Ken McCrea's Press Release
(dated October 2, 2009)
Announcing his Write-In Campaign
for East Cocalico Township Supervisor
Click here for the "condensed" version
[Added notes are highlighted in yellow]
[Links will open in a new window]
After losing the Republican primary for East Cocalico Township supervisor by only 18 votes last May, there is only one option for me to run in the November 3rd general election – as a write-in candidate. Running as a write-in is definitely an uphill battle at best. My first reaction was to just continue in my unofficial role as “watchdog” for township governmental affairs. However, recent discoveries through my Right-to-Know-Law requests to the Township have caused me to rethink my plans.
In early September I realized I hadn’t seen the summary of the audit of the Township’s finances that is required to be published in the newspaper, usually around May. Since I could have missed it, or it might have been published in the Lancaster newspaper rather than in the Review, I requested the “proof of publication” for that notice. In response to that request, I had a call from the Township saying there had been an oversight, and the notice hadn’t been published yet, but that it would be published that week.
When it was published, there was a very significant revelation - that the police pension fund had lost nearly $1.5 Million in 2008, having started the year with just over $5 Million. This came as a shock to me as I didn’t recall hearing any mention of that at any public meetings. I also couldn’t find any mention of it in the supervisors meeting minutes [They are on the Township's web site].
To find out what this might mean to Township residents, I filed two additional Right to Know requests for the minutes and audio recordings of two advertised public meetings held on April 22, 2009, one between the Supervisors and Weinhold, Nickel & Co. held to discuss the audit, and a meeting later that same day for the Supervisors to discuss the police pension. Both of my requests were denied because 1) the Township said they didn’t record the meetings (I don’t remember ever having been to a public meeting that they didn’t record), and 2) they didn’t prepare minutes for those meetings (which is clearly required by the PA Sunshine Act [see section 706]). [Now you don't have to just take my word on it... Click here to see what the Lancaster County District Attorney had to say.]
I have filed an appeal to their denial of my Right to Know requests with the PA State Open Records Office.
At the Supervisors regular meeting on September 16, 2009 (the same day the audit notice had been published), the Supervisors voted to set the “Police Pension Plan Minimum Municipal Obligation” for 2010 at $472,901.53 [audio recording]. On September 17, 2008 [see page 5] the obligation for 2009 was set at $273,907.90, therefore this represents a nearly $200,000. increase. The state contributes towards the total, but based on the State’s budget problems, their contribution seems likely to be cut for 2010. The difference will presumably have to come from an increase in the taxes we pay.
To me, this seems like just another example of the Township not keeping the residents informed, a long standing complaint of mine. I personally find this very troubling, since they knew about this loss over a month prior to the May primary election, and appear to have withheld this information from the public. In this case, what you don’t know seems very likely to end up costing the residents of the Township a lot of money. Since the crash of the financial markets in 2008 clearly wasn’t the fault of the Township, why are they apparently keeping this massive loss in the Police Pension Fund out of public view?
While I still feel very strongly about all of the other issues I raised during the primary last May (such as the impending explosive growth of the Township’s population), this is the main issue that provoked my decision to once again run for Township Supervisor. If elected, being only one of three supervisors, I can’t promise to be able to change Township policy without support from at least one of the other supervisors, but a single member of the Board can definitely make a difference when it comes to keeping the public informed.
Casting a write-in vote has never been easier with the new voting machines. First, DON’T VOTE A STRAIGHT PARTY TICKET. Doing so would void the write-in vote. On the paper ballots, just fill in the box labeled “write-in” under Township Supervisor, and write my name on the line next to that box. Your vote can make a difference, so I urge everyone to come out and vote on November 3rd.
Documentation and internet links relative to the observations above are found on my web site at www.KenMcCrea.com, or feel free to call me at 336-5520.
Ken McCrea
Write-in Candidate for East Cocalico Township Supervisor
Stevens, PA
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"Condensed" Version of Ken McCrea's
Write-In Campaign Announcement
After losing the May primary by only 18 votes, the only way to run in the fall is as a write-in candidate. Because of recent discoveries related to Township finances, I have decided I will run.
As far as I can tell, the Township didn't reveal that their Police Pension Fund lost nearly $1.5 Million in 2008 until September 2009 (after I requested their 2008 financial information). They knew about the loss at least a month prior to the May primary election (that I narrowly lost). This money will need to be replaced, probably through higher taxes. The question remaining is, since this loss was mostly due to the economy and not from any actions of their own, why wouldn't the make the public aware of this loss? Might it have something to do with the election?
© Ken McCrea 2009