JD Malone of the Express-Times wrote on Sunday about the practice of elected officials also holding paid positions citing Upper Nazareth which passed an ordinance banning it (read the article here).
Second class townships, due to their size and more limited resources, are allowed by law to have elected officials serve in paid township positions. Malone notes that prior to the ordinance, each of Upper Nazareth's three supervisors held paid positions.
It is an issue where one could easily see both sides pros and cons.
8 comments:
Can you say.....double-dipping? Each supervisor collects a stipend for their role. Then, when they vote themselves into a position, get paid an hourly rate. A township supervisor is elected to represent the community-not hired for employment! I question some supervisors motives. In Upper Nazareth, that ordinance was passed after some supervisors got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. They should be more concerned with representing the community than 'what's in it for me' attitude.
YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!
In Upper Nazareth it was Bobby Recker who got many paid a lot of dollars as supervisor and secretary and treasurer.
As the article noted it is legal to do for that class of township, not to say it is right, but it is legal.
At the time all three supervisors had paid positions. On one hand it does keep them more involved and in tune with what is happening, on the other, there are inevitably conflicts of interest, even if minor.
Don't think you need to single someone out for it. If he was doing the work, then he deserved to be paid for it.
The people/supervisors obviously decided they didn't like the practice and went beyond not doing it to passing an ordinance to ban it.
Good for them, but now the trick is finding people to do it. This position has had 3 or 4 people since the supervisors were no longer able to serve in that role.
This could be an indication that it is not so easy a position to fill or serve.
First of all I would say taht there are many qualified people to do the jobs. The problem with Upper Nazareth as I recall was that there were overbearing personalities that were trying to micro-manage what the Treasurer/Secretary was doing. Not that the either one of the Secretary/Treasurers was not doing the or couldn't do the job. (Same issue as to why the Township Manager quit and has yet to be replaced.)
When the foxes are guarding the hen house, who decides what is permissable? Who approves whose hours worked in a week? Who decides to hire their child or mother to fill a position?
Upper Nazareth residents,this should be a wake-up call! Do you care how your taxes are being spent/mismanaged? I encourage you to get involved.
Anon 12:17 pointed to one individual. Well, the practice didn't stop there-look at the current board and you might find more of the same. Has anyone looked at supervisor timesheets for the paid positions? Incomplete, not approved (as is policy), yet paid. Remember not so long ago all three auditors resigned? Remember the supervisors who received grant money that was intended for low income families? Helllooooo.....holding supervisor position and hired position may be 'legal', what the supervisors in this township do beyond that is what is really questionable.
Read the township code book for the legal way to go.
The supervisors are watching the workers.Who is watching the supervisors?
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