Upper Darby council may have violated Home Rule Charter, solicitor finds
UPPER DARBY » The latest round of legal wrangling over the appropriation of American Rescue Plan Act money has created new questions over the efforts by the Upper Darby Township Council Finance Committee to allot some of the ARPA funds and violating township Home Rule Charter regulations, according to the Law Offices of Sean Kilkenny, who serves as the township solicitor.
Upper Darby Chief Administrative Officer Vincent Rongione issued the press release Tuesday stating council President Brian Burke and VicePresident Laura Wentz are in violation of the Home Rule Charter, according to the interpretation from Kilkenny.
The review was requested by Mayor Barbarann Keffer who said in the press release that some council members have been violating the charter’s prohibition on council interference for months and it was damaging to the community.
According to the solicitor, the Home rule Charter contains an express separation of powers, similar to the federal government between the administration, which consists of the mayor and the chief administrative officer, and the legislative branch, which is
the township council.
The Home Rule Charter only confers legislative powers to council.
The solicitor therefore concluded that no council person has the authority to interfere with labor negotiations or the day-to-day administration of the township, or through the solicitation of applications from non-profits, to meddle in the management of the budget .
Violation of the Home Rule Charter could mean loss of office.
The legal opinion from Kilkenny comes following the release of the Marcum LLP.
Independent forensic investigation into the handling of ARPA, which stated that there was no misuse of the ARPA Funds. The council also has an investigation into the standing of the funds but it has not released any conclusions.
At the May 4 meeting Upper Darby Council discussed the release of a portion of Federal American Rescue Plan pandemic funds which they have been blocking after questions about misplacement of some of the ARPA funds.
At that meeting Vice President Laura Wentz, D-At-Large, said the finance and appropriation committee is looking to allocate some of the funds.
The committee was preparing an ordinance to release some ARPA funds as bonus pay for township employees who worked through the pandemic; however as it involved union contracts they tabled that until the township labor council lawyers look into the details.
Wentz also said at that meeting that the finance committee is looking to get information from township non-profits that would be interested in receiving ARPA funds.
“We’re asking that you send an email to us udfinancecommittee@gmail.com,” Wentz said at that meeting.
According to the Kilkenny interpretation, that is outside the role of council.
“Certain members of council have been violating the charter’s prohibition on council interference for months but it has now become so flagrant, obvious, and damaging to our community that I requested a formal legal opinion from our solicitor,” said Keffer in the press release. “Our community and our employees deserve better than this from these council members. It really is long past time to put petty personal feelings and political ambitions aside and do what is best for the people who elected us to serve them.”
“It really is a sad thing for the community when politicians
allow their ego to not only cloud their judgment but to really negatively impact the lives of the people they are elected to serve,” said Rongione. “Unfortunately, that is exactly where these certain council members have led Upper Darby. It really should be embarrassing to them personally but unfortunately and more importantly, as one resident put it at a recent town hall meeting, their conduct is embarrassing for the entire community.”
Both council members Burke and Wentz said they were reviewing the press release and didn’t comment.