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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1692 VaughnIn Re: Charles Vaughn, File Docket: 14 -076 Respondent X -ref: Order No. 1692 Date Decided: 4/6/16 Date Mailed: 4/27/16 Before: Nicholas A. Colafella, Chair Mark R. Corrigan, Vice Chair Roger Nick Kathryn Streeter Lewis Maria Feeley Melanie DePalma This is a final adjudication of the State Ethics Commission. Procedurally, the Investigative Division of the State Ethics Commission conducted an investigation regarding possible violation(s) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ( "Ethics Act "), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seq., by the above -named Respondent. At the commencement of its investigation, the Investigative Division served upon Respondent written notice of the specific allegation. Upon completion of its investigation, the Investigative Division issued and served upon Respondent a Findings Report identified as an "Investigative Complaint." An Answer was filed and a hearing was requested. A Stipulation of Findings and a Consent Agreement were subsequently submitted by the parties to the Commission for consideration. The Stipulated Findings are set forth as the Findings in this Order. The Consent Agreement has been approved. ALLEGATIONS: That Charles Vaughn, a public official /public employee in his capacity as Supervisor for Highland Township, Elk County, violated the following provisions of the State Ethics Act (Act 93 of 1998) when he utilized the authority of his public position for the private pecuniary benefit of himself when, as Township Supervisor, he verified Roadmaster logbooks which documented hours worked and overtime to be paid to Vaughn as Roadmaster; voted to approve payment of payroll, which included payment of compensation /overtime to himself as Roadmaster; and when he served as the Township signatory on payroll checks issued to himself. II. FINDINGS: Charles Vaughn served as a Supervisor for Highland Township, Elk County, from March 29, 1996, to July 10, 2013. Vaughn was initially appointed to the Board of Supervisors at the March 29, 1996, Township Meeting to complete an unexpired term. Vaughn served as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors from January 2, 2010, to January 9, 2013, and again from January 14, 2013, to June 17, 2013. Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 2 1. The Board of Supervisors accepted Vaughn's resignation as Chairman at the June 17, 2013, meeting of the Supervisors. C. Vaughn subsequently resigned as Supervisor, with the Board of Supervisors accepting his resignation at the July 10, 2013, regular meeting. 2. Vaughn was appointed as the Township Roadmaster on January 5, 1998, and continued to serve in that capacity until approximately April 9, 2014. a. Vaughn served as a Township laborer from 1995 until his appointment as Roadmaster. b. Vaughn was the only Supervisor appointed as a Roadmaster /working Supervisor during the time period of January 4, 2010, through July 10, 2013. C. Vaughn was not a Supervisor when he served as the Roadmaster from July 10, 2013, through April 9, 2014. 3. Highland Township is a Second Class Township governed by a three - Member Board of Supervisors. a. Supervisors receive $75.00 gross per meeting as payment for service as Supervisor. 1. Regular meetings are held once per month. 2. Special meetings are held occasionally throughout the year. 4. Voting at Highland Township meetings occurs via "aye or nay" fashion after a motion is made and seconded. a. Abstentions or dissenting votes are not specifically documented in the minutes. 1. Township minutes normally note only that a motion was made, seconded, and carried. b. Minutes of each meeting are approved for accuracy at each subsequent meeting. 5. Highland Township minutes do not include a listing of monthly bills to be approved for payment at the regular monthly meetings. a. Bills to be paid are routinely reviewed at the Township meeting by the Supervisors. b. Vaughn routinely made the motion to approve the payment of the bills reviewed. 6. The bills approved for payment represent bills received at the Township during the period of time from the previous monthly meeting to the subsequent monthly meeting. a. Township checks are routinely drafted prior to the actual approval being granted via vote by the Supervisors. Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 3 b. After the approval vote, checks are distributed by the Secretary/Treasurerto the Supervisors to sign /execute. Instances exist in which various checks are issued prior to a Township meeting, so that late fees are not incurred. 7. All three Supervisors and the Secretary/Treasurer hold signature authority overthe financial accounts associated with Highland Township. a. Township checks are signed by the Secretary/Treasurer and one of the three Supervisors. Vaughn maintained signature authority over the Township's General Fund Account from January 2006 until July 2013. b. Facsimile stamps are not utilized. 8. Vaughn, as Roadmaster, was responsible for maintenance of Township roads, inspections of roads, and oversight of the road department employees, equipment, facilities, and activities, etc. a. Vaughn's position as Roadmaster was full -time (40 hours per week). 9. Vaughn, as Roadmaster, maintained a logbook documenting the hours worked by him and the other members of the road crew. a. The logbook documented the total number of hours worked per day and the total hours worked per bi- weekly pay period for each of the Township road crew employees, including Vaughn. b. The Supervisors did not review the logbook. C. Vaughn signed the logbook as the Roadmaster to verify hours worked. 