Baldwin council under fire for solicitor switch process

A majority of Baldwin council members decided through a straw poll — conducted by phone before the borough’s Jan. 6 reorganization meeting — that they planned to switch solicitors that night, according to the current council president.

Dating back to December, some council members had individually discussed the idea and verbally requested a proposal from law firm Tucker Arensberg to gather rates. This was done after some council members were unhappy with the process or way current solicitors Stanley and Michael Lederman handled some borough business, according to council President Marianne Conley.

Council voted 5-2 on Jan. 6 to appoint Ashley Wagner of Tucker Arensberg as the borough’s solicitor. Council members Francis Scott and Chad Hurka dissented.

However, the request for a proposal from Tucker Arensberg was sought without the knowledge of the full council, some members say, and a formal request for proposals from the borough was never issued.

One current and several former council members say that decision should have been handled differently. Former Councilman Bob Collet, who served as co-chair of the borough’s civil service commission, even resigned his position over the issue, according to the email resignation obtained by the Tribune-Review.

“The whole thing was improper,” Scott told his colleagues at their Jan. 13 agenda-setting meeting, as he once again questioned their handling of the situation. “If you want to go back to the 1950s when the borough was first organized, good for you. Look at what you’re doing to the borough … Look at this,” he said, pointing to Collet’s resignation letter.

The idea to change solicitors came at the same time Baldwin saw a turnover on council at the beginning of January.

Both 2019 council President Ed Moeller and councilman Michael Stelmasczyk did not seek re-election and their terms ended on Jan. 6, with the swearing in of newly-elected council members Denise Maiden and Patty Boyer.

Conley, who had previously served as council vice president, was named council president that evening with councilman John Egger being named vice president.

Typically, Baldwin Borough reappoints its engineering firm, solicitor and other services for a two-year term during its reorganization meeting, said borough Manager Bob Firek.

“There were enough people unhappy, that you just started looking,” Conley said of the solicitor job.

While the idea to generally seek proposals for all borough services was brought up at a public council meeting, the idea ultimately was “shot down,” Conley said.

In response to Scott’s questions, Wagner said she spoke on the phone to both Conley and Egger separately and was asked to submit a proposal “so that they could see some numbers in writing.”

Conley said she sought feedback from other municipalities that are represented by Tucker Arensberg and only heard positive things. “We wanted someone who was professional and would be neutral with all council members,” she said.

Council members discussed the change through individual telephone calls, Conley said. She said outgoing council members were not included, as they would not be voting on the issue. Both Moeller and Stelmasczyk confirmed they did not know about the discussions until later on in the process.

“There were no meetings. There were conversations that went back and forth. There wasn’t even a conference call,” Conley said. “We had a consensus to go with Tucker Arensberg.”

Conley called the Ledermans to let them know that the borough would not be keeping them on. She said this was out of respect for the solicitor, as she didn’t want to fire him during a public meeting.

Then, she contacted the borough manager to let him know and the item appeared on the agenda for a formal vote Jan. 6.

Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said all of this should have been done in public to give people a chance to comment. By having one-on-one conversations prior to a meeting where consensuses are made, the public is cut out of the process, she said.

“A straw poll ultimately is evidence that the agencies are deliberating behind closed doors and coming to a decision. That cuts the public out of the process. What has to happen is that the public has to have a voice in the process before the decision is made. she said. “The presumption in the law is that elected officials will actually hear those comments and take them into consideration before they make their decision. You cut the public out of the process by having these on-on-one straw poll conversations.”

Council members have every right to replace the solicitor if they so choose, Melewsky said. The issue is the process.

“It’s got to be public,” she said. “If you cut the citizenry out of the process, you hurt not only the citizenry’s ability to participate, but you hurt the agency’s ability to function at an optimum level. Agencies function best when the public knows what’s going on and has the ability to participate.”

Wagner had served as the solicitor of the borough’s zoning hearing board, Firek said. The borough now will seek a new solicitor for the zoning hearing board, he said.

At the moment, it’s hard to compare rates between the Ledermans and Tucker Arensberg, as the Ledermans were paid a flat rate of $100,000 a year — or $50,000 each, Firek said. Tucker Arensberg will bill the borough hourly, based on various services. The regular service rate is $116 per hour, Firek said. Conley said council members were conscious of the budget when making the switch.

Moeller, who was still council president through Jan. 6, said he didn’t know anything about the pending change in solicitor or verbal request for proposal until Jan. 2.

He not only questioned the change, but also how it was handled and why it wasn’t discussed at a public meeting.

“I just thought what they did was wrong and that they’re making a mistake,” he said. “This looks familiar. I’ve seen this happen on the school board. I’ve seen this happen on a previous council. I hope we’re not reverting back to some dark times.”

Moeller said if council members wanted to make the change, they should have handled it differently — Appoint the Ledermans temporarily and put out a request for proposals to numerous law firms so they can compare rates and offerings.

“They didn’t talk to me,” he said. “That’s old-school stuff.”

Scott, who still has two years left on his council term, said he also was left out of the discussions.

Conley said council members attempted to call him but didn’t get an answer.

Scott said he received an email from Conley alerting him to the change that included “a response to an alleged RFP” that was sought from Tucker Arensberg.

He questioned: “Why would there only be one RFP?” and “Why was it done in secret?”

He said the entire process was handled improperly.

“It’s asinine because they could have done this the right way,” Scott said.

If council members wanted to do seek proposals from law firms, they should seek them from numerous firms so they have something to compare and can make a knowledgeable decision, Scott said.

“It’s only common sense. When you only have one proposal, one response, what are you comparing? You’re making a decision without facts. You’re not doing your job,” Scott told his colleagues on Jan. 13, as he asked numerous questions about how this could affect the borough. “How are you going to get the best deal if you don’t compare?”

Egger responded, “You could interview five people and you know after the first one.”

“No, John, you do that. I don’t do that,” Scott responded.

Wagner reminded council members that by law, they’re not required to go out to bid for a solicitor’s job.

Now that it’s all said and done, Conley said the one change she would make is to have better communication with Scott throughout the process.

Council needs to move forward, she said.

“I think we will. It would be detrimental to council to keep dwelling on this,” Conley said.

However, some see this as a reason to keep their eyes open wider.

In his resignation letter, Collet ended with a final thought: “If something like this would happen in Washington D.C., there would have been a congressional investigation.”