Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout765 RussellIn re: Julius Russell STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARPISEURG PENNSYLVANIA 17120 . File Docket: 88 -104 -C : Date Decided: October 4, 1990 . Date Mailed: October 29, 1990 Before: Robert W. Brown, Vice Chair G. Sieber Pancoast Dennis C. Harrington James M. Howley Daneen E. Reese The State Ethics Commission received a complaint regarding a possible violation of the State Ethics Act, No. 170 of 1978, 65 P.S. 401 et. seq. Written notice, of the specific allegation(s) was served at the commencement of the investigation. A Findings Report was issued and served, upon completion of the investigation, which constituted the Complaint by the Investigation Division. An Answer was filed and a hearing was waived. The record is complete. This adjudication of the Commission is hereby issued which sets forth the individual Allegations, Findings of Fact, Discussion, Conclusions of Law and Order. This adjudication is final and will be made available as a public document fifteen days after issuance. However, reconsideration may be requested which will defer public release of this adjudication pending action on the request by the Commission. A request for reconsideration, however, does not affect the finality of this adjudication. A reconsideration request must be received at this Commission within fifteen days of issuance and must include a detailed explanation of the reasons as to why reconsideration should be granted in conformity with 51 Pa. Code S2.38. The files in this case will remain confidential in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 P.S. 408(a) during the fifteen day period and no one unless the right to challenge this Order is waived, may violate confidentiality by releasing, discussing or circulating this Order. However, confidentiality does not preclude discussing this case with an attorney at law. Any person who violates confidentiality of the Ethics Act is guilty of a misdemeanor subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year, 65 P.S. 409(e). ADJUDICATION I. Allegation: That you, Supervisor of Cambridge Township, Crawford County, violated the following provisions of the State Ethics Act, (Act 170 of 1978), when you received compensation not provided for by law when you were paid by Cambridge Township for developing a Disaster Plan for Cambridge Township and Rockdale Township, and when you were paid for additional administrative duties: Section 3. Restricted Activities. (a) No public official or public employee shall use his public office or any confidential information received through his holding public office to obtain financial gain other than compensation provided by law for himself, a member of his immediate family, or a business with which he is associated. 65 P.S. 5403(a). II. FINDINGS: 1. You were elected to a two -year term as Cambridge Township Supervisor and began service in 1986. a. You served as chairman of The Township Board of Supervisors. 2. Minutes of the Cambridge Township Supervisors meetings reflect the following with regard to your position as a supervisor and township employee: a. January 6, 1986: Supervisors present - Edward Styborski, and Julius Russell. Absent - William Fitch. Julius Russell made a motion to appoint Edward Styborski as Roadmaster. Edward Styborski seconded the motion. Edward Styborski made a motion to set the supervisors hourly wage at $5.50 per hour. Julius Russell seconded the motion. Julius Russell made a motion to set employee wages at $6.50 and hospitalization, and Roadmaster wage at $6.50. Edward Styborski seconded the motion. Julius Russell made the motion to increase mileage reimbursement from $.20 to $.22 per mile. Edward Styborski seconded the motion. Julius Russell made a motion to authorize supervisors to sign for purchases and work on the roads. Edward Styborski seconded the motion. 