Lower Southampton supervisors to end practice of pre-signing resolutions

Posted: Aug. 22, 2018

For more than a decade, Lower Southampton supervisors at times pre-signed resolutions before they officially voted on them, a practice that raises “a lot of potentially very significant questions,” according to the executive director of the Pennsylvania Open Records Office.

The practice came to light Monday after Lower Southampton Supervisor Chairman Keith Wesley mentioned it in an emailed response to questions posed by this news organization as part of its ongoing investigation into the township’s zoning department policies and procedures.

Wesley — the only supervisor to answer the emailed questions — stated that he intends to discontinue the longtime practice to prevent “erroneous” signatures when a supervisor may need to be recused from a voting item during the meeting. Supervisors still may review resolutions before the regular meeting, but signatures would be held until after the meeting “when the votes are recorded,” he wrote in the email.

Patrick Irving

Wesley was responding to questions involving a Jan. 4, 2016, resolution granting preliminary and final plan approval to a two-lot minor subdivision at 616 Avenue A. The document contains the signatures of all five supervisors, though then-supervisor Patrick Irving had recused himself before the vote citing a conflict of interest, according to official supervisor meeting minutes. This news organization found the resolution while reviewing zoning department records for the property, part of an ongoing look into what a recent consultant’s report described as “irregularities” in the township zoning department under a previous director.

Irving resigned from the board last year after moving out of the township. He did not immediately respond to an email asking about the pre-signing practice.

Wesley described Irving’s signature on the document as an “administrative oversight.” He attributed the error to the “previous practice where supervisors review and possibly sign resolutions during the public workshop before the (voting) board meeting,” according to his email.

The signing of resolutions before votes was a practice for “all boards” for “at least the last 11 years,” Wesley wrote. He added that after consulting with the township’s solicitor, Irving’s signature on the resolution would not be cause to reconsider the vote or resolution.

Wesley did not respond to follow-up questions, including under what circumstances resolutions were signed before votes or what happened if or when a supervisor changed his or her mind. Township Solicitor Francis Dillon was unavailable for comment.

Municipal officials often use work sessions to hear reports and informally discuss matters, with action taken in so-called regular or voting sessions. Work sessions are open to the public and votes could take place, but typically do not.

Lower Southampton Supervisors have formally voted to approve at least two dozen resolutions so far this year, including ones involving preliminary and final subdivision and land development plans, according to a review of board minutes. It’s unknown which, if any, were pre-signed before a formal vote was taken.

Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Law, which requires public agencies to deliberate and take official action on agency business in an open and public meeting, does not address the practice of pre-signing board resolutions before official votes, according to Erik Arneson, who heads the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, which provides training on the law. Arneson added that he is not aware of any existing case law on the issue, either.

But the practice does raise potential legal questions such as what would happen if a public official changed a vote after signing a resolution, or, like Irving, recused himself or herself from the vote, he said.

“We don’t see any benefit to an agency to pre-signing anything that they are going to subsequently vote on; the only thing it can do is raise questions,” Arneson said. “We would strongly advise agencies not to do it; avoiding the pre-signing of anything you’re going to vote on later just makes good sense.”

The practice also sends a message to residents that their voices don’t matter to public officials, said Melissa Melewsky, the in-house media law attorney for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

“The resolution is the reflection of the vote, and the vote must follow public comment and, in ideal circumstances, the vote takes public comment into consideration,” Melewsky said. “The signing of the resolution is the last step in the process. Signing first, really what it tells the public is we don’t really care what you think.”