Upper Darby\u2019s beleaguered and stumbling earned income tax (EIT) is facing yet another legal challenge from residents, the latest claiming that the township is attempting to institute the new tax in a way that does not align with state law.<\/p>\n
Four residents of Upper Darby Township, led by John DeMasi, filed suit<\/a> Monday in the county\u2019s Court of Common Pleas against Mayor Ed Brown\u2019s (D) administration and the township council, and are asking a judge to invalidate the tax ordinance \u201cfrom inception.\u201d<\/p>\n DeMasi and colleagues begin by saying Mayor Brown signed the EIT ordinance<\/a> on February 19 and that the ordinance \u201cshall take effect and be in force immediately[.]\u201d<\/p>\n However, the plaintiffs also point to a section of law called the Local Tax Enabling Act which says<\/a>, \u201cNo tax levied for the first time by any political subdivision to which this chapter applies shall go into effect until thirty days from the time of the adoption of the ordinance or resolution levying the tax.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the township apparently put the ordinance into effect immediately with Mayor Brown\u2019s signature, it ran counter to the state guidelines, and should be invalidated, the plaintiffs say.<\/p>\n Councilwoman Meaghan Wagner (R-1st District) blasted the overall process.<\/p>\n \u201cI have always been against the EIT. That being said, if it\u2019s going to happen, I want it to be legal,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cI suggested that we wait until a new solicitor was appointed until we address the EIT as I felt if we didn\u2019t we would end up back in court. Also I questioned who was sick of ending up in court. I was ignored and yet here we are, back in court. Hate when I\u2019m right.\u00a0 The sloppiness is disgusting especially just to push the EIT down the taxpayers throat.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n At-large Councilwoman Laura Wentz (I) was similarly critical, saying sloppiness had become a habit.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a pattern. This administration and council president, in my opinion, have failed on the concept of proofreading the documents before they put it out to the public. Whether it\u2019s ordinance or resolution or the agenda itself, the concept of proofreading doesn\u2019t exist anymore, as far as I can tell.\u201d Wentz said.<\/p>\n The mayor and all other members of council did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Wagner references the fact that the township is in the midst of choosing a new solicitor after Sean Kilkenny and his firm resigned<\/a> in January. But Kilkenny\u2019s firm remains on until a new solicitor is chosen.<\/p>\n Kilkenney, who is also the sheriff of Montgomery County, had a troubled tenure as solicitor of Upper Darby. Broad + Liberty published a two-part<\/a> series<\/a> exposing the many questionable decisions by Kilkenny, including stifling public debate at a township meeting and giving cover to former Mayor Barbarann Keffer (D) when she chose to continue her duties remotely even as she was in a rehabilitation clinic following DUI charges.<\/p>\n Kilkenny was also part of an earlier legal challenge to the EIT in which a judge ruled<\/a> the township failed to adhere to its own timetable in its home-rule charter. DeMasi was the driving force behind that effort as well.<\/p>\n The township has been trying to implement the new EIT since September.<\/p>\n Although Brown did not respond to a Broad + Liberty request for comment, he told the Inquirer the suit was \u201cfrom a small group focusing on technicalities, rather than addressing the core sustainability issues in the township.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are confident in the legality of our actions and will strongly defend the Council\u2019s right to implement the EIT as passed,\u201d Brown told<\/a> the paper.<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the lawsuit\u2019s claims that the ordinance was immediately enacted, Brown said the tax was not set to take effect until July,\u201d the Inquirer also noted.<\/p>\n DeMasi says the \u201csustainability\u201d issue is the mayor\u2019s own fault.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no reason to pass this [tax] at one percent other than they passed a budget that they couldn\u2019t pay for\u201d DeMasi told Broad + Liberty. \u201cThey passed a budget that spent $9 million more than they had planned coming in. They created a deficit and an emergency and then tried to plug that hole and didn\u2019t bother to read the law that they passed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf they can\u2019t pass a law legally, they shouldn\u2019t have control of millions of dollars,\u201d DeMasi added.<\/p>\n The tax, if ultimately put into effect, would act the same as a federal or state income tax, and most residents should be able to have their tax deducted from every paycheck.<\/p>\n DeMasi and the group is also challenging a finer issue in which the tax ordinance said, \u201cThe provisions of this Ordinance shall be liberally construed\u2026\u201d (emphasis added).<\/p>\n