The Pennsylvania Ethics Commission has been asked to investigate a previously undisclosed 2015 contract involving Lower Southampton and the employer of a township supervisor.
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| Keith Wesley |
Township documents show Hoffman Services Inc., of Newark, New Jersey, was paid $17,500 to replace a vehicle lift in the township public work garage, which broke in the upright position; documents also include more recent invoices from the company for vehicle lift inspections and materials.
Supervisor Keith Wesley is a senior service technician responsible for sales and service at Hoffman Services, according to the company’s website. In a phone interview, Wesley said he had nothing to do with the contracts and didn’t benefit from them. He added that he asked the township’s head of public works not to use his employer in 2015 “for this very reason.”
Lower Southampton resident Victor Corsino, a former Democratic supervisor candidate, obtained the documents that revealed the contracts through a Right to Know request he filed Jan. 11 and provided them to this news organization. He filed a complaint on the matter with the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission on Friday, a copy of which he provided to this news organization.
This news organization had filed its own Right to Know request on Jan. 7 seeking Hoffman Service records, as well as additional documents; the request is being processed, according to officials.
Corsino’s documents included two estimates from Hoffman Services dated April 15, 2015: one for $24,000 and the other for $16,500 for different options to replace the four-post, drive-on vehicle lift. A township invoice dated June 2, 2015, shows Hoffman Services was paid $17,500. The invoice contains three sets of initials from the Public Works Department head Joe Condo, former Township Manager John McMenamin and Finance Director Joe Galdo, the current acting township manager.
The township did not provide documents showing other quotes were obtained for the work, which was part of his Right to Know request, Corsino said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry sets bidding thresholds annually for state authorities and municipalities. In 2015, those thresholds required public entities to obtain three quotes for purchases and contracts valued between $10,500 and $19,400.
Copies of other township invoices Corsino obtained show Hoffman Services provided supplies and performed inspections on the vehicle lifts in the public works garage in 2017 and 2018. The total for that work was $1,020, which was below the state threshold where formal public bidding or obtaining of quotations is required. The Hoffman invoices in 2017 and 2018 were all less than the $500 trigger under the Pennsylvania Ethics Act, which outlines conduct rules for public employees and officials.
The act states that no public employee or official — or a spouse, child or “any business in which the person or his spouse or child is associated with”— can enter into a contract worth at least $500 with the government he or she is associated with “unless the contract has been awarded through an open and public process.”
The law does not specify what actions are considered an “open and public process,” but it does say that the process includes “prior public notice and subsequent public disclosure of all proposals considered and contracts awarded.” It also states that the public official or employee shall not have any involvement with the implementation or administration of the contract.
In emails to this news organization, Galdo could not provide additional details about the circumstances surrounding the lift contract, including the date it broke, if it was the only available vehicle lift the township had, and if other quotes to replace it were obtained. This news organization reviewed Board of Supervisors minutes for the months before, during and after the 2015 invoice dates and did not find any mention of Hoffman Services.
Condo, the public works department head, is out on medical leave, according to Galdo, and could not be reached for comment.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday, Corsino told the board that he had notified the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission about the contract award and that he intended to file a complaint.
Corsino, a regular attendee of supervisor meetings for the last four years, said, “I’ve never seen any of these (contracts) mentioned at all.”
Township Solicitor Francis Dillon responded during the meeting that there is no indication that Wesley used his authority of office to hire his employer, and the director of public works decided to enter into the contract with Hoffman. He added the township would cooperate with any ethics investigation.
Wesley, who has worked for Hoffman since 2009, said at the meeting he has never solicited any township business during his 10 years on the board. He stated he did not receive any financial benefit as a result of the contracts for the vehicle lift replacement or the inspections.
“Sorry to disappoint you, I didn’t have anything to do with it,” he said, directing his comments to Corsino.
The executive director of the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission, Robert Caruso, said his office cannot confirm whether a complaint is filed or investigation underway.
But Caruso confirmed that the township should apply the $500 threshold for public disclosure in addition to any state bidding procedure rules. Whether the rule applies in an emergency situation “would depend on the nature of the emergency,” but it would have to involve a natural disaster, such as snow or a flood, Caruso said.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the board or the (municipal) manager doing the contracting, the law still applies,” Caruso added. “Each situation is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Generally, if a firm, with which a public official is associated is being considered for a contract with the public official’s governmental body, the contract must be awarded through an open and public process.”
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