10. Vaughn transferred the information from the logbook to a timesheet for payroll purposes. a. The timesheet documented the total number of hours worked per day and the total number of hours worked per the bi- weekly pay period for each of the Township road crew employees, including Vaughn. b. The timesheet documented each employee's hourly wage and total pay due for each employee per the bi- weekly pay period. C. The timesheet was to be signed by a Supervisor and the Secretary/Treasurer to reflect its review /approval. 11. Vaughn submitted the timesheet to the Secretary/Treasurer for payroll purposes. a. The Secretary/Treasurer utilized the timesheet to process payroll. b. Vaughn typically signed the timesheet both as Township Supervisor and as Roadmaster. One of the remaining Supervisors signed the timesheet after Vaughn resigned from the Board, effective July 10, 2013. Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 4 C. The Board did not routinely review the timesheets. 12. The Secretary /Treasurer generated paychecks in accordance with the information listed on the timesheets. a. Paychecks required two live signatures of any of the four authorized signatories. 1. Paychecks were typically signed by the Secretary /Treasurer and Vaughn. aa. Vaughn often signed paychecks since he was readily available, more so than the two remaining Supervisors. 13. The Highland Township road crew normally maintains working hours between 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, with a half an hour paid lunch. a. Hours change to 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the summer months. b. Alterations to the schedule occur due to inclement weather, emergencies, etc. 14. Vaughn, as the Roadmaster, worked the same scheduled hours as the remaining road crew. 15. Vaughn, as Roadmaster, was the Township's point -of- contact for citizens, PennDOT, and the State Police for emergency situations affecting the Township's roads. a. Vaughn typically responded to emergency situations independent of other road crew employees to assess the situation. b. Vaughn decided how and when any emergency situation was to be addressed once on- scene. 1. Vaughn determined whether a situation was to be addressed immediately or the following day during regular business hours. 2. Vaughn determined if any emergency situation was to be addressed by himself or with the assistance of additional road crew personnel. aa. Vaughn did not contact road crew employee(s) for every emergency situation. bb. Many emergency issues could be addressed by Vaughn without the need of assistance from other road crew personnel. 16. The individual in the Roadmaster position had the authority to offer overtime to road crew employees and to the Roadmaster himself. a. Overtime was offered for scenarios such as response to emergency situations and for hours worked in addition to an employee's regularly scheduled hours. 1. The road crew typically worked during emergency situations in response to inclement weather, downed trees, flooded areas, etc. Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 5 2. The road crew typically worked in excess of regular work hours to plow snow and tar /chip roads. b. Each road crew employee was assigned a designated area of the Township for primary road maintenance. Road crew employees typically plowed their designated areas independently. 2. The road crew typically did not work in tandem to plow snow. C. Road crew employees had keys to access the Township garage to obtain the appropriate equipment/vehicles to plow snow without the assistance of Vaughn. 17. The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act ( "FLSA ") requires certain "non- exempt" employees to be paid overtime for any hours actually worked over 40 hours in a week. a. The PA Department of Labor generally held that a Supervisor /Roadmaster is exempt from the FLSA and is not entitled to overtime /compensation, since [a Supervisor is] considered management. 18. The PA Minimum Wage Act notes that even when an employee would be exempt under the FLSA from mandatory overtime rules, if the employee is performing labor functions, even though [the employee is] in a management position, [the employee is] entitled to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours each week. a. Although section 5(a) (12) of the Minimum Wage Act of 1968 exempts supervisors from statutory overtime for performance of their supervisory duties, section 4(c) of the Minimum Wage Act, 43 P.S § 333.104(c), provides statutory overtime for supervisors employed by a township as laborers: "employes shall be paid for overtime not less than one and one -half times the employe's regular rate..." b. Furthermore, in R.H. v. State Ethics Commission, 673 A.2d 1004 at 1010 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1996), the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held: Likewise, we hold here that, although the Township Auditors had not set an overtime rate specifically for supervisors working as laborers in 1988 and 1989, Petitioners did not violate section 3(a) of the 1978 Act by receiving overtime for their work as laborers at a rate equal to that paid to all hourly - wage Township employees. 