Reiner ordered to repay $12K
The Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission has ordered Chadds Ford Township Supervisor Samantha Reiner to repay the township more than $12,000 that she billed for consulting work. The action came as a result of an ethics investigation that was initiated by township resident Mark Stookey who found irregularities in Right to Know requests.
The bottom line of the 16-page order from the commission says: “Per the Consent Agreement of the parties, Reiner is directed to make payment of $12,491.79 payable to Chadds Ford Township and forwarded to the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission within six (6) months of the issuance of this Order.”
The order also directs Reiner to “not accept any reimbursement, compensation, or other payment from the township representing a full or partial reimbursement of the amount paid in settlement of this matter.
She is also required to file a complete amended Statement of Financial Interests for the calendar year 2023.
Asked for a comment on the matter, Reiner said, “I have been a public official in various capacities for three decades. I have always done my best to do what was right. I continue to perform my duties with integrity. My volunteer work with Chadds Ford began in 2000 when I was active on the Open Space Committee and the Civic Association. In 2015, I headed up the Strategic Advisory Committee and became a supervisor. I continued to help out in any way I could until 2021, when I was asked to work for Chadds Ford. There were several officials, including the solicitor, manager, other elected supervisors, and auditors, involved in my hiring. All of us could have done a better job with the process…Because I am an elected official who received compensation, I am the one found to be at fault by the Ethics Commission and have been asked to return funds to Chadds Ford Township.
According to the Ethics Commission’s findings, Reiner began assisting former Township Manager Maryann Furlong with her duties because Furlong was overwhelmed. Then, in July of 2021, Furlong emailed all three supervisors (Reiner, Noell Barbone, and Frank Murphy), suggesting Reiner be hired as a consultant for the township to assist with stormwater inspections, quasi-legal work, and administrative office tasks.
Furlong proposed an hourly rate for each task, $95 per hour for stormwater inspections, $40 per hour for office work (Furlong’s hourly rate), and $107.50 for the quasi-legal work. That was the average rate of Furlong’s pay and that of township solicitor Michael Maddren, whose hourly rate was $175.
Barbone and the late Frank Murphy approved that Rener be hired as a consultant.
But, according to the commission’s letter, no job description was set up for Reiner as a consultant, and that “The minutes of the Board of Supervisors’ meetings indicate that there were no official actions taken by the Board of Supervisors to hire Reiner as a township consultant for 2022.”
In January of 2023, Barbone motioned to appoint Reiner as a special consultant, a motion to which Reiner seconded because Murphy was absent. Reiner’s wages as a township consultant were set at $5.24 per hour for performing in-office training and support.
In January 2024, it was decided that Reiner’s role as consultant was no longer needed. In all, Reiner worked as a consultant for the township from Aug. 10, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2023
Again, according to the Ethics Commission, “No open and public process was followed for the hiring of Reiner as a township consultant” and that “Reiner voted in favor of a motion to approve her position as a township consultant at the township’ s reorganization meeting on Jan. 3, 2023,” and that she determined the scope of her work hours as consultant.
Reiner billed consulting fees for her attendance and preparation at township Planning Commission meetings as the supervisors’ liaison to that body during her time as the supervisors’ chairman.
The commission determined that “a violation of Section 1103(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act, 65 Pa. C. S. § 1103(a), occurred when Reiner was compensated as a township consultant for performing the duties of a supervisor.”
Additionally, “As part of the Consent Agreement, Reiner has agreed to make payment in the amount of $12,491.79 payable to Chadds Ford Township and forwarded to this Commission within six (6) months of the issuance of the final adjudication in this matter.”
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