Brocious v. Sandy Township

• Decision Date: 20 June 1983
• Docket Number: 82-14-Equity
• Citation: 27 Pa. D. & C.3d 744
• Parties: Brocious v. Sandy Township
• Court: Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

27 Pa. D. & C.3d 744

Brocious v. Sandy Township

No. 82-14-Equity

Common Pleas Court of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

June 20, 1983

Action in equity.

Anthony S. Guido, for plaintiff.

Allen C. Welch, Jr., for defendant.

OPINION

REILLY, P.J.,

Plaintiff, above-named, first assumed the office of Sandy Township Tax Collector in January of 1974 and was reelected in 1977 and 1981. During the period of time from 1973 through 1981, defendant, also above-named, provided the office of tax collector certain fringe benefits including office space and utilities, telephone service, and social security coverage. In addition thereto, hospitalization coverage was also provided the tax collector beginning in 1978.

At their regular meeting in February of 1981, the Township Supervisors considered the question of compensation for the tax collector as required by Section 5511.36a of the Local Tax Collection Law, which section provides as follows:

" When any taxing district or taxing authorities propose to either raise or reduce the compensation or salary for the office of an elected tax collector, such action shall be by ordinance or resolution, finally passed or adopted prior to the fifteenth day of February of the year of the municipal election. " 72 Pa.C.S.A. § 5511.36a.

At that meeting, defendant did not elect to discontinue any of the above-mentioned fringe benefits, and in addition elected to continue the compensation of the tax collector for the ensuing term commencing in January of 1982 at four and one-half percent of the taxes collected.

Thereafter, at a meeting of the supervisors held in January of 1982, defendant nevertheless did elect to discontinue said benefits, and, further, elected to charge the sum of $ 200 per month beginning February 1, 1982, as rental for the collector's office space. Plaintiff thereupon brought this suit seeking a restoration of those benefits and claiming that the actions by defendant in discontinuing them were contrary to the Local Tax Collection Law.

More specifically, the question now before the court is whether, if defendant wished to discontinue said benefits to the local tax collector, defendant was required by the above-quoted section 5511.36a of the Local Tax Collection Law to adopt a resolution to that effect prior to February 15, 1981, the year of local elections. For the following reasons, this court holds that defendant was so required and must now restore those benefits as given previously.

Although there is no case law directly on point, this court is influenced by the Commonwealth Court's reflection on the purposes of section 511.36a in Blaine v. Wallenpaupack Area School District, 19 Pa.Commw. 373, 339 A.2d 180 (1975), in which case the court states:

" Section 36.I (i.e. § 5511.36a) of the Act was designed to provide adequate notice, to all candidates for the office of tax collector, as to the compensation they would receive if elected to that office. Myers v. School District of Newtown Township, 396 Pa. 542, 153 A.2 494 (1959); Cooke v. Greenville, 2 Pa.Cmwlth. 417, 278 A.2d 182 (1971). The fifteenth day of February, referred to in section 36.1, was a date chosen by the Legislature to enable prospective candidates to make a decision as to the adequacy of the salary and thereafter whether to run for the office prior to expending time, money and effort in the primary election in May and thereafter in the municipal election in the fall. Additionally and of equal importance is the legislative intent that the compensation of the elected official not be changed during his term of office, either as a reprisal or reward for his actions. Section 3610 prevents in Mr. Justice Roberts' words 'political vendettas'. (Costello v. North Braddock Borough, 428 Pa. 264, 269, 237 A.2d 236, 238 (1968), concurring opinion by Mr. Justice Roberts.)" ibid., 19 Pa.Commw. at 375. (Emphasis in original.)

With those legislative intentions in mind, it becomes clear that to allow the action of defendant to stand would completely vitiate the spirit of§ 511.36a. Here, plaintiff entered the race for tax collector secure in the belief that the compensation he would receive if he won the race would be four and one-half percent of the taxes collected and, further, that this compensation would be unencumbered and not reduced by any expenditures for office space, telephone service, hospitalization insurance, nor the employer's share of social security coverage since no action to reduce said compensation (either directly by reducing the percentage commission on taxes collected or indirectly by shifting the burden of the costs of the above-mentioned expenses of office onto the collector himself) was taken by defendant prior to February 15, 1981, the year of the election, as required by § 5511.36a. Had plaintiff known that the compensation for the office of tax collector was to be indirectly reduced for the ensuing term as defendant attempted to do hereby shifting said expenses onto the collector, he may have decided not to run or to withdraw from the race. He was not given that choice, however, since no adequate notice of defendant's plans were given him.

Indeed, defendant's plans did not even come to light until after the election was over. Without casting any adverse judgment on the motivations of defendant here, such timing further invites the second evil against which § 5511.36a was meant to prevent-namely, the possibility of leaders dissatisfied with a successful candidate for whatever reason effectively reducing his compensation as a reprisal.

In other words, to allow defendant to indirectly reduce plaintiff's compensation as aforesaid would not only fail to uphold the policy of giving candidates for the job adequate notice of any reduction in compensation so as to allow them to decide not to run, it would also encourage the existence of political vendettas as decried by Mr. Justice Roberts in Costello, op. cit. The spirit of §...