CLEARFIELD – Tempers ran a little high at Lawrence Township’s board of supervisors’ meeting Tuesday night.
Judy Duncan addressed the supervisors, delivering the news that she accepted the position as auditor once again.
She said that they would be sitting down in January for an auditor’s meeting, but a specific date hasn’t yet been set.
She also suggested that the public comment section should be held at the end of the meeting instead of in the beginning, which another Lawrence Township resident agreed with.
In response, Supervisor Jeremy Ruffner referenced Robert’s Rules of Order and stated, according to that book, public comments are to be at the beginning of a meeting as well as to be on the topics of the agenda.
It was noted that agendas for Lawrence Township meetings are readily available on the meeting night, in the meeting room.
Duncan also said that she fielded phone calls over concern for Bailey Flanagan, out-going Lawrence Township secretary/treasurer and incoming Clearfield Regional Police Department secretary.
It was reported that two of the supervisors gave Flanagan a hard time when it came to forensic audit subject matter.
Ruffner attested to that, citing that there were things that were done that should have been brought to the supervisors’ attention first.
There was nothing harsh about the discussion, according to Ruffner, even though Flanagan left the township building in tears after the discussion.
Duncan started to voice her opinion on the matter and how the two supervisors shouldn’t have treated Flanagan like that and she was promptly cut off by Ruffner.
During the meeting, Ruffner made a motion to amend the agenda to speak about an insurance claim that was submitted to Selective Insurance.
According to Ruffner, the insurance claim shouldn’t have been submitted because it was not voted on at a meeting so he made a motion to redact the insurance claim to which Supervisor Brian Collins seconded the motion.
But Supervisor Randy Powell nayed the motion, stating that it was, in fact, discussed at a meeting and a motion was made at that meeting to file for a forensic audit to be performed.
Ruffner argued that at that meeting, it was motioned to hire a forensic auditor, not file a claim with the insurance company.
Powell responded, stating that a proper way would be to file the claim with the insurance company and they would be the ones to hire the forensic auditor if they deemed it necessary.
He also said he would submit his time cards to the township auditors and if they think they need to be sent in to the insurance company, so be it.
Ruffner still argued that the insurance company wasn’t the one that would pay for the forensic audit. However, Powell indicated that he’d spoken to three different forensic auditors that all said that again, the information has to be submitted to the insurance company first, then the forensic audit would happen if the insurance company felt it was necessary.
Either way, Ruffner said that the motion to redact the insurance claim was properly seconded by Collins so it passes.
Afterwards, Roadmaster Jim King got up to leave the meeting, and made the comment that Ruffner was “a joke. Everything goes your way, there’s no township, there’s no people paying taxes.
“It’s all about you as long as you have Brian in your pocket over there. You’re ruining his reputation, you’re ruining Bill’s, you’re ruining everybody’s over an audit!
“What are you afraid of?”
Ruffner tried to say he wasn’t afraid of an audit, but King said Ruffner most definitely was and informed the supervisor that he could keep the $25 for the meeting and left.
Once King left, there was applause from the audience and Duncan stood up and said that King wasn’t a guy to lose to, and Ruffner replied, “that’s your opinion.”