3. Minutes of the Cambridge Township Supervisors meetings reflect the following in regard to the disaster preparedness plan that was adopted by the Township: Mr. Julius Russell Page 2 a. December 29, 1986: Supervisors present - Larry Tapper, Edward Styborski, and Julius Russell. Russell read his personal comments and recommendations. They included revising the comprehensive plan, speeding up the zoning code change process, creation of an emergency management plan and the purchase of a gravel screening plant and Tandem dump truck. The supervisors agree that an emergency preparedness plan should be made up. Larry Tapper said there is no money in the 1987 budget for the Capital expenditures which Russell proposes. b. February 9, 1987: Supervisors present - Larry Tapper, Julius Russell, and Edward Styborski. Russell presented the emergency management plan he has been working on in conjunction with Cambridge and Rockdale Township. He asked R. Charles Thomas to prepare a resolution for adopting the plan at the next meeting. Russell said that since Cambridge Township has prepared the plan, he hopes to get the borough in Rockdale to cover the printing costs. Attorney Thomas asked whether there is to be only one coordinator for all three municipalities. Russell answered that each municipality would have its own coordinator. Thomas stressed the relationship between coordinators is crucial. Tapper asked for written communication from the Cambridge and Rockdale expressing their willingness to commit themselves to this plan. c. March 9, 1987: Supervisors present - Larry Tapper, Edward Styborski, and Julius Russell. The emergency management plan was discussed at length. Russell explained that if Alliance College Facilities are not available, the C.A.V.A.S. base could be used for the EOC Center. The borough has the fire hall as their EOC Center. Emergency care and temporary shelter could be at the C.A.V.A.S. base or the fire hall. Julius has a meeting on the 19th of March with the director of aging to discuss the plan. The EMA coordinators must be appointed by the Governor. Suggestions for the improvement of the plan were discussed at length. A resolution authorizing the Board of Supervisors to operate at a different location during an emergency will be drawn up and adopted at the April meeting. Mr. Julius Russell Page 3 Tapper made a motion to appoint Julius Russell as Emergency Management Coordinator, Styborski seconded. Motion passed. All in favor. Russell explained that the Board of Supervisors can declare a disaster but must notify the county within two hours. The Supervisors enacted Resolution 87 -1 adopting an emergency management plan. Motion by Russell, seconded by Styborski, all in favor. d. August 10, 1987: Supervisors present - Larry Tapper, Ed Styborski, and Julius Russell. Russell said the Disaster Plan has been distributed. He hopes within the next few months, there will be a training program and a mock drill. 4. Cambridge Township daily time slips reflect the following time submitted by Julius Russell for working on the Disaster Plan. Date Job Total Hours Code Personal Vehicle Mile; 1/5/87 Office 8 415.30 28 Maintenance & Master Plan 1/6/87 Office 5 Maintenance & Disaster Plan 1/6/87 Office 2 Maintenance & Disaster Plan 415.30 none 415.30 30* 1/7/87 Office 1 415.30 none Maintenance & Disaster Plan 1/8/87 Disaster Plan 5 430.15 30 1/9/87 Disaster Plan 2 430.15 none 1/12/87 Disaster Plan 4 430.15 30 1/13/87 Disaster Plan 3 430.15 none 1/14/87 Disaster Plan 3 430.15 none 1/15/87 Disaster Plan 5 430.15 30 Mr. Julius Russell Page 4 1/19/87 Disaster Plan 4 430.15 none 1/20/87 Disaster Plan 3 430.15 none 1/21/87 Disaster Plan 2 430.15 none 1/22/87 Not listed 21 NL none 1/26/87 Disaster Plan 3 430.15 16 2/2/87 Not listed 3 NL none 2/9/87 Disaster Plan 7 430.15 30 2/10/87 Disaster Plan 3 430.15 none 3/2/87 Disaster Plan 3 415.30 18 3/9/87 Disaster Plan 4 430.15 none 3/19/87 Office Repair 4 430.15 30 Disaster Plan 3/23/87 Office Repair 5 430.10 none Disaster Plan 4/6/87 Disaster Plan 2 for DP 430.10 68 Locating Pipe 4/30/87 Disaster Plan 4 430.10 30 ** 5/5/87 Disaster Plan 5 430.10 * ** 7/8/87 Disaster Plan 4 for DP 430.10 none Moving Pipe 7/9/87 Mowing & Disaster Plan 8 430.10 16 5/23/87 Disaster Plan 2 for DP 430.10 none Shop & Office Maintenance & Gravel Permit 5/27/87 Disaster Plan 7 430.10 none 5/26/87 Disaster Plan 6 430.10 none & Gravel Permit Mr. Julius Russell Page 5 5/28/87 Disaster Plan 4 430.10 none Pipe - Gravel 6/1/87 Disaster Plan 7 430.10 none & Gravel Permit 8/3/87 Distributing 3 for DP 430.10 15 Disaster Plan & Preparing Tanker Car 8/4/87 Disaster Plan 5 430.10 38 8/6/87 Ditching Alien 2 for DP 430.10 none Rd & Disaster Plan * - Not paid, see previous listing for January 6, 1987. ** - Trip to Shobe Equipment in Fairview. * ** - Duplicate time slips, dated April 30, 1987, first slip reflects time of 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. - 4 hours total, 30 personal vehicle miles. Second slip reflects time of 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Total hours - 71, no personal vehicles miles, no explanation of job. DP - Disaster Plan. NL - Not listed. 