THE ISSUE
In the Sunday LNP | LancasterOnline âWatchdogâ column, reporter Carter Walker wrote about a Lancaster County constableâs private business, started at the beginning of the pandemic, which âhas won most, if not all, of the lucrative no-bid contracts to provide security to facilities related to COVID-19, paid for with public funds.â Lancaster Countyâs 55 constables â elected officials who often serve low-level warrants and transport prisoners for the district courts â are paid per job, Walker reported.
And we can appreciate the initiative of Michael Chance, a constable from Strasburg, who says he launched his company, Constable Peace Keeping Detail LLC, to help fellow constables who were without regular work during the pandemic.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, the Lancaster County courts closed their doors.
That was a blow to the countyâs 55 constables â elected officials who often serve low-level warrants and transport prisoners for the district courts and are paid per job â were out of work.
A year later, one local constable s private business, which he started at the beginning of the pandemic, has won most, if not all, of the lucrative no-bid contracts to provide security to COVID-19-related facilities, paid for with public funds.
Michael Chance, a constable from Strasburg, personally stands to earn somewhere between $51,000 and $90,000 from the roughly $1 million in contracts obtained by his company, Constable Peace Keeping Detail LLC. Whatâs less clear is whether his clients were aware they were contracting with an individualâs company, not the association representing all constables in the county.
Final Adjudications Issued - Harrsch, Still, Ingram, Grevious, Gustovich, and Parker-Berhannan
03/31/2021
Norristown, PA 19401
ORDER SUMMARY:
1. Dennis Harrsch (“Harrsch”), as a Staff Physician 2 for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, failed to comply with Section 1104(a) of the Public Official and Employee Ethics Act (“Ethics Act”), 65 Pa.C.S. § 1104(a), when he failed to file a Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2018 with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
2. This Commission hereby levies one maximum civil penalty against Harrsch at the rate of Twenty-Five Dollars ($25.00) per day for each day his Statement of Financial Interests for calendar year 2018 has remained delinquent, for a total civil penalty of Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($250.00). Harrsch is ordered to pay said civil penalty in the total amount of $250.00 by no later than the thirtieth (30th) day after the mailing date of this Order, by forwarding a check to t
Justin Stoltzfus remembers this small, but telling, detail about East Earl Township nearly a decade ago.
There were other, bigger problems, too. The townshipâs supervisors and staff routinely tried to keep citizens and journalists, including Stoltzfus, a freelancer for LNP | LancasterOnline, in the dark by withholding crucial details and records from the public.
In one of the most notorious examples, many residents had no idea until the newspaper reported on it that a $1.2 million bridge project was underway with the goal of accommodating about 15 vehicles a day.
In another, then-Supervisor David Zimmerman secretly used his position to advance a land deal in which he and his brother had a financial stake. (Readers learned of Zimmermanâs ethical breach only when he was fined $14,000 by the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission and after he was elected to the state House, where he continues to serve.)
Pennsylvania county blocks workers from sharing job-related info after COVID scandal dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.