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HomeMy WebLinkAbout624 PattersonSTATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120 ORDER OF THE C014MISSION Order No. 624 DATE DECIDED: 12/14/87 DATE MAILED: 12/28/87 Mr. John F. Patterson Box 24 Irvona, PA 16656 Re: 85 -122 -C Dear Mr. Patterson: 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 council member in Irvona, Pennsylvania, violated Section 3(c) of the Ethics Act which prohibits a public official's contracting with his or her governmental body for $500 or more unless the contract has been awarded through an open and public process including prior public notice and subsequent public disclosure of all proposals and contracts, when you received payment from the borough for the use of your automotive equipment without a contract. A. Findings: 1. You served on the Irvona Borough Council from 1978 through 1985. You resigned from council in September, 1985. . , 2. At the January 10, 1983 council meeting, a motion was made to use your truck and snow plow as a back up at $25.00 per hour. The motion was seconded and carried. 3. At the time you owned a 1980 Dodge Snow Commander with an 8 foot Myer snow plow on the front, double gas tanks which held 18 gallons each for a total of 36 gallons. 4. You stated that your truck was first contracted by the borough as a back up snow plow in 1982. Mr. John F. Patterson Page 2 - a. You stated that during an ice storm in 1982, you helped plow but did not charge the borough. 5. In January, 1985, the borough snow plow was broken, and as a result of a heavy snow fall, your truck was put to use as a back up. 6. You submitted an undated invoice to the borough for the usage of your truck and plow for plowing snow for 8 days totalling 44 hours. At the rate of _ $25.00 per hour, your invoice totaled $1,100.00. The following breakdown was listed on the invoice: Monday - January 14, 1985 - 7 hours. Tuesday - January 15, 1985 - 7 hours. Wednesday - January 16, 1985 - 6 hours. Thursday - January 17, 1985 - 7 hours. Friday - January 18, 1985 - 6 hours. Saturday - January 19, 1985 - 5 hours. Monday - January 21, 1985 - 2 hours. Tuesday - January 22, 1985 - 4 hours. 7. On February 11, 1985, you were issued a check No. 446 in the amount of $1,100.00 out of the street fund of Irvona Borough. The check was signed by you and Secretary /Treasurer Elizabeth Williams. a. Betty Williams stated that she always made out the checks and doted them for the same day as the council meeting during which they would be approved. 8. At the April 1, 1985 council meeting, the following letter, from you, was read and made part of the minutes at your request: Gentlemen: As we learned at the March meeting, a councilman can only earn $1,000.00 per year and we, as council, were under the assumption that it was $1,500.00. I have over drawn by $100.00. To correct this mistake, I am returning $100.00 to Irvona Borough as recommended by Borough Solicitor Thomas Morgan. I request this letter be entered in the borough minutes and kept on file for borough auditors. Mr. John F. Patterson Page 3 9. In a letter dated March 3, 1986 to council, you stated the following: a. Last year you were informed by the auditors that you had violated Borough Code by earning $100.00 more than was allowed as a council person. b. At that time, you agreed to repay the $100.00 to the borough. C. That a change in Borough Code, pertaining to boroughs of less than 1000, enabled council persons to earn up to $1,500.00. d. This was in Act No. 67, House Bill 1647, signed into law on October 28, 1985, effective immediately, for the year 1985. This put you within borough guidelines when you earned $1,100.00. e. An auditor, unaware of this Act, was going to surcharge you as a result of the 1985 audit. f. You do not agree to repay the borough the $100.00. (You had not done so as of the date of this letter). g. Your truck was also used in February, 1985, for an additional 20 16-c-5. You donated these hours to the borough. You had neve r submitted an invoice for these additional hours, on the advice of Betty Williams who told you that you had already made too much. 10. You stated that you abstained from voting to approve the payment of bills, which included your own check in the February 11, 1985 meeting. 