5. Cambridge Township daily times slips reflect the following total number of hours and miles claimed by Julius Russell for working on the Disaster Plan. - a. Total hours: 141.50. Disaster Plan: 93.5 = $514.25. Combined Jobs: 42.5 = $233.75. Unspecified: 5.50 = $30.25. Rate of Pay: $5.50 per hour. Total: $778.25. b. Total miles: 409. Disaster Plan: 222 = $48.84. Combined Jobs: 187 = $41.14. Rate set by supervisors: $.22 per mile (1986). Total: $89.98. Mr. Julius Russell Page 6 6. Mr. Russell obtained the Disaster Plan from Meadville and rewrote it. 7. The Township Supervisors did not intend for Mr. Russell to be compensated for working on the Disaster Plan. 8. The Township Solicitor did not intend for Mr. Russell to be compensated for working on the Disaster Plan. 9. Had the Solicitor know of such payment he would have advised against such. 10. There was no official action authorizing such compensation for Mr. Russell's work on the Disaster Recovery Plan. 11. Cambridge Township daily time slips reflect that Julius Russell was paid for attending the following meetings and hearings: a. Date: July 16, 1987. Job CDBG hearing: 3 hours. Account No. 438. Personal Vehicle Miles: 32. b. Date: July 6, 1987. Job Ridge Meeting. Account No. 438. Total hours: 8. Personal Vehicle Miles: 12. The township solicitor was not aware that Mr. Russell was compensated for attending meetings other than regular meetings of the Board of Supervisors. 13. Minutes of the Cambridge Township Supervisors meetings reflect the following in regard to office maintenance work performed by Julius Russell. a. April 6, 1987: Chris Adkins stated that Julius Russell was paid $368.50 on account No. 409.10 - Office Maintenance, which is in violation of the Township Code. Office maintenance money should be included under meeting pay. Larry Tapper was paid $16.50 under office maintenance. Secretary Fosburg responded that she had examined the time sheets and it was gravel pit inspections and should have been charged to account No. 430. Julius Russell explained that the "office work" referred to by Adkins earlier, had to do with getting the permit for the Mr. Julius Russell Page 7 work done in the corner of Henry Road and Route 86. The code for this work should have been 438. Adkins said her understanding was that any paperwork done by supervisors is covered by the meeting pay. Russell that she may be right, however, he was doing something no one else on the Board would do, therefore, it would be donating his time if he did not receive additional compensation. Auditor Puchaz then asked whether the supervisors were satisfied that Russell did the paper work legitimately. Tapper said no and that Township ordinance No. 85 -003 provides for administrative work to be compensated by meeting pay. Attorney Thomas asked whether the work was connected with the roads, and, when answered yes, said that it was a legitimate expense. Tapper brought up the cost of remodeling ($566.50) in labor, $141.55 in material) for a total of $708.05 which he felt was high. Russell said we got a good job at a moderate cost. Tapper said Russell said it would take three days. Russell said that did not include painting and reconditioning the damaged material. Russell said Tapper was out of line. Tapper said if he had known it would cost that much, he would have subcontracted the job. Russell said Tapper does not have the authority to do that. Tapper agreed that board action would be required. 