Chester receiver seeks sanctions against mayor, 2 councilmembers
CHESTER — Chester receiver Michael T. Doweary has applied for sanctions and civil contempt against Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland and city Councilwomen Portia West and Elizabeth Williams.
In the Commonwealth Court document, the receiver says Kirkland, West and Williams acted in a “vexatious and obdurate manner” and asked the court for the three as individuals to be responsible for sanctions and in a civil contempt capacity to pay attorney fees and to comply with Act 47.
Act 47, also known as the Financially Distressed Municipalities Act, allows the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to declare municipalities financially distressed. It then allows a receiver to be appointed and whose responsibility is to create a recovery plan for the municipality.
Chester press secretary Amanda Johnson said Kirkland was not available to comment. Attempts to reach Chester solicitor Kenneth Schuster were not returned.
Councilman Stefan Roots issued a statement: “It’s obvious the Receiver is engaging the strongest legal option in his toolkit to impress upon Chester’s elected officials to take his orders seriously. I expect that through the end of 2023, mayor and council will cooperate with the receiver to avoid any further threat of sanctions.”
The receiver’s office declined to comment beyond the filing.
In Tuesday’s filing, Doweary says he was left with no choice but to seek the sanctions and civil contempt following the Aug. 23 city council meeting, where the three passed two resolutions the receiver claims would cost the city “hundreds of thousands of dollars in unplanned expenses and waived revenue.”
These two resolutions passed by a 3-1 vote. Roots opposed the measure and Councilman William Morgan was not present. The receiver requested the resolutions not be passed.
Resolution 152-2023 authorized the payment of attorney fees to the law firm of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C. The court document states the receiver believes those fees to be in excess of $269,000, although he had only approved $35,000 and had not been advised to what matters the $269,000 relate. There is also an action pending in Commonwealth Court regarding the fees.
Resolution 151-2023 waived what the receiver contends is “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of fees and other financial obligations from the Chester Stormwater Authority Veteran’s Park Regional Stormwater Facility. Doweary said he is not seeking to stop the project, which is a water basin in Memorial Park. He does want the city to collect all fees from the Stormwater Authority for its construction.
Fees that would be waived with the resolution include the city’s engineering fee that is 5% of the construction cost; city’s legal fee, which is unknown; the city’s major land development fee of $4,000; and stormwater inspection fees and performance bond/general contractor fees.
“It was designed to be vindictive and retaliatory against the receiver personally and intended to somehow embarrass the receiver because the mayor blames the receiver for his primary loss in May,” the filing says of these actions.
The filing also notes the “lame duck” status of Kirkland and Williams, who all lost in the May primary.
The filing also reiterated how certain city elected officials, not including Roots, appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court four initiatives approved by Commonwealth Court that were in the 2023 modified recovery plan. That decision has yet to be rendered.
In response to the receiver asking for the removal of the two resolutions on the agenda, Kirkland said, “This administration has done nothing but try and work with you and your team. However, we are continuously blocked from moving any significant projects forward by you and your team.
“The Memorial Park flooding has been occurring long before your three-plus years here in the city,” he continued. “As for the legal representation for some, as you say, of the council members it amazes me how the city can be made to pay for everyone else’s legal fees but not our own.”