At Monday’s Collingdale Borough Council meeting officials voted 4-3 to remove borough manager Pat Edouard, citing a breach of his duties.
Council President Stephen Zane said the decision was in connection with a personal matter. Officials refused to elaborate on that explanation.
Edouard’s employment contract was at will.
“The motion has passed to terminate the employment of the borough manager effective immediately, for his breach of his duties and responsibilities of position of borough manager, said Zane following two votes on the issue.
Council member Ryan Hastings asked other officials what Edouard did to warrant his removal.
Zane said an executive session was scheduled two weeks earlier. The borough manager had requested that meeting but then declined to attend just minutes before it was to begin even though he was in the building.
The council then debated whether all council members had received notice of that meeting.
Council member Brianna Rush-Green said multiple attempts had been made to discuss the matter in executive sessions but not all council members attended.
“I hate for it to be such a red and blue situation which is what it turned out to be,” said Rush-Green.” “The truth is we’ve set numerous executive sessions … provided them amble opportunity to speak up … If they had the questions they are asking tonight, they had the last four months where they could have done so and they chose not to.”
At one point Zane asked Edouard to leave the table, but he refused.
Hastings in defense of Edouard said the manager’s authority has been undermined and asked Edouard to elaborate.
Solicitor Sam Auslander at that point said the meeting was not an evidentiary hearing and in the interest of decorum that the motion should proceed.
Council members Zane, Rush-Green, Lisa Jones and Shannon Murphy voted in favor of removing Edouard immediately.
Reached by phone on Wednesday Edouard cited racism as a reason for his dismissal and said he had no cooperation from the beginning.
“Collingdale … Delaware County doesn’t have a history to being nice to Black people, let’s be clear on that,” Edouard said.
When it was pointed out at least one African American voted to remove him, Edouard said that person was in thrall to the borough athletic club, which he claimed controls government officials.
Asked what he had accomplished in his time, which was less than a year, Edouard said he was sabotaged the entire time but still had some success.
“I was able to get to CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) grants for infrastructure improvements, and meetings weren’t online (posted on Facebook) prior to me being there,” Edouard said stating two items. “People did everything they could possibly do to sabotage me but then were mad when I was still successful.”
Following the votes to remove Edouard, Council voiced nominations for a new borough manager. Hastings immediately nominated Edouard, but the motion failed.
Council members discussed hiring borough administrative staffer Dawn Lare as acting manager but put that off because of complications of her union membership.
There were other borough personnel changes announced at the meeting.
Council voted to approve Dawn Crawley as a assistant treasurer. Police Chief Kenneth Felker announced he is retiring this fall. He has been an officer for 30 years in Collingdale.
Felker said Sgt. Patrick Kilroy has been his right hand man and would do an excellent job.
Emergency Management coordinator George Kaiser resigned, JT Moors, a Collingdale firefighter, was voted to replace him. Dominique Holland was voted onto the planning commission.