19. The Township abides by the PA Minimum Wage Act for the issuance of overtime compensation. a. Township employees are offered time and a half of an employee's regular hourly wage as payment for hours worked beyond 40 hours in one week. 20. Per the Second Class Township Code ... the Township elected Auditors are responsible for setting the compensation of the Roadmaster if the position is filled by a Supervisor. a. ... [T]he Second Class Township Code, states, in part the following: Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 6 ...The compensation of supervisors, when employed as roadmasters, laborers, secretary, treasurer, assistant secretary, assistant treasurer or in any employe capacity not otherwise prohibited by this or any other act, shall be determined by the board of auditors, at an hourly, daily, weekly, semi - monthly or monthly basis, which shall be comparable to compensation paid in the locality for similar services. 53 P.S. § 65606(a). 21. The Township Auditors meet in January each year to set the compensation of any Supervisors working in an employee position. a. The Auditors meetings occur subsequent to the Supervisors re- organizational meetings. 22. Vaughn normally attended the Auditors meetings as Supervisor /Roadmaster to discuss the Auditors setting of his compensation as Roadmaster. a. At the Auditor meetings, Vaughn communicated to the Auditors his request or acceptance of an increase in compensation. 23. The Auditors did not specify that the Supervisors working as Township employees were eligible for overtime when setting the compensation for the Roadmaster. 24. Vaughn documented overtime hours on his Roadmaster logbook and timesheet for submittal to the Secretary /Treasurer for payroll purposes. a. The Secretary /Treasurer issued payments for overtime hours claimed by Vaughn for the road crew and /or himself. b. The Board of Supervisors did not independently verify overtime hours submitted by Vaughn. 25. On occasion, Vaughn claimed straight time for hours worked over his regularly scheduled hours in a day. a. Vaughn acted on his own discretion in claiming straight time instead of seeking payment for overtime. 26. The Township Auditors were cognizant of the overtime and /orthe additional straight time Vaughn claimed, even though the Auditors did not formalize overtime compensation policies /procedures. a. The Auditors reviewed Vaughn's timesheets and pay as part of their annual audit. b. The Auditors raised no issue with the overtime and /or additional hours claimed by Vaughn. 27. Vaughn, as Roadmaster, authorized overtime hours for himself that exceeded [those] of the remaining road crew employees. a. As Roadmaster, Vaughn was the point -of- contact for citizen complaints /emergency call outs from PennDOT and the State Police. b. As Roadmaster, Vaughn made the determination whether or not he or road crew employees would receive work over their regularly scheduled hours. Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 7 C. As Roadmaster, Vaughn, at times, worked independently over his regularly scheduled work hours without having offered the additional hours to the remaining road crew employees. 28. Vaughn's timesheets included, but were not limited to, the following labor -type work completed as overtime and /or hours that exceeded his regularly scheduled work hours: • Snow plowing; • Snow plowing and cindering; • Snow plowing and salting; • Salting and cindering; • Truck repair; • Raking and compacting; and • Graveling. 29. In 2010 and 2011, Vaughn maintained a Roadmaster log used to transfer information to his bi- weekly timesheets that were submitted for payroll purposes. a. Vaughn's Roadmaster logs and timesheets from 2010 and 2011 reflect 39 overtime hours, totaling $789.75 in pay issued, forwork properly performed, but which logs and timesheets failed to have proper documentation of the work performed. 1. Of those 39 hours, 22 of the hours were claimed as straight -time rather than time and a half. aa. Vaughn specifically noted on his timesheets hours claimed as straight -time for instances having worked over his regularly scheduled hours in a day. 30. The Township issued 89 paychecks to Vaughn for work performed for the time period of February 18, 2010, to July 18, 2013. a. Vaughn signed 87 of 89 payroll checks he received in his position as Roadmaster. Those 87 timesheets were approved by all voting Members of the Board of Supervisors at the monthly meeting in which those timesheets were presented for payment together with all other Township bills. However, the Board of Supervisors did not routinely review those timesheets in detail prior to authorizing payment of the wages based upon those timesheets. See, paragraph 11(c) above. 31. Vaughn regularly voted affirmatively in approving the payment of the monthly bills that included paychecks to him, on 63 of 89 separate occasions. 32. On June 18, 2015, Vaughn was interviewed by Commission Investigators and provided the following information: Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 8 a. Vaughn maintained logbooks and timesheets to track hours worked by the Township road crew; b. Vaughn noted overtime hours for each employee on the logbook and /or timesheet; C. Throughout his tenure as Roadmaster, Vaughn followed the same overtime practice as his predecessor, in that he contacted employees for instances where overtime was needed and subsequently tracked their overtime hours, to include his own; d. Vaughn was contacted after regular work hours for emergencies and that he would respond alone to the scene to assess the situation; e. Vaughn determined whether the situation needed immediate correction, required additional help from the road crew, etc.; f. Vaughn claimed overtime for instances that he was called out for an emergency situation and worked to correct the situation; g. Vaughn did not claim overtime for every emergency call -out; h. Vaughn typically collected overtime for snow plowing and tar /chipping roads; i. Vaughn claimed straight pay for instances that he met the two remaining Supervisors after his regular work hours for the purpose of inspecting the roads or to evaluate a project. 