11. Borough employee, Doug Hansen, filled out "Irvona Borough Daily Reports" during 1985. He listed the following in correspondence to the dates listed on the invoice you submitted to the borough: 1. a. January 14, 1985 - 8 hours; work on borough equipment; trip to Cambria Tractor for plow. January 15, 1985 - 4 hours; PJ's truck for plowing, and on the back, 8 plow snow. January 16, 1985 - 2 1/2 hours; PJ's truck, 5 1/2 work on borough equipment. January 17, 1985 - 6 plow snow, 2 work on borough equipment. Mr. John F. Patterson Page 4 - January '18, 1985 - 5 plow snow, 3 work on borough equipment. January 19, 1985 - N /A. January 21, 1985 - 3 work on roads, spread salt; 5 work on borough equipment. January 22, 1985 - 8 hours work on borough equipment; trip to _ Cambria Tractor, pick up plow parts. b. Total for snow plowing was 21 1/2 hours. You explain the difference in the invoice hours compared to Hansen's hc!.!rs as time you were plowing yourself. c. On two daily reports submitted by Hansen for February, he lists the following: February 12, 1985 - 4 hours PJ'S truck. February 13, 1985 - 4 hours PJ's truck. 12. In reviewing gas slips charged to the borough, it was noted that the slips almost always listed which specific borough equipment received gas. a. .The following slips for days which correspond to the dates on your invoice to the borough indicate gas was put into your truck: Date Vehicle Gallons Amount Signed January 15, 1985 Patterson Truck 10 $12.20 Hansen January 16, 1985 8.5 $10.00 Spaid January 17, 1985 10 $11.80 Hansen 1 gal. anti- $ 4.95 freeze January 18, 1985 10 $12.20 Hansen January 18, 1985 snow plow 26.3 $31;00 Patterson b. Other gas slips signed for by you are as follows: Mr. John F. Patterson Page 5 - Date Gallons Amount Signed June 25, 1984 13,7 $17.50 Patterson July 12, 1984 16.7 $21.00 Patterson July 19, 1984 15.0 $20.00 Patterson August 17, 1984 $21.50 Patterson September 13, 1984 20.5 $25.40 Patterson September 30, 1984 18.3 $23.50 Patterson October 9, 1984 19.5 $24.00 Patterson October 16, 1984 14.5 $18.00 Patterson November 10, 1984 15.3 $19.00 Patterson November 23, 1984 32.4 $40.00 Patterson _ December 22, 1984 18 $23.00 Patterson October 18, 1983 20.1 $27.00 Patterson Totals: 221 $500.00 13. You stated the following in regard to charging gas to the borough for your snow plow and personal vehicles: a. You did pay for some gas put into your truck when Hansen took it to the station in Coalport, that you frequent, and charged it to you. b. You filled up the truck at night and (January 18, 1985). then plowed snow the next day C. You plowed persons' driveways, and the area received 13 112 inches of snow in those 8 days. d. You traveled and performed errands for the borough:. the time you hauled a roller back from Clearfield; general errands; travel to the Solicitor's office, conventions in State College, Philipsburg, etc. in order to transport other council members and the secretary in your van. Mr. John E . Patterson Page 6 , - e. You state that there was no written procedure for gas mileage or charging gas for borough business. You were under the impression that this had been discussed among the whole of council which agreed to allow it as an accepted practice. f. Your wife also did errands .for the borough. You felt that if you performed all these errands for the bcrough, _ then the borough should be paying for some of the gas. h. You had the only snow plow in the area that %_GIs big enough to handle plowing the streets. 14. You stated that there was no written agreement between you and the borough for the use of your truck and plow as a back up. 15. You stated that you thought you were doing everything legally. E. Discussion: As an elected borough council person in Irvona Borough Council, you are a "public,official" as that term is defined in the Ethics Act. See Rider, No. 490 -R; 65 P.S. §402. As such, you are subject to the provisions of the Ethics Act and the restrictions therein are,applicable to you. Section 3(c) of the Ethics Act provides: Section 3. Restricted activities. (c) No public official or public employee or a member of his immediate family or any business in which the person or a member of the person's immediate family is a director, officer, owner or holder of stock exceeding 5% , of the equity at fair market value of the business shall enter into any contract valued at $500 or more with a governmental body unless the contract has been awarded through an open and public process, including prior public notice and subsequent public disclas272- of all proposals considered and contracts awarded. Any contract made in violation of this subsection shall be voidable by a court of competent jurisdiction if the suit is commenced within 90 days of making of the contract. 