Solicitor Contract Concerns Cancel Special Radnor Board Meeting

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA – A special Radnor Township Board of Commissioners meeting – where newly-elected Commissioner James Larkin and Commissioner Sean Farhy were set to be sworn in and the newly-approved township solicitor contract was to be signed – has been canceled.

The cancelation comes after Republican Commissioners Jake Abel, Richard Booker, and Matt Marshall held a press conference Tuesday and said they would not attend the meeting due to concerns over the solicitor contract.

"I believe it would be a disservice to these Commissioners and the constituents they serve to hold a meeting they cannot attend and share their concerns with the board and public as a whole," Board President Lisa Borowski said Wednesday in the cancelation announcement. "The agenda item for the Special Meeting will be deferred to the regular board business meeting on Monday, June 11, 2018."

On May 21 commissioners voted along party lines to hire the firm of McNichol, Byrne and Matlawski to replace solicitor John Rice.

The contract was set to be signed Wednesday, but Abel, Booker, and Marshall reportedly said during the presser Tuesday that Borowski refused to sign the contract.

Borowski told the outlet she had not signed the contract because the entire board had not seen it yet.

Larkin and Farhy, both Democrats, were to be sworn in but official swearing in ceremonies can only be held during regular meeting, Main Line Media News reports.

With the contract not signed and the two Democrats to be sworn in, the three Republican commissioners suspected the board would revote on the solicitor contract with a new Democratic majority, nullifying the appointment of McNichol, Byrne and Matlawski.

Farhy took issue with the solicitor appointment and voiced his concerns on his Facebook page last week, accusing Republicans and the firm of conducting a "pay-to-play" scheme as the firm contributed to local Republican organizations.

Image via Radnor Township