33. As a Supervisor for Highland Township, Charles Vaughn used the authority of his public position to realize a private pecuniary gain of no less than $789.75 when he: • Verified Roadmaster logbooks as a Supervisor to verify accuracy of work hours claimed, including overtime hours; Served as the Township signatory on paychecks, including overtime, issued to him; and • Voted as a Township Supervisor to issue payroll, including his pay as Roadmaster and overtime payments. III. DISCUSSION: As a Supervisor for Highland Township ( "Township "), Elk County, from March 29, 1996, to July 10, 2013, Respondent Charles Vaughn, also referred to herein as "Respondent," "Respondent Vaughn," and "Vaughn," was a public official /public employee subject to the provisions of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ( "Ethics Act "), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seg. The allegation is that Vaughn violated Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act: (1) when he, as a Township Supervisor, verified Roadmaster logbooks which documented hours worked and overtime to be paid to Vaughn as Roadmaster; (2) when he voted to approve payment of payroll, which included payment of compensation /overtime to himself as Roadmaster; and (3) when he served as the Township signatory on payroll checks issued to himself. Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 9 Pursuant to Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act, a public official /public employee is prohibited from engaging in conduct that constitutes a conflict of interest: § 1103. Restricted activities (a) Conflict of interest. —No public official or public employee shall engage in conduct that constitutes a conflict of interest. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a). The term "conflict of interest" is defined in the Ethics Act as follows: § 1102. Definitions "Conflict" or "conflict of interest." Use by a public official or public employee of the authority of his office or employment or any confidential information received through his holding public office or employment for the private pecuniary benefit of himself, a member of his immediate family or a business with which he or a member of his immediate family is associated. The term does not include an action having a de minimis economic impact or which affects to the same degree a class consisting of the general public or a subclass consisting of an industry, occupation or other group which includes the public official or public employee, a member of his immediate family or a business with which he or a member of his immediate family is associated. 65 Pa.C.S. § 1102 Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act prohibits a public official /public employee from using the authority of public office /employment or confidential information received by holding such a public position for the private pecuniary benefit of the public official /public employee himself, any member of his immediate family, or a business with which he or a member of his immediate family is associated. As noted above, the parties have submitted a Consent Agreement and Stipulation of Findings. The parties' Stipulated Findings are set forth above as the Findings of this Commission. We shall now summarize the relevant facts as contained therein. The Township is governed by a three - Member Board of Supervisors. All three Supervisors and the Township Secretary /Treasurer hold signature authority over the Township's financial accounts. Respondent Vaughn served as a Township Supervisorfrom March 29, 1996, to July 10, 2013. Respondent served as Chairman of the Township Board of Supervisors from January 2, 2010, to January 9, 2013, and again from January 14, 2013, to June 17, 2013. Respondent served as the Township Roadmaster from 1998 until approximately April 9, 2014. During the time period of January 4, 2010, through July 10, 2013, Respondent was the only Supervisor appointed as a Roadmaster /working Supervisor. Respondent's position as Roadmaster was full -time (40 hours per week). As Roadmaster, Respondent was responsible for maintenance of Township roads, inspections of roads, and oversight of the road department employees, equipment, facilities, and activities. As Roadmaster, Respondent had the authority to offer overtime to road crew Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 10 employees and to himself. Respondent authorized overtime hours for himself that exceeded those of the remaining road crew employees. As Roadmaster, Respondent maintained a logbook documenting the hours that he and the other members of the road crew worked. Respondent signed the logbook as the Roadmaster to verify hours worked. The Supervisors did not review the logbook. Respondent transferred the information from the aforesaid logbook to a timesheet for payroll purposes. The timesheet documented the total number of hours worked per day and the total number of hours worked per the bi- weekly pay period for each of the Township road crew employees, including Respondent. The timesheet was to be signed by a Supervisor and the Secretary/Treasurer to reflect its review /approval. Respondent typically signed the timesheet both as Township Supervisor and as Roadmaster. The Board of Supervisors did not routinely review the timesheets. Respondent submitted the aforesaid timesheets to the Secretary/Treasurer, who then generated paychecks in accordance with the information listed on the timesheets. Paychecks were typically signed by the Secretary/Treasurer and Respondent as authorized signatories. Pursuant to the Second Class Township Code, Vaughn's compensation as Roadmaster was to be set by the Township Auditors. 