Dear Mr. Evans:
I write to you in response to your coverage of the dispute between Mayor Patty Gilliland and the Clearfield Borough Council. I do not intent to litigate this matter through the media, but, rather offer the following to shed some light on the role of the mayor and the duties she is sworn to fulfill.
Pennsylvania law gives the mayor the right to attend all regular and special meetings of council and is permitted to take part in discussions of the council subject to the same rules of procedure applicable to council. The mayor also has the responsibility of reporting to council periodically on the state of the borough and making recommendations to council on matters of borough concern. More so, every ordinance and resolution must be presented to the mayor for consideration after passage by council and may be vetoed subject to an override by council.
In addition, our state legislature has also designated the mayor as the chief law enforcement official of the borough. To that extent, “[T]he mayor the borough shall have the full charge and control of the chief of police and the police force, and [s]he shall direct the time during, which, the place where and the manner in which, the chief of police and the police force shall perform their duties.” More so, as chief law enforcement official in the borough and as supervisor of the police, the mayor is not an outsider against whom confidentiality and security must be maintained. Rather, she is the duly elected person in charge of the police department and is subject to the same prohibitions and penalties as any policeman.
The courts of our Commonwealth have consistently held that while the concern for safety and confidentiality of police files and records is a legitimate one, as to the mayor, it is of no less concern. As such, full, unconditional and unlimited access to the police department, its files and records are necessary for the mayor to faithfully perform those obligations for which she is sworn to carry out. Anything short of this prohibits the mayor from being able to discharge those duties she is statutorily required to fulfill.
Should you wish to discuss this further, I would be happy to take your telephone call.
Glenn J. Smith
CGA Law Firm
York
C: The Honorable Mayor Patty Gilliland
Pennsylvania Mayors’ Association
