Commissioners Disagree Over Handling of Township Manager's Contract Discussions

How and when Lower Merion commissioners learned they'd be discussing the Wednesday night has sparked partisan disagreement that may delay action.

Commissioner Jenny Brown accused Board of Commissioners President Liz Rogan of violating the Sunshine Act, which Rogan denies, in regard to an item on the Administrative and Human Resources Committee's agenda for 7:55 p.m. Wednesday.

The agenda available on the township’s website says only: “The Board will discuss a personnel matter.” Rogan emailed township commissioners Wednesday morning—Brown forwarded the email to her constituent mailing list—to elaborate that the "personnel" in question was Cleland, who has worked without a contract since the end of 2011. Rogan confirmed the nature of the item to Patch.

In her email to commissioners, Rogan, a Democrat representing Wynnewood, wrote, “I apologize for the confusion and expect we’ll discuss this topic as needed and time permitting."

But Brown, a Republican representing Gladwyne and Penn Valley, disputed Rogan's characterization of how and when the details emerged.

“Let’s be clear; there was no ‘confusion’. Deceptiveness, sneakiness, evasiveness, attempted stealth? Yes; but ‘confusion’? No,” wrote Brown in her email to constituents.

“You can imagine my surprise in learning that the Manager’s proposed contract is to be acted upon this evening. What contract? What are the proposed terms?” Brown wrote.

In reaction to the general sentiment of Brown’s email, Rogan said the vote on Cleland’s contract now likely will not occur until the March cycle.

“I’m thinking I will probably be delaying it, given her upset and uproar,” Rogan said of Brown. “I don’t want the board to be acting if they don’t know what they’re acting on; it was nothing more than poor communication. If she wants to blame it on me and say I’m being sneaky, then that’s what she’s done.”

Cleland’s total salary, including deferred compensation and a longevity bonus, is $224,449 per year.

Brown included a chart in her email comparing the salaries of managers of nearby townships: for example, $182,000 in Radnor and $141,710 in Haverford. 

A committee, consisting of Democratic commissioners Rick Churchill and Dan Bernheim and Republican commissioner Scott Zelov, has been trying to come up with a proposed contract for Cleland, Brown wrote, but they have been unable to agree.

Brown wrote: “It is, after all, your money that pays the Manager’s contract. (Unlike workers in the private sector, the terms of public sector employees’ compensation are public; the Manager’s contract is a public document and the terms of his employment and compensation are public information; the Board is required to vote on his contract in public.)”

Rogan said she does not believe commissioners ever acted publicly on a township manager’s contract prior to the last time Cleland’s now-expired contract was voted on four years ago. 

“It is a contract with one individual,” Rogan said. “Discussions of one person’s employment agreement is not subject to Sunshine [Act] regulations.”

Brown could not immediately be reached by phone.