Solicitor resigns in Radnor

In another shake-up in Radnor Township, commissioners last night accepted the resignation of Township Solicitor David G. Blake.

The move came days after they took steps to fire their longtime township manager, David A. Bashore, who they say gave himself more than $100,000 in cash bonuses without board approval.

Blake, who worked for the township since 1996, submitted his letter of resignation in a packet commissioners typically receive the Friday before the next board meeting. The letter did not offer specifics, but several commissioners acknowledged that Blake had been pressured to resign because of his involvement with Bashore, who had given the lawyer a $7,620 bump in his annual compensation without board approval.

"The solicitor didn't request the pay raise," John Fisher, vice president of the Board of Commissioners, said in an interview yesterday. Fisher added that while it was unclear whether Blake assumed the manager had told the commissioners about the raise, Blake attended executive sessions where salaries and personnel matters were discussed, and he never mentioned it. "We can assume he took that pay raise without consultation of the board," Fisher said.

Commissioners voted 6-0 to accept Blake's resignation. Commissioner Enrique Hervada was not present. All the commissioners thanked Blake for his service. Some said they were sorry to see him go.

"I felt very badly that he had to resign, but I think that the circumstances that we've all seen unfold compelled him to do that," said Harry G. Mahoney. "He has been a very good solicitor for this township and I wish him well."

The board voted 5-1 to approve John B. Rice, a lawyer with the Bucks County firm Grim, Biehn & Thatcher, as the interim solicitor.

Commissioner Lisa Paolino voted against Rice's appointment. She questioned why other lawyers weren't interviewed and asked whether Rice could commit sufficient time to Radnor, a community she said was in a "chaotic" state.

"We're going to need a lot of time and attention," she said.

Bashore, 52, township manager since 2000, was suspended with pay two weeks ago after commissioners found he had been paying himself bonuses without board approval. Commissioners also allege that Bashore misled them about how much he was making, lied at a public meeting when questioned about bonuses, and created documents to try to cover his tracks.

The board voted 6-0 on Thursday to take steps to fire Bashore. Bashore issued a statement saying that he was the victim of "a calculated effort" to remove him and that he had "acted appropriately at all times on behalf of Radnor Township."

Bashore declined to comment further yesterday.

At a meeting last month, Board President Thomas A. Masterson Jr. asked Bashore why Blake's monthly fee had increased to $6,500 from $5,865 when the board had specifically asked at a Dec. 15 meeting that all wages be frozen. Only the commissioners can approve a raise to the solicitor, Masterson said, and none of them knew about it.

Bashore said he'd look into it. When Masterson asked what were the possibilities, Bashore answered, "The possibilities are endless."

Blake signed Bashore's employment contract in January 2001, a document that most of the commissioners say they never saw. The contract included a $175,000 no-interest loan to Bashore for a down payment on his home that was to be forgiven over 12 years.

During the summer, Bashore also granted Blake access to an office in the township building without seeking board approval.

Blake mentioned his use of a township office when the board questioned his pay raise at the February meeting. When Masterson asked Blake directly why his fee had increased without board approval, Blake said he had made it "very clear to the board on many an occasion" about his fees.

Blake did not return a call for comment yesterday and did not attend last night's meeting.