Submitted by Jerry Hoffman of Middletown:
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
On Tuesday, January 8th, Middletown Taxpayers United submitted a Right-to-Know request to obtain a copy of Township manager Stephanie Teoli Kuhls’ employment contract.
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Today, January 16th, we received a reply dated 1/15/2014 in which the Township invokes a 30-day extension for further legal review, which is a legitimate reason for an extension, however, additional legal review is COMPLETELY WITHOUT MERIT in this instance because an employment contract is undeniably considered an open record.
Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records says on its website that “all records are presumed to be public records” unless barred by state/federal law or judicial order, attorney-client privileged information, or exceptions as noted under Section 708 of the RTK Law.
According to Section 708 (6)(C)(ii) (Exceptions for public records), where it very clearly details what types of documents are exempted from RTK, it reaffirms:
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“Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude the release of the name, position, salary, actual compensation or other payments or expenses, employment contract, employment-related contract or agreement and length of service of a public official or an agency employee.”
This begs the question, why is the Township stalling?
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Without any reasonable legal basis for the delay, we can only assume this move is a strategic one. There are only two (2) public meetings remaining before the February 15th date that the 2014 budget becomes final, and it is a reasonable assumption that our supervisors do not want the public to see the financial absurdity of Ms. Teoli Kuhls’ contract before then.
The public is already outraged that our township manager’s salary is the highest known in the Lower Bucks area. With her generous 3% raise budgeted for 2014, Ms. Teoli Kuhls’ annual compensation will be $157,544. And there is reason to believe that she is receiving a $7,200 annual car allowance, which is rather generous for an office-bound staffer.
This kind of compensation is unaffordable during economically distressed times, especially when our supervisors are about to unleash the single biggest tax increase on the working class members of our community. But rather than own up to their mismanagement, our supervisors continue to avoid transparency for as long as possible. Unfortunately for them, you can only outrun deception for so long before it catches up with you.
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Middletown Residents have more reason than ever to doubt the trust placed in their elected officials. We encourage everyone to join us at the next Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, January 21st, at 7:30pm, to demand fiscal responsibility and transparency from our supervisors.
Respectfully,
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Jerry Hofmann
Chairman
Middletown Taxpayers United
