Radnor commissioners oust township manager

Radnor commissioners voted unanimously tonight to oust their longtime township manager, who they said had paid himself bonuses without board approval.

Prior to the vote, manager David A. Bashore defended his actions, saying the board had twisted his statements and taken documents out of context in order to make him a "sacrificial lamb" over disputed policies about his authority.

"I'm confused, downright perplexed by the vicious public spectacle you've let this become," Bashore said. "I'm angry, angry at being made the target of a witch-hunt."

Bashore, 52, was suspended in February when commissioners discovered that he had paid himself $128,500 in bonuses since becoming manager in 2000. The board says it never approved the bonuses.

Bashore said the Board of Commissioners "expressly and implicitly" gave him authority to award bonuses to himself and other employees. The board approved the bonuses as part of the overall budget, Bashore said.

Bashore also leveled accusations at township treasurer John E. Osborne, who first brought the bonus issue to light at a public meeting in December. Bashore said Osborne did so in retaliation against him, and he leveled a series of allegations against Osborne, accusing him of sexually harassing a female township employee and making racist and anti-Semitic comments to employees and members of the public. He urged the board to take action on complaints he has made on behalf of township employees for the last four years.

"Regardless of what you do with me, you must face the fact that you still have a demoralized, fearful workforce that you have a legal obligation to protect," he told the board.

Prior to the meeting, Osborne, when told what Bashore planned to tell the board, said: "This is something that's being handled by the board. They asked me to not get involved with it, and on that, I'm leaving it to them."

Neil A. Morris, an attorney with Archer & Greiner in Philadelphia who represents the board, said the board hired a lawyer to look into a claim of sexual harassment against Osborne in 2007. The review concluded that while inappropriate statements had been made, they did not create a hostile work environment, Morris said.

Morris called Bashore's allegations against Osborne "a smokescreen," adding that Osborne, as treasurer, had the right to inquire about the bonuses regardless of his motivation.

"That's an issue within the realm of the treasurer, and whether he raised the issue because he didn't like Bashore or it was personal, so what?" Morris said.

The board did not comment on the merit of Bashore's allegations tonight. Instead, president Thomas A. Masterson Jr. said Bashore had failed in his obligation to make sure the board knew how much it was spending, including in bonuses. He said Bashore had been neither forthright nor honest about the township finances, especially his own salary.

"You were arrogant about it, you lied to us," Masterson said. "You lied to the public about our money and I'm offended by it."

At least 100 people attended the meeting, and some appealed to the board to table the matter until a more through investigation could be completed. The township plans to hire a firm to conduct a forensic audit, and the Delaware County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the township's finances.

Commissioner Enrique R. Hervada motioned to table the matter for fear of potential lawsuits, but the measure failed on a 3-3 vote. The seventh commissioner, Lisa Paolino, was absent. The board then voted unanimously to terminate Bashore's employment as of tonight.