14. Cambridge Township daily times slips reflect the following pay to Julius Russell for office maintenance. Date 12/29/86 4 437 none Office Maintenance 1/5/87 8 415.30 28 Office Main- tenance & Disaster Plan 1/6/87 1/7/87 Total Hours Code Personal Vehicle Miles 5.5 415.30 none Job Office Main- tenance & Disaster Plan 1/6/87 2 415.30 30 Office main- tenance & Disaster Plan 1 415.30 none Office main- tenance & Disaster Plan Mr. Julius Russell Page 8 3/10/87 5.5 415.30 none Office repairs 3/10/87 6 437 23 Office repairs 3/11/87 4.5 437 none NL 3/19/87 5.5 NL 30 Office repairs & Disaster Plan 3/12/87 5 437 17 Office painting 3/13/87 6.5 437 32 Office repairs 3/17/87 9 437 none Office repairs 3/20/87 2.5 437 none Office repairs 3/23/87 5 437 none Office repairs & Disaster Plan 3/24/87 7.5 437 none Painting office 3/27/87 8 437 none Painting office 3/31/87 8 437 none Painting office 4/1/87 7.5 none none Painting office 4/2/87 7 437 none Painting & cleaning office 4/17/87 5 437 none Cleaning shop 4/19/87 4.5 437 none Office & shop maintenance 5/22/87 5 437 none Office & shop maintenance 5/23/87 2 437 none Disaster Planning shop & office main- tenance gravel permit Mr. Julius Russell Page 9 15. Cambridge Township daily times slips reflect the following total number of hours and miles for office maintenance work performed by Julius Russell: a. Total hours: 124.5. Office maintenance: 95.5. Combined Jobs: 29 Rate of pay: $5.50 per hour. Total: $684.75. b. Total miles: 160. Office maintenance: 72. Combined Jobs: 88. Rate of pay set by supervisors: $.22 per mile. (1986). Total: $35.20. 16. Cambridge Township Auditors minutes reflect the following in regard to compensation set for supervisors. a. January 7, 1986: Auditor's present: Valenda McCoy, Nancy Humes, and Laura Puchacz. Ed Styborski, as roadmaster, asked for $6.50 and Julius Russell to get $5.50 per hour. Julius and Ed to get life insurance. b. February 24, 1986: Auditors present: Val McCoy, Laura Puchacz and Nancy Humes. Meeting held to discuss wages for supervisors and roadmasters. Motion was made to keep all supervisor's wages at $5.50 per hour. Motion seconded. All in favor. c. January 6, 1987: Auditors present: Chris Adkins and Nancy Humes. Absent: Laura Puchacz. Humes made a motion to keep the supervisor and roadmaster wages at $5.50 per hour. Chris Adkins seconded the motion. 17. Cambridge Township Auditor's minutes reflect the following comments in regard to the time Julius Russell submitted for working on the Emergency Preparedness Plan. Mr. Julius Russell Page 10 a. March 16, 1988: Auditors present: Chris Adkins, Nancy Miller, and Nancy Humes. Auditors needed to discuss time sheets not being signed by Ed Styborski. Adkins asked Julius Russell about his time sheets under Emergency Management Plans and Disaster Plan. Time sheets had nothing written on them and some mileage at the bottom of them. Julius Russell responded that before he answers auditor's questions, he had a couple of questions first. He said he was very disturbed when Chris called him hassling him about something that has been ok in the past, and that he did an excellent job on, and had been complimented all over the state on his job, and that someone was nit - picking. Chris said these time slips left out where you went and what you did. Julius Russell replied Disaster Plan took more time than he thought it was going to take. Rockdale Township paid the cost of printing the plans, in exchange for work Julius did. Nancy Humes replied that so many hours and no one seems to know what to do. Did you have a drill? What is required with this mandate? Julius said it was pretty well spelled out and it should be done. Chris asked if it cost $800 for supplies for Rockdale Township? Julius said he didn't know. Chris said, according to code book, it should be covered under meeting pay or administrative pay. Chris talked to Attorney Thomas and he said he could not stand behind Julius Russell getting paid for Disaster Plan. Julius Russell said he was sending the Township a bill for the time he was here. Supervisors could pay it or reject it. Chris said the time slips need to go to someone who has more authority than auditors of Cambridge Township. Chris said Julius Russell implemented the time slips and the auditors asked the supervisors to be more precise. Nancy Humes said it was auditor's idea to have time slips and Julius followed it through. Julius asked auditors if there was any more discussion on times slips or emergency management Disaster Plan. Mr. Julius Russell Page 11 Pat Herman said that at the very least, mileage should be reimbursed. Nancy Humes said if we