In Phoenixville government, that would be by bad example.
The State Ethics Act requires that public officials and certain public employees file a publicly available "Statement of Financial Affairs" with the Borough Secretary by May 1 of each year.
Neither Council President Wagner nor Acting Borough Manger Watson have filed theirs.
Mr. Wagner didn't file last year's statement either.
The State Ethics Act provides that "no public official shall be allowed to take the oath of office or enter or continue upon his duties, nor shall he receive compensation from public funds, unless he has filed a statement of financial interests as required by this chapter."
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9 comments:
If this information has been available to Borough Council Members, why haven't these two been removed?
And what else do you know about Council that should be shared with the taxpayers of Phoenixville?
Does this kind of thing surprise us anymore? Of course not. The ruling class does what ever it wants in this town and we all have to swallow the pill. We are living in the land of the ethically challenged.
yikes!
"(b) Financial interests statement violation.--Any person who violates the provisions of section 1103(d) through (j), 1104 (relating to statement of financial interests required to be filed) or 1105(a) (relating to statement of financial interests) commits a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for not more than one year, or both."
Borough Staff is pretty good about sending these forms to everyone, elected and appointed at least, every year and the instructions are to return them to the Borough by May 1. There is nothing complicated or confusing about the form and it is either a complete disregard for the legal requirement or just carelessness on behalf of those required to submit but who fail to do so. I'm sure they'll do very well blaming everyone but themselves for the violation. Maybe its time they be made an example of.
Will the public be kept informed if Mr. Wagner and Acting Borough Manager Watson files the Statement of Financial Affairs? Will be have access to the filed forms?
The filed statements are publicly available from the Borough Secretary at the Borough Hall. Go and ask.
"The State Ethics Act provides that "no public official shall be allowed to take the oath of office or enter or continue upon his duties, nor shall he receive compensation from public funds, unless he has filed a statement of financial interests as required by this chapter."
Then WHY, may I ask, is he still there?
And according to this morning's Pottstown "Mercury" where a Limerick Supervisor also didn't fill out his paperwork, the punishment for this offense is a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in prison, or both.
Unfortunately, even though it may be known to everyone that a public official didn't file, the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission will only investigate after a complaint is filed.
The lawmakers gave the politicians an out.
Anyone out there willing to make a complaint to the Commission?
The Ethics Commission complaint form can be found at
http://www.ethics.state.pa.us/ethics
/cwp/view.asp?a=4&Q=91101
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