Delaware Co. Daily Times (Primos), April 9

Pennsylvania voters can no longer
be kept in dark

A state grand jury issued a report (April 5) that led to a series of third-degree felony charges against longtime Haverford Commissioner Fred Moran.

The township Republican faces one count of bribery in official and political matters, one count of theft by deception and one count of theft by unlawful taking, all tied to the sale of the former Haverford State Hospital site. He also faces one count of obstructing the administration of law or other governmental functions.

The accusations must sting Haverford residents who sat through years of partisan bickering over the disposition of that land, only to learn most of the transactions were decided behind closed doors by the majority faction of commissioners.

A jury will eventually decide Fred Moran's guilt or innocence. And, while taxpayers in Haverford will undoubtedly closely monitor judicial activity in this case, every resident in Delaware County should note the grand jury findings in the Haverford mess.

The grand jury found that some Haverford officials completely ignored the First Class Township's Code requirement to advertise for public bid or public auction any township real estate for sale that has a value in excess of $1,500.

Why? Because during the time the hospital property was up for grabs, the board was divided into two factions. Moran's majority faction Moran was pitted against a minority grouping of James McGarrity, Rob Trumbull, Mary March and Keith Richardson. Joe Kelly switched sides to give Moran's faction a 5-4 voting advantage when they promised to make him council president and give his close friend, Leo Sereni, the township solicitor position.

Knowing they had the power to swing any vote, the bloc determined that neither the remaining commissioners nor the residents who put them in office needed to know what they were planning to do with the property. Issues ostensibly brought up at public meetings were bogus, since decisions had already been made and contracts promised at secret meetings.

The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act theoretically requires governing bodies to conduct all business, except select personnel decisions, in public. What the Twenty-Fourth Statewide Investigating Grand Jury found was Haverford officials "ignored their duty .... (and) intentionally chose to operate in secret in order to insure that the development of the valuable Haverford State Hospital site would remain closely within their control."

After investigating this case, the grand jury recommended the Legislature needed to strengthen the Sunshine Act.

The current act was crafted to prevent elected officials from making private decisions on public matters. But the shenanigans in Haverford indicate much more work is needed to ensure taxpayers know what their elected officials are really doing with their money; what they are really doing with their desire for open space; and how officials are getting the best deal for the public and not the best deal for their friends.

It would be naïve to believe that Haverford is an island of improper official behavior. The grand jury was clear on the steps needed by the Legislature to prevent a reoccurrence of the back-door maneuvering in the Haverford Hospital land deal. Penalties must be added and enforcement vested in the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission.

With Pennsylvania's tax burden at a 25-year high, voters can no longer abide being kept in the dark on expenditures or potential tax benefits by the people they put in office.

Reform - politicians keep using the word, but the time has come to stop saying it and put it into action.

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