went in with Rockdale, she thought it should have been 50 -50, fifty percent of supplies and fifty percent payroll. Chris Adkins made a motion we submit to Harrisburg to get our money back. Nancy Miller seconded the motion. Roll call vote was: Chris - yes; Miller - yes; Humes - no. 18. Records of Cambridge Township Include Payroll records for Julius Russell which reflect the following earnings: a. 1986: b. 1987: Meeting pay: $1500. Regular pay: $7961.25. Overtime pay at $5.50 per hour: $88. Overtime pay at $8.25 per hour: $123.75. Total earnings: $10,025.00. Meeting pay: $1500. Regular pay: $5,868.50. Overtime pay at $8.25 per hour: $37.37. Total earnings: $7,405.63. 19. The Township Auditors believed that Mr. Russell should have received some form of compensation for the work he did on the Disaster Plan. III. Discussion: As a Supervisor of Cambridge Township, Julius Russell, hereinafter Russell, is a public official as that term is defined under the Ethics Act. 65 P.S. 402; 51 Pa. Code 1.1. As such, his conduct is subject to the provisions of the Ethics Act. - Initially, it is noted that Section 5 of Act 9 of June 26, 1989 provides, in part, as follows: "This amendatory act shall not apply to violations committed prior to the effective date of this act, and causes of action initiated for such violations shall be governed by the prior law, which is continued in effect for that purpose as if this act were not in force. For the purposes of this section, a violation was committed prior to the effective date of this act if any elements of the violation occurred prior thereto." Mr. Julius Russell Page 12 Since the occurrences in this case transpired prior to the effective date of Act 9 (June 26, 1989), we must apply the provisions of Act 170 of October 4, 1978, P.L. 883 to determine whether the Ethics Act was violated. Under Section 3(a), quoted above, this Commission has determined that use of office by a public official to obtain a financial gain for himself or a member of his immediate family or a business with which he is associated which is not provided for in law transgresses the above provision of law. Thus, use of office by a public official to obtain a financial gain which is not authorized as part of his compensation is prohibited by Section 3(a): Hoak /McCutcheon v. State Ethics Commission, 77 Pa. Commw. Ct. 529, 466 A.2d 283 (1983); Yacobet v. State Ethics Commission, 109 Pa. Commw. Ct. 432 531 A.2d 536 (1987). Similarly, Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act would prohibit a public official /employee from using public office to advance his own interests; Koslow v. State Ethics Commission, 116 Pa. Commw. Ct. 19, 540 A.2d 1374 (1988). Likewise, a public official /employee may not use the status or position of public office for his own personal advantage; Huff, Opinion 84 -015. In the instant matter, we have before us the allegation as to whether Russell as a Township supervisor used public office to obtain a financial gain by being paid for developing a Disaster Plan for Cambridge and Rockdale Townships as well as being paid for additional administrative duties. Russell was elected as a Cambridge Township supervisor and began serving in 1986. The January 6, 1986 minutes of the Board reflect that Russell seconded a motion to pay supervisors at a hourly wage of $5.50, made a motion to set wages for employees including the roadmaster at $6.50 and provide hospitalization, made a motion to increase mileage disbursements from twenty cents to twenty -two cents per mile and finally made a motion to authorize supervisors to sign for purchases and work on the roads. - The Township Board of Supervisors also took action regarding a disaster preparedness plan. The December 29, 1986 minutes reflect that Russell made comments and recommendations as to such a plan. At the February 9, 1987 meeting, Russell presented the emergency management plan that he was working for both Cambridge and Rockdale Townships. Thereafter, at a March 9, 1987 meeting after the emergency management plan was discussed at length, a motion was made to appoint Russell as Emergency Management Coordinator which passed unanimously. A resolution adopting the Emergency Management Plan was also passed following a motion by Russell which was adopted