SRBC Debacle: From the email Inbox

     
I received this today from a concerned citizen. It is posted with permission:

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"Can I get a copy of the PDF of the letter.

I have been tracking this since I noticed the chair adjuring the meeting and the next day someone else posted this on a websites.  I am on a borough council and municipal authority board so I am very familiar with the sunshine act.  If fact we recess our sewer meeting for another night this month so we could collect more data and make a decision that had to be made, but the discussion would take too long with out reviewing new data.  When a meeting is recessed you have to state when it will reconvene and if it is for another day post at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.  The one thing I am wondering is what was said at the table before she adjourned the meeting since they were talking according to the video. 

More than a letter may be justified, like a private criminal complaint to the local DA.  There is only a 30 day time limit to do so after a violation to the Sunshine act is noticed.  If not then the actions taken at this illegal meeting are ratified.  One of the reasons is the Corp of Engineers representative, he received an OER and event like this will only make it into the OER if the officer is charged.  This could affect the way other officers vote in future SRBC and DRBC meetings.  The OER process is a yearly event with an initial counseling, and quarterly reviews with the final quarter ending the year and starting a new one, but they can end early if the rater changes or a move to a new position.  There is monthly counseling or event counseling that can happen.  Getting charged under the sunshine Act would cause a counseling session for this event which would be reflected in the Quarterly OER and be a note in the yearly OER.  This will be visible to the rater, senor rater, and reviewer.  In other word the three people in the chain of command above the person will know that he was charged.  This would send a shock wave to Officers that sit on any commission like this across the nation.  It will also send a message to the SRBC, follow PA's rules when having a meeting.  The fines were changed this year for the sunshine Act this year in HB or SB 100  and I am not sure of the date the fines take effect.  It use to be $100 and court costs if a condition was meet.  Now it is 100-1000 for the first offence and up to 2000 for the second and court costs are added to the fine."

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First, I hope to hear from this individual again. Second, I wouldn't know where to begin to prepare/file an action as mentioned above, but would be willing to cover the fees associated with filing the same.

Folks, collaborative teamwork is what we need more of.

Anyone willing to help? We can do this!