Hold onto your hats: In the realm of the truth is stranger than fiction comes news out of Radnor Township. Set the stage by reviewing Sprint's latest commercial ( see it here http://www.advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?adid=625 ).
It's the commercial where that really odd boss is talking about sticking it "to the man" and his employee asks him if isn't HE "the man". So, here we have it for real in Radnor. Someone is sticking it to the man, when he is also the man.... We don't live in Radnor, so we are naturally intrigued and confused by what the papers are reporting:
Top Stories
Lawsuit targets Radnor boards
By: Anthony Roberts www.mainlinelife.com
Excerpt:
"A Radnor Commissioner is suing his own board, along with the Radnor School Board, accusing them of conspiring to shift the costs of the middle school and violating the state's Sunshine Act.
Dave Cannan, one of two Democrats on the board of commissioners, filed a civil lawsuit in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas on three separate counts covering several issues relating to the township and school board's budgets.
The first count alleges that commissioners broke the state law that governs the open bidding process required of townships. The second count states the township violated Pennsylvania's Sunshine Act, which regulates public meetings and records, when it waived $800,000 in fees for the school board for construction of the middle school without discussing it in a public meeting. The third asserts that commissioners and the school board "illegally conspired to illegally shift certain constructions (sic) costs of the new Radnor Middle School from the School District's budget to the Radnor Township budget."
....Attorney Bruce H. Bikin, who is also chair of the Radnor Democratic Committee, is representing Cannan. He said all three counts were filed together as a matter of procedure, but the case revolves around the deal between the district and commissioners.
....Cannan is a co-plaintiff on the suit along with Rosemont resident Sara Pilling. He did not immediately return calls, but Bikin said Cannan filed the suit, "on behalf of his constituents." In previous interviews, Cannan has complained that rising taxes have the biggest impact on his ward, since it is not as high income as some other portions of the township.
Dave Bashore, the township manager, said he could not speak at length because of the pending suit, but released a statement from the township and commissioners' President Harry G. Mahoney.
"Although we are limited in what we can say because of the pending litigation, I believe that this lawsuit is a partisan ploy (which could prove to be costly to Township residents) by a disgruntled fellow Commissioner, Mr. Cannan, and his long-time political ally in the 7th Ward, Sara Pilling."
Full Text: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16226381&BRD=1597&PAG=461&dept_id=188818&rfi=6
QUESTION: If a current commissioner is suing the board of commissioners in Radnor, can he still operate as a commissioner? Isn't he in effect, also suing himself?
Radnor is west of Lower Merion. When it comes to politics, is Radnor the Wild, Wild West? Wouldn't this be something you would see in Federal Court, not Delaware County Court of Common Pleas?
Jeff Price also covered it for The Philadelphia Inquirer yesterday:
Radnor official sues township to halt building
By Jeff Price Inquirer Staff Writer
Excerpt:
"A Radnor Township commissioner has sued the board of commissioners and the school board, asking that the township's waiver of $800,000 in construction fees for a new middle school be voided and that contracts for the new township building be rebid.
The suit, filed Feb. 13 in Delaware County Court by Dave Cannan and Garrett Hill resident Sara Pilling, seeks to force the township to collect the fees for the school district and says contracts for the $11.6 million township building violated state bidding procedures.
Construction has begun on the new Radnor Middle School in downtown Wayne, and more is expected to begin next month on the township building on the site of the old, smaller structure on Iven Road.
School officials have acknowledged that if it had to add the $800,000 to the cost of the $37.9 million middle school, it would push the cost over a state-mandated threshold that would require a voter referendum.
.....Cannan said he resorted to the lawsuit because his fellow commissioners and other officials ignored his questions about the propriety of the bidding process and who had the authority to approve the fee waiver.
He said that township manager Dave Bashore worked out the fee-waiver agreement with school Superintendent Gary Cooper, but the lawsuit says "these policy decisions were not made at any public meeting" of the commissioners. That, the lawsuit charges, is a violation of the state Sunshine Act and renders the waiver "void and of no effect."
....Both the failure to rebid and the assumption of the $800,000 in construction fees had a financial impact for taxpayers, Cannan said.
"I represent one of the lower income areas of Radnor," he said, "an area of fixed income, of seniors, people who work hard for their money. I get phone calls, especially when residents get their tax bills. They say, 'Dave, I don't know how I can afford to stay in Radnor. I can't afford these taxes.' "
Full Text: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/chester_county/13987292.htm