unanimously. Russell submitted time slips and received payment for working on the Disaster Plan as well as for certain other duties he performed. Although Russell developed the Disaster Plan, it was basically a re- Mr. Julius Russell Page 13 write of a plan from Meadville. It appears that neither the Township Board of Supervisors nor the Township Solicitor intended for Russell to be compensated for working on the plan and there was no official action authorizing such compensation. At a April 6, 1987 meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Cambridge Township, Chris Adkins challenged the receipt by Julius of $368.50 for office maintenance work which Adkins believed was in violation of the Township Code. Russell responded that the work related to getting a permit for work done on roads. Supervisor Tapper was of the view that Township Ordinance 85 -003 required that administrative work was part of the meeting pay. The minutes of the Cambridge Township Auditors reflect that in a January 7, 1986 meeting an hourly rate of compensation of $5.50 was approved for Russell which was continued at February 24, 1986 meeting and a January 6, 1987 meeting. The minutes of the Auditors for March 16, 1988 meeting reflect that in a March 16, 1988 meeting, Russell was questioned about his time sheets for the Emergency Management Plan and Disaster Plan; he responded that the plans took more time than he had originally anticipated and that he was sending the township a bill for the time that he worked on the Disaster Plan. It was the consensus of the Auditors that Russell should receive some compensation for work that he did on the Disaster Plan. In applying the provision of Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act quoted above to this case, we must determine whether the compensation Russell received was other than provided for by law. In particular, the Second Class Township Code delineates with specificity the amount of compensation that a supervisor may receive both in his position as public official performing the duties of an elected supervisor as well as the compensation said supervisor may receive if he is in one of the denominated working positions as an employee supervisor. Section 515 of the Township Code sets forth when supervisors may receive compensation. Generally, Township supervisors may be employed by the Township as a roadmaster, laborer, or secretary /treasurer as noted above. 53 P. S. 565515; 65531; 6554D. Township supervisors may not receive any other compensation except as provided above. This concept has been upheld by various courts in the Commonwealth. In Coltar v. Warminster Township, 8 Pa. Commw. Ct. 163, 302 A.2d 859, (1973), the Commonwealth court of Pennsylvania held that a Second Class Township supervisor may not appoint himself to positions other than those set forth in the Township Code. (roadmaster, laborer, or secretary /treasurer), and receive compensation therefore. See also Conrad v. Exeter Township, supra. It is clear, therefore, that the duties for which a Township supervisor may be compensated are strictly regulated by the Township Code; the supervisor's pay must be specifically set forth by the township board of auditors. While an employee supervisors is eligible to be compensated for services Mr. Julius Russell Page 14 rendered in that position, the pay for which he is compensated must relate to his working position but not to the office supervisor. In this case, the work that was performed by Russell as to the Disaster Plan related to his duties as a public official in the capacity of elected Township Supervisor. As such, those duties were part of the compensation which is set for the position of office supervisor and clearly the additional payments were unauthorized in law. Accordingly, the use of office by Russell to obtain that financial gain was compensation other than provided for by law in violation of Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act. The slips submitted by Russell reflect time periods where he exclusively worked on the Disaster Plan but also reflect other periods where he worked on both the Disaster Plan and other administrative duties without a break down as to how much time was spent on each task. Russell receive $514.25 compensation for slips that he put in