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HomeMy WebLinkAbout349 AtzMr. Bernard Atz c/o John F. Wagner, Jr., Esq. Law Offices of Wagner & Macko Corner of Memorial Boulevard & Highland Avenue Connellsville, Pennsylvania 15425 Re: No. 82 -116 -C Dear Mr. Atz: STATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120 ORDER OF THE COMMISSION November 28, 1984 Order No. 349 The State Ethics Commission has received a complaint regarding you and a possible violation of Act 170 of 1978. The Commission has now completed its investigation. The individual allegations, conclusions, and findings on which those conclusions are based are as follows: I. Allegation: That you, a Township Supervisor, used Township equipment and personnel to install a water and gas line into your home and that this is a use of your office for personal gain and a violation of Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 P.S. 403(a). A. Findings: 1. You have served as a Supervisor in Luzerne Township since 1979 and are subject to the requirements of the Ethics Act. 2. In August, 1979, you and three other residents of the LaBelle area of Luzerne Township requested gas service from the Columbia Gas Company. them. a. Of the six homes included in this request, you owned three of b. You made the contact with the gas company. c. The gas company will provide the pipe for the trunk line but will not install it. d. Installation of the tap -in line is the responsibility of the homeowner. Bernard Atz Page 2 November 28, 1984 3. The Township had no formal policy established for the installation of trunk lines for gas services. a. In the past. the Township had installed water lines for Township residents without charge. b. At your request. the other supervisors informally agreed this practice would be extended to allow Township installation of the trunk line in the LaBelle area. This agreement was not confirmed, formalized or documented in any way. 4. In October, 1979, 300 to 500 feet of trunk line was installed in the LaBelle area for gas services. a. You admit that you dug the line with Township equipment and that Mr. James Yacobet, another Supervisor, graded and leveled the land with Township equipment after the pipe was installed. b. The project took less than one day. c. You admit Township equipment was parked at your home for a few days but state that it was there as a convenient place for temporary storage. 5. Tap -in lines to your home were installed at the same time as the trunk line. a. You state that you used a backhoe which had been rented by a neighbor and installed your tap line and his. b. The neighbor says he built his home in 1981 and rented a backhoe at that time for foundation and landscaping, and you operated it on his property and used it to repair your driveway, not to install tap -in lines. 6. You did not keep logs of the Township work installing the gas lines in the LaBelle area. a. No logs recording work done by Township employees were kept by roadmasters at that time. b. There are no other records to document the amount of time Township resources used working on the gas line service. Bernard Atz Page 3 B. Discussion: Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act states: 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. 403(a). November 28, 1984 There is no disagreement about the installation of the trunk line. You admit you performed the work with Township equipment. There is also no question that it was to your financial interest to use Township equipment and employees for this work. However, the Township lacked a formal policy on this and similar work, and their past practices had allowed Township installation of water lines for Township residents without charge. In addition, the other supervisors informally approved the use of Township equipment in the LaBelle area. In this case, you initiated the action to extend this practice to the installation of the trunk lines in the LaBelle area but that action was within the context of Township past practices. The installation of the tap -in presents different circumstances. This was your responsibility as the homeowner. There was no Township informal or formal practice of doing this work for homeowners. The Columbia Gas Company records demonstrate that the installation of the trunk line was completed in October of 1979 and, therefore, you could not have installed your tap -in by using the equipment your neighbor rented in 1981. Despite these facts, there is insufficient evidence to find a violation of Section 3(a) of the Ethics Act. However, the Commission also has a responsibility to review the actions of public officials in light of Section 1 of the Act which states that those actions should create neither a conflict nor the appearance of a conflict of interest with the officials' public trust. In this case, you admit that you used Township equipment to install the gas trunk lines, that there were no logs kept to document that the Township employees were used only for those things which had been agreed to by the supervisors, and that the equipment remained at your home for a few days. We are, by these facts, led to a firm belief that you used township equipment for your own benefit, but we cannot definitively prove that a violation of the Ethics Act occurred because of the lack of proper township records regarding use of township employees and equipment. In addition, we note that you were responsible for requesting the installation of the gas lines, for getting the supervisors to agree that the policy of installing water lines could be extended to this gas line project Bernard Atz Page 4 and for the supervision of the Township employees on this job. Despite this responsibility and the fact that three of your homes would benefit from the installation of this gas line, you took no action to allay public concern that public resources were used for this project. Under these circumstances, we find that you created the appearance of a conflict of interest between your personal financial interests and the public trust. In the future, you must take whatever actions are necessary to demonstrate to the public that their interests are being served when public resources are being used. As a public official you must take steps, such as insisting that adequate recordation procedures be established and implemented as to assure that public equipment and resources, if used for non - township business, are subject to proper reimbursement. C. Conclusion: There is insufficient evidence to find a violation of Section 3(a) but we do conclude that you created the appearance of a conflict of interest between your personal financial interests and the public trust by having Township equipment used to install gas lines which benefitted you as a private citizen and by failing to document the use of Township equipment and employees in a manner which would have demonstrated to the public that public resources were being used only for public purposes. Our files in this case will remain confidential in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Ethics Act, 65 P.S. 408(a). However, this Order is final and will be made available as a public document 15 days after service (defined as mailing) unless you file documentation with the Commission which justifies reconsideration and /or challenges pertinent factual findings. See 51 Pa. Code 2.38. During this 15 -day period, no one, including the Respondent unless he waives his right to challenge this — Order, may violate this confidentiality by releasing, discussing or circulating this Order. Any person who violates the confidentiality of a Commission proceeding is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year or both, see 65 P.S. 409(e). HBC /na By the •ommissio Herb Conner Chairman November 28, 1984