussion of the monthly bills. Kirkwood objected to Gazan's submission of a $112.50 bill, then asked for an explanation.

        An email from Kirkwood to Gazan seeking clarification on a separate legal fee led to the charge. The commissioner explained Monday that he wanted to learn the details of a bill totaling $757.50.

        The solicitor explained that those funds covered the cost of providing research and informational materials for McCluskie, who wanted to educate himself about chairing the committee.

        Kirkwood argued that he should have been copied on the emails. He said the previous commission operated on an agreement in which any communication from the solicitor to Lightcap or Andrew Rock, the former chair and vice chair, respectively, copied to each other.

        Gazan told Kirkwood he was not copied because the information was strictly procedural. The solicitor eventually agreed to withdraw the bill. However, he reserved the right to make his case next month on why the bill should be paid in full.

        "It may have been an oversight," Gazan said. "But I would not say I regret it."

        The solicitor said he had never before been accused of being biased for one borough or the other, or of providing bad advice.

        "The solicitor and police chief are in a position on this board to provide balance," Gazan said during the meeting. "Without that, you will have trouble co-existing."

        In other news, Devlin provided the crime report for March, which included 23 incidents in Pennsburg and 17 in East Greenville.

        The figures include six incidents each of theft/motor vehicle theft, vandalism/criminal mischief and narcotic violations/drug violations; four DUI incidents, three incidents each of assault/harassment/stalking, public drunkenness/disorderly conduct and borough ordinances/other offenses.