Borough pays price for employee lawsuits

POTTSTOWN — The borough's dealings with three employees who filed lawsuits against the borough have cost taxpayers more than $100,000 in the past three years, a Mercury analysis of borough records has shown.
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By far the largest amount of this money has been paid to attorneys dealing not only with the lawsuits, but also with the issues that led up to those suits, according to a review of the borough's legal bills.The three employees are former water meter reader Jerry Stick, former water plant operator George Famous and W. Patrick Ellison, who still works at the water plant.All three have tangled with borough management and all three have filed whistleblower lawsuits against the borough alleging that they were retaliated against for pointing out problems with the operation of the water plant and other items.Late last year, Stick settled his lawsuit against the borough, walking away with a $60,000 payment. But that money was paid by the borough's insurance company, not by taxpayers.The bulk of the costs taxpayers forked over for his case came from fees paid to lawyers hired by the borough's insurance company, Traveler's.Borough Manager Ray Lopez confirmed this week that the borough's policy covering these cases has a $25,000 deductible, "per case, per year," meaning that the borough must rack up $25,000 in legal costs in a single year before the insurance company starts picking up the lawyers' tab.Melissa Fox, deputy press secretary with the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance, said Pottstown's deductible did not seem unusual, but noted that the insurance in question is not regulated by her department.Managers at two neighboring townships said their liability insurance carried no deductible at all.According to the borough budget posted online, liability insurance costs the borough $4,296 per year and $20,000 is set aside as a "reserve for claims."Ironically, legal bills from Travelers' lawyers for dealing with Stick's case over 2006 and 2007 add up to exactly the $25,000 deductible — a bill taxpayers must shoulder.Another bill for which taxpayers are responsible was the $25,116 paid to the insurance company lawyers dealing with the Famous case, according to the invoices. Famous has also filed a defamation of character lawsuit against the borough.Ellison's case has cost taxpayers $39,497 over the course of 2005, 2006 and 2007, according to the bills.That may be because Ellison actually had two cases.The first, was settled in Feb. 6, 2006, after Ellison was reinstated into his job by labor arbitrator Thomas G. McConnell Jr. Ellison received a $7,000 payment as part of that settlement.A letter from Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. which was included in a copy of Ellison's settlement obtained by The Mercury, indicated the borough paid $15,568 to cover the legal costs of litigating Ellison's first case.Then in April 2007, Ellison joined Famous and Stick in filing whistleblower lawsuits against the borough, charging he was retaliated against because he had told Maul and former borough manager Jack Layne that workers and supervisors at the plant had "failed to maintain proper standards of operation" which "gave rise to potential health and safety issues for the citizens and residents."Also, Ellison had brought an action through the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Philadelphia.High Street attorney Adam Sager is representing all three men and both the suits by Famous and Ellison remain outstanding.Stick, who also headed up the borough hall chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, clashed repeatedly with borough managers before he was terminated.Once a tenant in a borough authority-owned twin home on Old Reading Pike adjacent to the water treatment plant, Stick started making headlines when he complained that Utilities Supervisor Robert Maul was paying less rent than him for identical living space and not even living in the home.Shortly thereafter, the borough authority evicted him and knocked the building down — a building in which the authority had invested more than $30,000 in the two previous years — to make room for a bulk water distribution center.Evicting Stick cost ratepayers legal fees, this time from the two lawyers who have represented the borough authority over the past three years, David Allebach and David Garner, who is also the president of Pottstown Borough Council.Since both Famous and Ellison were water plant employees, both Allebach and David Garner were involved in conferences and preparing documents related to their cases.A review of David Garner's records indicate he was paid $2,072 in 2007 and 2008 to deal with matters related to Stick and whistleblower lawsuits.Allebach charged ratepayers $786 over 2006 and 2007 to deal with those issues.A review of bills from Charles D. Garner Jr.'s firm indicates he has charged taxpayers more than $3,000 over the course of three years to deal with issues involving Stick, Famous and Ellison.Further costs involve the police.Stick was arrested by Pottstown Police in 2007 and charged with tampering with evidence in connection with photos he provided to Lopez during an August 2007 labor/management meeting.Those charges were dismissed, for the second time, Friday by District Judge Maurice Saylor.According to the borough's contract with the police union, the man charged with investigating that charge, Detective Sgt. Raymond John Havrilak was paid $30.96 per hour in 2007 and $32.51 per hour in 2008.Given that the contract ensures Havrilak is paid four hours for every court appearance, no matter how long, that means the two appearances he made in the Stick case cost taxpayers $260.08.Assuming he spent at least five more hours investigating the case, and assuming it did not require any overtime, taxpayers would have paid another $175.These types of costs are not unique in Pottstown's history.In 2006, The Mercury reported that in the previous five years the borough had settled three claims made against it, two from black workers fired from the treatment plant, and another from a woman who worked in the public works department.All total, the costs associated with those settlements came out to $36,000.And the clock has probably not stopped running on the legal bills dealing with employees and former employees.Stick said Friday he intends to move forward with a federal lawsuit against the borough charging that his civil rights have been violated by the borough's treatment of him.And in June, former Code Enforcement Director Jeff Smith filed paperwork indicating he also intends to file a lawsuit against the borough.
Pottstown Mercury - 09/07/08 - http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=20109940&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=635482&rfi=8