relative solely to the Disaster Plan. In addition, there were other slips, totalling approximately forty -two hours, which reflected work both on the Disaster Plan and on administrative duties. Since there is no way to break down the hours relative to the different tasks performed, we feel that it would equitable to allot one half of this time or twenty -one hours to the Disaster Plan, which at a rate of $5.50, would yield a financial gain of $115.50. A total of the two foregoing sums would be $629.75 which we find, as a matter of fact, to be the amount of compensation received by Russell relative to working on the Disaster Plan. Turning to the matter of the administrative pay, we once again have a problem in delineating those functions performed by Russell which relate to an employee supervisor for which he would be entitled to compensation and those duties which would relate to that of office supervisor for which he would not be entitled as a matter of law to receive additional compensation. Clearly, some of the activities do relate to non - administrative activities such as office maintenance, office repairs, cleaning and painting. Therefore, in an attempt to balance our finding relative to the gain received by Russell as to the Disaster Plan, we will not impose restitution both because a substantial portion of the work appears to be related to Russell's function as an employee supervisor and because a precise breakdown cannot be made. See Spahr, Uremovich v. State Ethics Commission, filed in Commonwealth Court on September 13, 1989 at 1757, 1758, 1759 C.D. 1988. We therefore find that Russell violated Section 3(a) of the Ethics Law regarding the receipt of additional compensation which was not provided for in law relative to his development of the Disaster Plan and further direct that restitution in the amount of $629.75 be made to Cambridge Township. Mr. Julius Russell Page 15 When Russell makes restitution of the above amount to Cambridge Township, he will have removed himself from the conflict and this Commission will take no further action; however, in the event that Russell fails to make restitution, appropriate action will be initiated in order to obtain compliance with the requirements outlined herein. IV. Conclusions of Law: 1. Julius Russell as a Supervisor of Cambridge Township is a public official subject to the provisions of the Ethics Act. 2. Russell violated Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act by receiving a financial gain of $629.75 which was compensation other than provided for by law relative to the development of a Disaster Plan for Cambridge Township. 3. Russell is required to make restitution in the amount of $629.75 to Cambridge Township as to the financial gain he received. In re: Julius Russell : File Docket: 88 -104 -C Date Decided: October 4, 1990 . Date Mailed: October 29, 1990 ORDER No. 765 1. Julius Russell as a Supervisor of Cambridge Township violated Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act by receiving a financial gain of $629.75 which is compensation other than provided for by law relative to the development of a Disaster Plan for Cambridge Township. 2. Russell is required to make restitution in the amount of $629.75 to Cambridge Township as to the financial gain he received. 3. Upon making restitution, Russell will remove himself from the conflict and this Commission will take no further action. 4. In the event Russell fails to make restitution, appropriate action will be initiated in order to seek enforcement herewith. BY THE COMMISSION, . r 4 ROBERT W. BROWN, VICE CHAIR STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING P.O. BOX 11470 HARRISBURG, PA 17108 -1470 TELEPHONE (717) 783 -1610 January 14, 1991 Mr. Julius Russell R.D. #1 Cambridge Springs, PA 16403 Re: Order No. 765, File No. 88 -104 -C Dear Mr. Russell: On November 29, 1990, the State Ethics Commission approved your requested payment method for reimbursing the municipality as required by Order No. 765. We have forwarded your check No. 353 in the amount of $105.00 to Cambridge Township. We will expect checks in the amount of $105.00 to be received on the 20th of each month. This letter will be part of the Order and a public record as such. JJC /slj Sing Jo n J ✓C • ntino ./Executive Director