65 P.S. 403(c), Section 3(c) basically provides that a "public official" may not contract with his governmental body for $500 or more unless the contract has been awarded through and open and public process. Mr. John F. Patterson Page 7 In the instant situation, although you state that you helped plow snow at no charge during an 1985 ice storm for the borough when the borough snow plow was- broken, you used your truck as backup for a period of eight (8) days totaling 44 hours and submitted an invoice to the borough at a rate of $25 per hour yielding a total bill of $1,100. Thereafter, on February 11, 1985, you were issued a check in that amount ($1,100) from the borough for the invoice which you.submitted. Thereafter, in an April 1985 council meeting, you stated in a letter that a councilman can only earn $1000 and therefore you were overdrawn by $100 which you would return to the borou�; . :..U: , a March, 1986 letter to council , you stated that there was a change in the borough code which enabled council persons to receive $1,500; even though an auditor would surcharge you, you would not repay the borough $100 noting that you had donated 20 hours of truck time to the borough in February of 1985 without submitting an invoice for additional hours. It is also noted that you charged gas to the borough for your snow plow and vehicles which not only were used for plowing in the borough, but also for certain persons' driveways. In this regard, you stated that there is no procedure for charging gas mileage to the borough and.that the borough, as a whole, allows it as an accepted practice. Finally, you .admit that there was no written agreement between yourself and the borough for the use of your truck and plow as a back up. You also did not vote to approve the payment of your bills. Since you received. $1,100 for the Janaury snow plowing services on your part for the borough, this is clearly in excess of $500 which would require that the contract deal awarded 'under an open and public process pursuant to Section 3(c) of the Ethics Act The facts established that the contract was not awarded through an open and public process because you simply submitted an invoice after you completed the services. There was no prior public notice nor subsequent public disclosure regarding your performing the snow plowing services for the borough. Your activity regarding the snow plowing for the borough contravenes Section 3(c) of the Ethics Act. Accordingly, this Commission finds that you have in fact violated Section 3(c). In Donati, No. 204, this Commission found a violation of Section 3(c) of the Ethics Act in a situation where a school directors spouse - contracted with the School District in an amount over $500 where there was not an open and public process. See also Martzall, No. 528 and Gerhart, No. 530. Further, in Kreger, No. 595 the Commission found that a public official violated Section 3Wc) of the Ethics Act when he contracted through his consulting firm with his governmental body under circumstances where the contract was in excess of $500 and was not made through 'an open and public process. You have violated Section 3(c) of the Ethics Act in that you received $1,100 from your governmental body, that is, Irvona Borough Council, without an open and public process, without prior notice and without subsequent public disclosure. Mr.. john F i Patterson Page 8 . s Under th -e circumstances 'of this specific . situation, :however, espe.qially the factors le.adl ng..to the. use of your equipment_,., we bel -i eve that. no further action should be taken. C. Conclusion: and Orders: 1. As a borough council person; you. are a public official :sub ject.to the . restrictions of the Ethics Act. 2. There-was a technical violation of Section 3(c) of th'e Ethics: Act. when you received $1,100 from the borough for, snow r pl owi n'g, services which amount was A h excess of $500 and was not awarded through an open and public process. 3. Based upon the particular circumstances .of .this situation, we wil l .take no further action. in the future,. you must. confom your actions as a. publIc official to the requirements of the State Ethics Act or seek the advice of this Commission prior_ to- such action. 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 availab.le 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. .0uring this 15�day period, no.one,. including the Respondent unless he waives his right to challenge this Order, may viol ate this confidentiality by releasing, di scussing. 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 o'r imprisoned for not moreL than one" year or both, • see '65 P.S. 409(e). By the. Commi ssion; A. G. Sieber Pancoast Chairman r