UPPER POTTSGROVE-Below is a statement from the majority of the Board of Commissioners concerning repeated attacks upon the Township Staff and Committees.
All, please see below a letter attached attributed to Kate Harper, the attorney for Matt Murray, one of the plaintiffs suing the Township. Murray provided this letter to Evan Brandt of the Mercury as well as posted it to social media. Most of the items in this letter will be addressed in court but the claim in the fourth paragraph against our police chief by Harper and “endorsed” by Murray demands our response.
We held a special board session on Friday, April 26th, to authorize special litigation counsel to support our police chief. Commissioners Don Read, Hank Llewellyn, and Trace Slinkerd voted yes; Commissioners Cathy Paretti and Dave Waldt refused to support our Chief and voted no. As of today, the letter has not been retracted and it is still posted on the Mercury’s page as well as on at least two social media sites.
Chief Jim Fisher is an absolutely outstanding police officer, chief, and leader. He is a great asset to our community and does not deserve this attack or the failure of Paretti and Waldt to support him. Through the deposition of plaintiff Murray, we have learned that Murray has communicated with some of the Township commissioners. Our litigation counsel has requested documents from the plaintiffs and has filed a motion to compel the plaintiff to provide these same documents.
This letter is the latest assault in an ongoing campaign against our staff that has included our Township manager and our volunteer committees as well as disruptive conduct at board meetings. Please see below links to both the Harper letter endorsed by Murray as well as the retraction letter our solicitor wrote to the Mercury.