Elected officials are, naturally, sometimes at the center of conflict and division within their board.  Conflict is to be expected.  However, what happens when board members take action to freeze out a minority board member from information that he or she needs to do his or her respective job?  The use of information-control tactics against minority members on a board, impeding their ability to receive that information necessary to perform his or her duties is problematic – and it may be unconstitutional.\

Elected officials have duty to be informed. Palm v.Centre Tp., 415 A.2d 990, 992 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 1980):

It is the duty of a school board member, a commissioner, a councilman, or a supervisor to be informed. Supervisors are not restricted to information furnished at a public meeting. A supervisor has the right to study, investigate, discuss and argue problems and issues prior to the public meeting at which he may vote. Nor is a supervisor restricted to communicating with the people he represents. He is not a judge. He can talk with interested parties as does any legislator.

This responsibility extends beyond the contours of the public meeting and what is discussed at those meetings.

Elected officials have protections under the First Amendment. The Third Circuit has historically recognized that a public official’s right to free speech under the First Amendment will be violated when the retaliatory conduct of her peers interferes with her ability to adequately perform her elected duties. See Werkheiser v. Pocono Tp., 780 F.3d. 172, 182 (3d Cir. 2015); Monteiro v. City of Elizabeth, 436 F.3d 397, 404 (3d Cir. 2006).

To avoid entering the territory of this kind of interference, everyone can play a role in ensuring the government functions adequately and that Board members’ rights, duties, and privileges are protected.  Board division, when gone too far, can cross constitutional lines.  To avoid walking that line, there are things that everyone can do to make for a well-functioning Board or meeting:

• Managers can stay neutral and ensure that every board member is kept up to date on significant municipal operations and projects.
• Solicitors can host a meeting with the board to educate the board on laws pertaining to their position, such as a municipal code and the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act.
• Board members can foster respect for fellow board members and learn how to communicate so that each board member can participate in healthy debate on contentious issues.  Enacting policies related to meeting decorum can be helpful, but they need to be enforced evenhandedly.

For more tips for handling divisiveness among a board, see the December 2021 article on “Tips for Handling Board Conflicts” in the Pa Township News.

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Lawmakers Continue Focus on TSA Wait Times, While House Spending Panel Approves TSA Funding for FY 2017

The House Appropriations Committee approved it draft FY 2017 homeland security appropriations measure on Thursday, June 9, including $7.6 billion for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), $163 million more than in FY 2016 and $21.8 million greater than the Obama Administration’s FY 2017 budget request.  The House Appropriations Committee has yet to approve a request from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for an additional $28 million to help keep airport security lines under control during the ongoing summer travel season.  The Senate Appropriations Committee, which has already approved of its FY 2017 homeland security spending measure increasing funds for TSA, has also signed off on the reallocated funds, the second such request from DHS this year.

On June 7, the House of Representatives approved legislation, the Checkpoint Optimization and Efficiency Act of 2016 (H.R. 5338), aimed at shortening TSA wait times.  The measure would direct both the TSA Administrator and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review TSA’s staffing allocation model.  The Act also requires the TSA Administrator to take a number of actions related to the agency’s staffing and resource allocation.  Across the Capitol, TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger testified before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing last week, where lawmakers encouraged the agency to increase access to PreCheck, an expedited security screening program.

This Week’s Hearings:

• Tuesday, June 14: The House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security will hold a hearing titled “Overstaying Their Welcome: National Security Risks Posed by Visa Overstays.”

• Wednesday, June 15: The Senate Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing titled “America’s Insatiable Demand for Drugs: Examining Alternative Approaches.”

• Thursday, June 16: The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a meeting to consider pending legislation and nominations.

Executive Branch Activity

Government Officials React to Deadliest Shooting in US History, Worst Terror Attack Since 9/11

President Barack Obama, senior Administration officials, and lawmakers reacted to the shooting at a crowded Orlando nightclub filled with members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.  As of Sunday night, the shooting, which ended with police storming the club after a three-hour stand-off, had left 50 dead and at least 53 injured.  Reports indicated the alleged shooter had pledged allegiance to ISIS, making it the United States’ worst terror attack since September 11, 2001, and the deadliest mass shooting in the country’s history.

President Obama delivered remarks from the White House early in the day, confirming he had met with his homeland security and national security advisors and assuring Americans that he has “directed that the full resources of the federal government be made available for this investigation.”  Congressman Mike McCaul (R-TX), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, offered thoughts and prayers for the victims and thanked local law enforcement for their efforts responding to the attack, calling it “a sobering reminder that radical Islamists are targeting our country and our way of life.” Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, echoed his House colleague, confirming that his committee “will work to support the federal role in investigating this terror attack and protecting against further threats.”  Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson stated that senior agency officials “are dedicated to investigating this tragedy, along with the FBI and our state and local partners, and supporting the Orlando community in the tragedy’s aftermath.”  Secretary Johnson canceled planned travel to Beijing in light of the attack.

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Over the last few years, we have seen a significant increase in litigation involving the fees paid by retirement plans. However, until recently, no major litigation had occurred in North Carolina.  On March 12, 2014, one of these cases was filed against Winston-Salem-based Novant Health, a large hospital system in the southeast.  This case and other recent litigation should serve as a reminder to retirement plan fiduciaries of the need to monitor their plans’ service provider arrangements.

The complaint against Novant Health alleges that Novant’s retirement plan paid unreasonable fees to the plan’s recordkeeper and to an investment advisor.  The plaintiffs argue that the fees paid by the plan were unreasonable because, among other things, plan expenses increased more than 10-fold in one year without a corresponding increase in services.  The plaintiffs also claim that the fiduciaries breached their duties by failing to leverage the size of the plan to negotiate lower fees and by selecting retail mutual fund share classes when cheaper, “institutional” share classes were available.

While this case is still a long way from being decided, it should serve as a pointed reminder to plan sponsors and other plan fiduciaries that they need to routinely monitor the reasonableness of plan fees and expenses.

If the plan document so provides, a plan can pay its own administrative expenses, but only if the appropriate fiduciary determines that those expenses are reasonable.  Before entering into a service provider relationship, the fiduciary must first make a determination that the services are necessary and the fees are reasonable.  The fiduciary then must monitor the arrangement over time to ensure that it remains reasonable.

The following fiduciary risk-management practices are worth considering for any plan committee or other fiduciary involved in the selection or monitoring of service providers:

• Regularly identify all service providers that directly or indirectly receive fees from the plan.
• Make sure each service provider has provided the plan fiduciaries with fee disclosures required by ERISA.
• Regularly calculate the amounts that each service provider directly or indirectly receives from the plan.
• Understand what services are provided to the plan for the fees paid.  If one vendor provides both services to the plan and non-plan services, make sure that the plan is not subsidizing any non-plan services.
• Periodically confirm whether the service provider’s pricing is competitive.  This is particularly important as the size of the plan grows because the fiduciary will be expected to leverage the plan’s size to reduce fees.  Depending on the circumstances, it might be best to conduct a formal request for proposals from time to time.
• If an advisor questions whether a fee arrangement is reasonable, take prompt action to investigate the issue and determine whether the arrangement is reasonable.
• Make sure that participant communications accurately reflect how plan expenses are paid.
• Document, document, document!  Document the decision-making process used to select a service provider, and document the fiduciary’s monitoring and review process.

These practices will assist the fiduciary in meeting its fiduciary duties and, perhaps more importantly, demonstrate fiduciary prudence to any inquiring party.

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