A Kennett Township resident asked supervisors Wednesday night about the status of several Right-to-Know requests regarding the current township manager.

“We are continuing to pursue our own inquiries into Eden Ratliff’s [alleged] conflict of interest,” Peter Doehring said during public comment at Wednesday’s supervisors’ meeting, alleging that “Eden is now delaying or denying all right-to-know requests … and effectively stifling all public inquiries into his conduct.

“What actions, if any, have the board of supervisors taken to ensure such requests are responded to promptly?”

The Right-to-Know Law is governed by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records and establishes procedures for residents or agencies who want to request records from agencies like local municipalities, schools, and commissions, among other things. There are also exceptions to open records requests that cover a person’s health information, Social Security number, family information, performance reviews, personnel decisions, and other things.

Each municipality or agency has to have an open-records officer who handles all the records requests. Ratliff is the township’s open records officer.

Supervisors’ Chairman Richard Leff asked township Solicitor Dave Sander if he was aware of the township not meeting the time frames of the Right-To-Know law.

“If there is a problem with responding, the requestor can appeal that to the office of Open Records in Harrisburg,” Sander said. “I don’t know of any. There are remedies and appeal rights for requestors who assert there was a problem with procedures that are all there in the (Right-to-Know) act.”

An ethics complaint that Doehring filed with the state was dismissed.

At issue was Ratliff’s involvement with Longwood Fire Co. as a volunteer and his wife Gabrielle’s hiring last year as the executive assistant to Longwood’s chief during and after a time when Kennett Township supervisors worked with Longwood and Kennett fire companies to merge ambulance territory and designate LFC as the main fire provider in the township.

He also cited as a potential conflict of interest Ratliff’s wife Gabrielle’s job with the LFC chief. Doehring wrote, “Her new position has placed Ratliff’s wife in a key role with a major KT services vendor which has derived a significant pecuniary advantage from the fire/EMS reorganization.

“As a Kennett Township resident and former candidate for public office, I concluded that it is my civic duty to formally request the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission to open an inquiry into the apparent conflicts of interest.”

The Fire and EMS Commission

The Kennett Fire and EMS Regional Commission, which has representatives from three fire companies and the six municipalities they serve, governs operating and capital costs for the fire companies. Municipal contributions to the commission are based on usage, among other things.

In April 2021, the township supervisors voted 2-1 to adopt an emergency services proposal between Kennett and Longwood fire companies that would allow Kennett Fire Co. to hire three paid firefighters, require Kennett Fire to officially end its ambulance service, designate Longwood Fire Co. as the primary fire, rescue, and EMS response in the township, and create more of a regional fire response, among other things.

At that April 2021 meeting, Ratliff said the proposal would address an analysis of Kennett Fire Co.’s fire and rescue response, that showed in 2020 that Kennett didn’t have enough staffing to respond to “50 percent of their calls during the night and weekends and as much as 75 percent Monday through Friday” during the day.

Under the proposal, the Kennett Fire and EMS Regional Commission would reallocate the money previously earmarked for Kennett Fire’s EMS service by giving $254,720 to Kennett Fire to hire two paid firefighters and a paid supervisor, and also by giving $74,100 to Longwood Fire for a paid firefighter. The paid firefighters at both fire companies would add additional weekday fire coverage, according to the proposal. Longwood Fire Company became the first-due fire company in the entire township but also had Kennett Fire Company dispatch with them in the western part of the township and Hockessin Fire Company dispatch with them in the southern part of the township.

In October 2021, according to Kennett Township budget documents, the municipal Fire and EMS Regional Commission members unanimously approved the $591,000 overall increase for the commission budget

Ethics response

The ethics commission dismissed the complaint.

“We understand that the Ethics Commission promptly examined the complaint and rejected Doehring’s request – saying simply that Doehring had presented no evidence of his claims,” the supervisors wrote in a December response to Doehring’s complaint. “The Kennett Township supervisors solidly support Eden Ratliff against these unfair and personal attacks … Eden’s expertise in policy-making and consensus-building combined with his years of volunteering, training and certifications in fire and EMS matters were invaluable in making sure everything in the Regional Fire and EMS Response Plan was done in full compliance with regulations and procedures.”

Also in the township response was a statement from Cuyler Walker, the chairman of the Kennett Fire and EMS Regional Commission, who said, “Ratliff fully disclosed his relationships with the Longwood Fire Co.; neither Ratliff nor his wife Gabrielle have authority to allocate or distribute Commission funds to LFC; Ratliff’s analysis, research and recommendations as a township manager were constructive and beneficial; and none of the members of the commission found Ratliff’s pro bono relations with Longwood Fire Co. (including volunteering as a certified firefighter and a certified EMT) to constitute a conflict of interest.”

When asked Thursday about the ethics complaint, Ratliff said he had no comment.

January meeting

At the Jan. 19 supervisors’ meeting, Doehring had asked the supervisors about the status of their query into the situation.

“You do have a standing item on the board agenda for investigation update,” Doehring said. “It would be good to know what the public should expect in terms of how” it will play out.

At that time, Leff said the board had no comments.

“At the appropriate point in time, we will make a statement with regard to any findings,” Leff said.

February’s meeting

At Wednesday’s meeting, Sander reviewed the steps taken when someone submits a Right-to-Know request.

“When the township receives a request, they go to the open records officer, which is the township manager, Eden Ratliff,” Sander said. “He is required by law to examine” the requests.

Ratliff said in an email Thursday that Kennett Township receives about 24 Right-to-Know requests a year, adding, “Most are requests related to building permits and land development projects.”

Once the requests are examined, some are referred to Sander’s office and some to other offices. There is a five-day limit for the township to respond in writing, as well as a 30-day extension if more review is required. After 30 days, the person requesting the information is informed by letter about the status of their request and, if the request is denied, the person has the right to appeal any determination.

Doehring said one of the Right-to-Know requests was for Ratliff’s request for advice from the Pennsylvania ethics commission, as well as their response.

“Have you received a copy of the request for advice and the commission’s response?” Doehring asked the supervisors. “Are you willing to make this public?”

In an email Thursday, Ratliff said legal reviews “necessary to determine whether or not documents can be disclosed are referred to our solicitor’s office.”

At Wednesday’s meeting, Leff said he doesn’t comment “on matters of personnel.”

Personnel matters are usually discussed in executive sessions, according to the Sunshine Law, which governs how agencies like townships discuss topics in public. Executive sessions are meetings that are not open to the public, for reasons such as personnel, real estate consideration, current lawsuits, or other criteria.

Supervisors’ Vice-Chairman Scudder Stevens said, “Nobody that I know of has received a copy of that report.”

When asked the following day about whether he could confirm the request for advice and the commission’s response or comment about it, Ratliff said he had no comment.