Process to remove Radnor township manager begins

The Radnor Board of Commissioners took the first steps toward removing their longtime township manager tonight, saying he had paid himself $128,500 in bonuses without board approval.

The board now alleges that David A. Bashore misled commissioners about how much he was making, lied at a public meeting when questioned about bonuses, and created documents to try to cover his tracks.

"This is not a pleasant place to be in for any of us," said Board President Thomas A. Masterson Jr. "But it is the result of facts that I think, when you see them and hear them yourself, you'll realize why we are here."

The board's first resolution, asking Bashore to resign, was moot since Bashore was not at the meeting to respond. The board then voted 6-0 to suspend him for up to 45 days, which begins the removal process. The seventh commissioner, Lisa Paolino, was out of town.

Bashore has 10 days to respond, said Neil A. Morris, a lawyer representing the township.

At least 100 people attended the meeting at Radnor's Municipal building, including Bashore supporters.

"I thought our township was better than this," said Kent R. Addis Jr. "There's obviously a witch hunt underway here for Mr. Bashore."

Bashore, who was suspended with pay Feb. 26, issued a statement saying the board is breaching his contract.

"I remain confident, as I have stated from the outset, that a fair and impartial review of the facts in this matter will lead to the conclusion that I have acted appropriately at all times on behalf of Radnor Township and its board and citizens," Bashore wrote. "Sadly, I have been the victim of what can only be described as a calculated effort to remove me after 21 years of service for doing my job as prescribed by my employment agreement."

Bashore is accused of paying himself unauthorized salary bonuses averaging $15,000 a year since he took over as township manager in November 2000. The Delaware County District Attorney's Office is investigating.

Bashore told commissioners at a meeting Feb. 23 that he wrote a policy in 2001 that allowed him to pay bonuses to himself and other township employees. He also said that the board approved the bonuses as part of the budget, but that they were not listed as separate line items.

But the commissioners say the board never approved the bonuses or saw the policies Bashore had written that allow him to award himself bonuses. Furthermore, the commissioners contend that Bashore "misrepresented and misled" commissioners about his salary and the bonuses, according to the resolution asking for his resignation, which was distributed at the meeting last night.

When the board reviewed salaries in an executive session Dec. 2, Bashore said his total compensation was in the "130,000 range," according to the resolution. But Bashore's W-2 form put his total compensation at $210,247.95.

Bashore failed to disclose the $15,000 bonus he had paid to himself in 2008 compensation records given to the board, the resolution states. Bashore also misrepresented his total compensation in records given to the board in 2006 and 2007, according to the resolution.

At a board meeting Dec. 15, the commissioners asked Bashore directly if bonuses had been given out in 2008. He said no. Yet Bashore had paid $117,250 in bonuses to 26 employees in April 2008, including a $15,000 bonus to himself.

Bashore, 52, began his career in Radnor Township in 1987 as finance director. Some residents describe him as a very hands-on manager who promptly returned calls and set up multiple meetings to resolve complicated issues. He was also often seen at fund-raising events and helped spearhead an annual golf tournament to raise scholarship money for Radnor High School seniors, said Art Lewis, 78, who was a school board member for 16 years and heads the Radnor High School Scholarship Fund.

But Bashore also has detractors, who say he has favored closed government. Township Treasurer John Osborne has battled with Bashore since 2003 for access to financial records. Osborne is supposed to cosign each check but said his signature is automatically placed on payroll checks. He never sees them, he said.

It was Osborne who brought up the issue of bonuses at the meeting Dec. 15.