Bucks County sheriff has a side job with Falls police. Here's what PA law allows

Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran's side job working for Falls Township does not run violate any Pennsylvania law as the state does not outright bar these elected officers from outside employment.

Sheriffs however cannot perform the outside work while on-duty in their county posts.

Harran, elected sheriff last year, has a contract with Falls through his business, Solutions 180 LLC, which he registered with the state last December on the same day he signed a professional service agreement with the township to act as a “special consultant” to its police department.

Four days later, supervisors voted to hire Harran at a public meeting.

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Falls Township is paying Harran $325 an hour for his work, according to his contract.  Between December and May he collected nearly $12,000 in fees, according to documents obtained through Right to Know.

As sheriff, Harran earns a salary of $89,493, according to the county.

Why did the Bucks County sheriff start a consulting business?

Harran said that he started the company because other organizations were seeking him out for his opinion on issues.  Before taking over as sheriff, Harran spent 34 years in the Bensalem Police Department, including 15 years as its director of public safety.

Harran described his consulting work as part-time, and said it has no impact on his sheriff responsibilities since he does it when his schedule permits.

In a June interview, Harran said he worked for “multiple clients”  who sought his expertise in criminal justice, marketing and administration. He did not identify his other clients. The business has no online footprint and the mailing address is a post office box in Bristol.

A county sheriff working as a paid consultant for a local police department on its own does not present a conflict of interest,  said Mary Fox, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission.

As public employees, sheriffs are required to include any outside employment in their annual statement of financial interests with the commission.

But Harran did not include Solution 180 LLC on his ethics statement submitted in May, according to a copy obtained through Right to Know, and he also indicated on the form he had no other direct or indirect source of income of more than $1,300 annually.

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PA rules about outside employment for county sheriffs

In Pennsylvania, county sheriffs are independent elected officials of the county court system and they are not considered county employees, though the county funds the office.

The elected sheriff can have different job responsibilities depending on the county and its size, said Ray Gerringer, executive director for the Pennsylvania Sheriffs Association.

Duties can include overseeing security for criminal and civil courts, and county events, overseeing department operations, to even assisting deputies with the serving of bench warrants and civil litigation.

Gerringer said he doesn’t know any sheriffs who work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours and as an independent entity they choose how to operate their department without direct oversight.

“They can hold as many jobs as they want,” Gerringer added. “Obviously if they aren’t doing their job they aren’t going to get re-elected.”

Pennsylvania law specifies that elected sheriffs, deputies and other county law enforcement officers are not prohibited from holding outside employment, “including security.”

The only caveats are that outside employment can only be performed when they are not scheduled to be doing their county job, and unless the county bars outside employment by “resolution or ordinance.”

Bucks County does not have either a resolution or ordinance prohibiting outside employment for sheriffs, according to a county spokesman.

Commissioner Chairman Robert Harvie, a former Falls supervisor, and minority commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, of Bensalem, did not respond to emails seeking comment on Harran’s consulting business. Both are running for re-election in November.

But Commissioner Vice-Chairwoman Diane Ellis Marseglia, also seeking re-eelection, said she has no problem with it. “If a local police department believes Fred has credibility and knowledge, and they trust it, I have no concerns.”

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County sheriff has side job with local police. PA law allows it