Doylestown Township . Photo by James Short.
Doylestown Township Board of Supervisors opted last week not to authorize administration and Solicitor Michael Clarke to draft an ordinance that would increase the annual compensation of elected supervisors in the township by 67%.
The state Legislature last October passed an amendment to the Second Class Township Code, now called Act 94 of 2024, allowing supervisors in such classified townships, such as Doylestown, to increase their annual compensation by 67.6% across the board, based upon population.
Supervisors must pass an ordinance establishing the new compensations, but until then, supervisors will continue to receive their respective current compensation rates.
In Doylestown, that means elected supervisors will continue to receive $4,125 a year, based on a population between 15,000 and 24,999 residents.
A draft ordinance would have proposed an increase of annual compensation to $6,915 per supervisor.
Per the amendment, supervisors are able to receive annual maximum compensation as follows:
Per the code, no supervisor may receive compensation as an employee for attending a meeting of the board of supervisors.
Clarke told the board at its Feb. 18 meeting that it is the first time the compensation was adjusted since 1995.
“The township has to pass an ordinance setting the new compensation. If you don’t pass an ordinance, then the old compensation will remain in effect,” he said. “If the board were to pass such an ordinance, the five of you would be compensated at the old rate for the remainder of your term.”
Clarke said the new compensation would go into effect with any new elected supervisor or a supervisor beginning a new term.
Supervisor Nancy Santacecilia said supervisors in Doylestown have an option to be compensated or get health insurance through the township.
“I make a motion to do the ordinance because oftentimes people who end up deciding to serve may have retired, and I think it’s a nice bonus for them if they decide to participate,” Santacecilia said. “Oftentimes, they use that payment for a different event or to pay for outside expenses.”
Board Chair Jennifer Herring said she was comfortable tabling any vote until it could be thought-through further by the board. Clarke said it was not an action item for the board, rather he needed a majority of the board to give direction whether or not to draft the ordinance.
“If the majority wanted us to draft it, it does not mean you would actually be approving it or voting to authorize the advertisement of it,” Clarke said.
“I’m not looking to do it, at this point,” Herring said.
“Any reason why you’re against it?” Sanacecilia asked.
“I don’t think we need to do that. I think we can address it later,” Herring said. “The ordinance isn’t urgent, and it is not free for our solicitor to draft an ordinance.”
“I don’t mind taking a beat on it until we are sure that this is what we want,” she said.
Clarke said, for other nearby Second-Class Townships on this topic, there were no clients that directed his office to draft an ordinance amendment.
He could not speak on other townships where his office does not serve as solicitor.
