Falls let auction house sell equipment without a contract. Why it may violate the law

Falls Township supervisors may have violated the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act a second time last month when it allowed a company to sell surplus equipment without a signed contract in place.

The township executed an agreement with Geyer Auction Companies to oversee the sale of items including office furniture, appliances and construction items on Sept. 21, 2023, according to documents obtained through a Right to Know request.

Geyer was paid 35% of the gross sale proceeds, according to a copy of the contract.

But the contract was dated Sept. 21, three days after the online auction ended, according to the documents. The auction started Sept. 6.

Among the documents provided was a copy of a check issued to Falls Township from Geyer Real Estate Auctioneers dated Sept. 21, 2023 for $22,460 for “Items sold.”

Four days later, the supervisors voted unanimously to ratify the Geyer contract at its Sept. 25 public meeting.

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What legal experts believe Falls did wrong

Falls Township’s actions were done in the reverse order of what the law requires, an expert in the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act said.

The auction should not have taken place before a contract was signed, and the contract should not have been signed before it could be discussed and approved in a public meeting, said Melissa Melewsky, staff attorney for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

“Enacting a contract after the work has been done is not consistent with the Sunshine Act or good government more generally,” Melewsky added. “That is completely backwards.”

It appears Falls Township is routinely abusing case law that allows a government agency to “cure” a Sunshine Act violation by holding a second public vote, said Joy Ramsingh, a private attorney with a Harrisburg practice that focuses on transparent government issues.

“The ‘cure’ vote is intended to remedy unintentional mistakes,” added Ramsingh, a former Pennsylvania Office of Open Records appeal officer. “Intentionally voting on official business in private, over and over again, is not a mistake. It’s an exploitation of the law.”

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What is happening in Falls Township with public transparency?

Falls officials have come under scrutiny after it was revealed they have been making personnel decisions in private sessions, then later voting on them at public meetings.

In the last year, Falls supervisors have apparently taken private action on official business outside the public view at least four times, in apparent violation of the public transparency law.

At the same meeting where the Geyer contract was approved, the board also retroactively approved the hiring of former Tullytown Police Chief Daniel Doyle as director of employment operations and chief human resources officer.

But records show Doyle was offered the newly created $130,000 a year job on Sept. 11, and he started working for the township on Sept. 18.

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What does the Sunshine Act say about private and public board discussions?

Any official government business must be made in an advertised meeting where the public has the chance to comment before a vote is taken.

Public officials can discuss hiring options in a closed session — one of three exceptions for private meetings — but can not take official action then, under the law.

What Falls Township says about its actions

In a statement, a Falls Township spokeswoman said the auction was advertised and conducted "consistent" with the requirements of the Second Class Township code. The statement did not directly respond to the alleged Sunshine Act violation.

"Due to time constraints regarding the award of the bids for the building construction, the township was unable to wait until after the meeting 9/25 to proceed with the auction," the statement said. "Had the township not engaged Geyer Auctions, the township would have disposed of the items in the landfill rather than realizing the payment of more than $22,000 for items that were able to be sold."

The township and its solicitor, Michael Clarke, have consistently denied its actions violate the Sunshine Act.

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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Legal experts question Falls transparency, 'cure' votes