53 P.S. § 65606(a). When setting the compensation for the Roadmaster, the Township Auditors did not specify that Supervisors working as Township employees were eligible for overtime. The parties note that a supervisor employed by a township as a laborer is, in such working capacity, eligible for overtime in accordance with the Minimum Wage Act (see, Fact Finding 18 a) as perthe decision of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in R.H. v. State Ethics Commission, 673 A.2d 1004 at 1010 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1996). Respondent's Roadmaster logs and timesheets from 2010 and 2011 reflect 39 overtime hours, totaling $789.75 in pay issued, which the parties agree was for work properly performed (Fact Finding 29 a), but for which the logs and timesheets failed to have proper documentation as to the work performed. Of those 39 hours, 22 of the hours were claimed as straight -time rather than time and a half. The Township issued 89 paychecks to Respondent for work performed for the time period of February 18, 2010, to July 18, 2013. Respondent signed 87 of 89 payroll checks he received in his position as Roadmaster. Those 87 timesheets were approved by all voting Members of the Board of Supervisors at the monthly meeting in which those timesheets were presented for payment together with all other Township bills. However, the Board of Supervisors did not routinely review those timesheets in detail prior to authorizing payment of the wages based upon those timesheets. On 63 of 89 separate occasions, Respondent voted to approve the payment of the monthly bills that included paychecks to him. The parties have stipulated that as a Supervisor for Highland Township, Respondent Vaughn used the authority of his public position to realize a private pecuniary gain of no less than $789.75 when he: (1) verified Roadmaster logbooks as a Supervisor to verify accuracy of work hours claimed, including overtime hours; (2) served as the Township signatory on paychecks, including overtime, issued to him; and (3) voted as a Township Supervisor to issue payroll, including his pay as Roadmaster and overtime payments. Fact Finding 33. Having highlighted the Stipulated Findings and issues before us, we shall now apply the Ethics Act to determine the proper disposition of this case. Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 11 The parties' Consent Agreement sets forth a proposed resolution of the allegations as follows: The Investigative Division will recommend the following in relation to the above allegations: That a violation of Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), occurred when Vaughn, as Supervisor for Highland Township, verified Roadmaster logbooks documenting hours worked and overtime to be paid to himself as Roadmaster, and subsequently voted to approve Township payroll which included payment of compensation /overtime to himself as Roadmaster based upon those Roadmaster logbooks. A violation of Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), additionally occurred when Vaughn served as the Township signatory on payroll checks, including paychecks issued to himself. Vaughn agrees to make payment in the amount of $789.75 in settlement of this matter payable to Highland Township and forwarded to the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the final adjudication in this matter. Vaughn agrees to not accept any reimbursement, compensation or other payment from Highland Township representing a full or partial reimbursement of the amount paid in settlement of this matter. The Investigative Division will recommend that the State Ethics Commission take no further action in this matter; and make no specific recommendations to any law enforcement or other authority to take action in this matter. Such, however, does not prohibit the Commission from initiating appropriate enforcement actions in the event of Respondent's failure to comply with this agreement or the Commission's order or cooperating with any other authority who may so choose to review this matter further. Consent Agreement, at 1 -2. In considering the Consent Agreement, we approve the parties' recommendation for a finding that a violation of Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), occurred when Vaughn, as a Township Supervisor, verified Roadmaster logbooks documenting hours worked and overtime to be paid to him as Roadmaster and subsequently voted to approve Township payroll which included payment of compensation /overtime to him as Roadmaster based upon those Roadmaster logbooks. Respondent used the authority of his public office as a Township Supervisor when he verified the Roadmaster logbooks he had prepared documenting his own hours as a Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 12 Roadmaster and then voted to approve Township payroll based upon those logbooks. The logbooks included both regular hours and overtime for which Respondent as a Roadmaster was seeking payment. Respondent's Roadmaster logs and timesheets from 2010 and 2011 reflect 39 overtime hours, totaling $789.75 in pay issued, which the parties agree was for work properly performed (Fact Finding 29 a), but for which the logs and timesheets failed to have proper