To the Members of the Clearfield Borough Council,
I find myself in the unfortunate position of having to bring a Sunshine Act violation to your attention for a second time. It is noted that Borough Solicitor James Dennison was not present at your July 2 meeting; had he been there, he undoubtedly would have advised you that deliberations to fill a vacancy in any elected office must be held entirely in public.
At that meeting, Council President Ann Jane Ross called for an executive session for the purpose of discussing the letters of interest received for the position of Mayor. On the borough’s Facebook Live feed, Council President Ross stated: “I think we need to go into executive session to talk again. And this wasn’t just something for Personnel Committee to talk about, this was something that the whole Council needs to make this decision on who we do select.”
While municipal boards frequently rely on the “personnel exception” to clear a room, the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act draws an absolute line when it comes to elected officials. Below is the exact verbatim text of 65 Pa. C.S. § 708(a)(1):
§ 708. Executive sessions.
(a) Purpose of meetings. ─ An agency may hold an executive session for one or more of the following reasons:
(1) To discuss any matter involving the employment, appointment, termination of employment, terms and conditions of employment, evaluation of performance, promotion or disciplining of any specific prospective public officer or employee or current public officer or employee employed or appointed by the agency… The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any meeting involving the appointment or selection of any person to fill a vacancy in any elected office.
The final sentence of this statute creates an absolute barrier. It treats vacancies in elected positions with the highest tier of public accountability. Deliberations over who replaces an elected official can never legally occur in private, regardless of whether the final, formal vote is saved for the open floor. Simply put, the council cannot enter an executive session to debate, review, or narrow down candidates for Mayor.
This statute will remain paramount in the weeks ahead, as the council still has three vacant constituent seats left to fill. It is imperative that these statutory procedures are followed to the letter.
As editor of GANT News, I am calling on the council to formally “cure” this violation. Pennsylvania courts recognize that an initial Sunshine Act violation can be legally remedied if the public body holds a subsequent, fully compliant public meeting where the matter is completely re-deliberated and voted upon entirely in the open.
Please understand that GANT News does not seek an adversarial relationship with the council, nor are we opposed to the appointment of Mr. Mark Bodle. It is my duty as an editor to ensure that our local government maintains transparency and follows proper state procedures.
To be successful, a community must have implicit trust in its public officials. That already fragile trust continues to erode when actions are taken that give the appearance of impropriety. As such, I am once again extending our offer to bring in an open-meetings expert to host an educational seminar for the council. We want to help clarify these statutes and ensure that current and future members of this body can operate with total honesty, clarity, and transparency.
Respectfully,
Kim Kaschalk
Editor, GANT News
