Township council discussed adding provisions to the peace and good order ordinance, which would allow residents to press charges against local officials and municipal employees, at last week’s meeting.
According to Deputy Mayor Chris Buoni, it would regulate contracting “indiscretions.”
The recommendation for the provision came from the Medford Township Professional Services Review Task Force, of which Buoni was a part.
“If I were to lean on an employee to hire someone, it would be interference,” Buoni said. “If someone pressed charges, I could be fined $2,000 and have to serve 90 days in jail.”
According to the task force’s recommendation, this amendment would create a “check and balance” when inappropriate contracting actions are uncovered, since the enforcement of this ordinance would be handled at the local level.
When the task force made its presentation last August, there were numerous examples of unexplainable purchases made by the previous township council, including a $25,000 fire hydrant 100 yards away from a township-approved fire hydrant. A pile of dirt cost taxpayers $75,000, and a pile of stones was approved for $9,786.
Jack Hartwig, task force member and former law enforcement official, recommended police look into some of the purchases made at the time of the presentation last year.
“It’s frustrating as a task force to find this stuff and not be able to press charges. We had to wait on the county or state prosecutor and nothing could be done,” Buoni said.
It will work as a deterrent so “history does not repeat itself,” Buoni said.
“If the township had this in place a few years ago, I guarantee I would have pressed charges,” Buoni said. “This will hold officials to a higher standard and make them criminally responsible. If I were to violate the public trust, I would be arrested and should be arrested.”
In addition to making council members criminally responsible, council is drafting an ordinance in which the chief financial officer would have more flexibility when there are red flags with contracts.
According to Buoni, council will approve of the authority of the CFO to seek third-party counsel to examine the validity of a contract.
According to the recommendation, when confronted with problematic purchasing, the CFO can only request a legal opinion from the township solicitor. As in the past, the solicitor may have been involved in contract negotiations, decisions and contractor selection. The CFO should have the authority to obtain legal opinions on questionable transactions independent from the solicitor, who may, as in the past, have a stake in the outcome of the opinion.
“It would have to be done within a budget and with notification to council and the manager,” Buoni said.
In other news:
Council will be establishing an employee policy and procedures handbook, Buoni said.
Any changes made to the budget would have to be done during the manager’s report at a public meeting, according to Buoni.
“It’s the same procedure the state uses and had asked to use as a model from township manager Chris Schultz,” Buoni said. “It’s a safeguard. All capital expenditures must be reported publicly as part of the budget process.
“It will be reported what we have now, especially with the [newly found] $3.2 million in bond funds. How the funds are being spent would be reported.”
The idea “is to put more accountability to where the money is and how it’s being spent,” Buoni said, adding residents can legally enforce accountability.
The next township council meeting is scheduled for Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Public Safety Building.