documentation as to the work performed. Of those 39 hours, 22 of the hours were claimed as straight -time rather than time and a half. On 63 of 89 separate occasions, Respondent voted to approve the payment of the monthly bills that included paychecks to him. Accordingly, based upon the Consent Agreement of the parties, we hold that a violation of Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), occurred when Vaughn, as a Township Supervisor, verified Roadmaster logbooks documenting hours worked and overtime to be paid to him as Roadmaster and subsequently voted to approve Township payroll which included payment of compensation /overtime to him as Roadmaster based upon those Roadmaster logbooks. We further hold that based upon the Consent Agreement of the parties, a violation of Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), occurred when Vaughn served as the Township signatory on payroll checks including paychecks issued to him. The Township issued 89 paychecks to Respondent for work performed for the time period of February 18, 2010, to July 18, 2013. Respondent signed as a Township signatory 87 of 89 payroll checks he received in his position as Roadmaster. As part of the Consent Agreement, the parties have negotiated an amount of restitution to be paid by Respondent based upon the compensation Respondent received for overtime hours. Specifically, Respondent Vaughn has agreed to make payment in the amount of $789.75 payable to Highland Township and forwarded to this Commission within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the final adjudication in this matter. Respondent has also agreed to not accept any reimbursement, compensation or other payment from the Township representing a full or partial reimbursement of the amount paid in settlement of this matter. We determine that the Consent Agreement submitted by the parties sets forth a proper disposition for this case, based upon our review as reflected in the above analysis and the totality of the facts and circumstances. Accordingly, per the Consent Agreement of the parties, Respondent Vaughn is directed to make payment in the amount of $789.75 payablen o Highland Township and forwarded to this Commission by no later than the thirtieth (30th day after the mailing date of this adjudication and Order. Per the Consent Agreement of the parties, Respondent Vaughn is further directed to not accept any reimbursement, compensation or other payment from the Township representing a full or partial reimbursement of the amount paid in settlement of this matter. Compliance with the foregoing will result in the closing of this case with no further action by this Commission. Noncompliance will result in the institution of an order enforcement action. IV. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: 1. As a Supervisor for Highland Township ( "Township "), Elk County, from March 29, 1996, to July 10, 2013, Respondent Charles Vaughn ( "Vaughn ") was a public Vaughn, 14 -076 Page 13 official /public employee subject to the provisions of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ( "Ethics Act "), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1101 et seg. Based upon the Consent Agreement of the parties, Vaughn violated Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), when, as a Township Supervisor, he verified Roadmaster logbooks documenting hours worked and overtime to be paid to him as Roadmaster and subsequently voted to approve Township payroll which included payment of compensation /overtime to him as Roadmaster based upon those Roadmaster logbooks. Based upon the Consent Agreement of the parties, a violation of Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), occurred when Vaughn served as the Township signatory on payroll checks including paychecks issued to him. In Re: Charles Vaughn, File Docket: 14 -076 Respondent Date Decided: 4/6/16 Date Mailed: 4/27/16 ORDER NO. 1692 Based upon the Consent Agreement of the parties, as a Supervisor for Highland Township ( "Township "), Elk County, from March 29, 1996, to July 10, 2013, Respondent Charles Vaughn ( "Vaughn ") violated Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act ( "Ethics Act "), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), when, as a Township Supervisor, he verified Roadmaster logbooks documenting hours worked and overtime to be paid to him as Roadmaster and subsequently voted to approve Township payroll which included payment of compensation /overtime to him as Roadmaster based upon those Roadmaster logbooks. 2. Based upon the Consent Agreement of the parties, a violation of Section 1103(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a), occurred when Vaughn served as the Township signatory on payroll checks including paychecks issued to him. 3. Per the Consent Agreement of the parties, Vaughn is directed to make payment in the amount of $789.75 payable to Highland Township and forwarYed to the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission by no later than the thirtieth (30t ) day after the mailing date of this Order. 4. Per the Consent Agreement of the parties, Vaughn is further directed to not accept any reimbursement, compensation or other payment from the Township representing a full or partial reimbursement of the amount paid in settlement of this matter. 5. Compliance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Order will result in the closing of this case with no further action by this Commission. a. Non - compliance will result in the institution of an order enforcement action. BY THE COMMISSION, Nicholas A. Colafella, Chair