{"id":3174,"date":"2025-10-16T03:22:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T03:22:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/3174\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T03:22:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T03:22:16","slug":"kilkenny-law-stepping-down-as-upper-darbys-solicitor-delco-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/3174\/","title":{"rendered":"Kilkenny Law stepping down as Upper Darby\u2019s solicitor \u2013 Delco Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Upper Darby\u2019 solicitor, Sean Kilkenny has announced his law firm, Kilkenny Law<\/a> will step down as the legal representative for the Township.<\/p>\n

In a press release, Mayor Ed Brown said the township received Kilkenny\u2019s resignation letter last week.<\/p>\n

The firm will remain as solicitor until a new firm has been appointed.<\/p>\n

A formal search process is underway, the township said on Tuesday. There will be no candidate presented at Wednesday\u2019s Council meeting.<\/p>\n

Kilkenny Law presently represents more than eight other municipalities in Delaware County, including Haverford Township, Sharon Hill and Folcroft as well as numerous municipalities in Montgomery County, where Kilkenny is the sheriff.<\/p>\n

\"UpperUpper Darby Township solicitor Sean Kilkenny at his day job, sheriff of Montgomery County. (MEDIANEWS GROUP)
\nRough patch<\/p>\n

Kilkenny has faced criticism in recent months after decisions led to lawsuits, a couple which have notably gone against the township. He denied that the criticism was a factor in his stepping aside in the township.<\/p>\n

Late in 2024, Common Pleas Judge Spiros E. Angelos invalidated the township\u2019s effort to enact<\/a> an earned income tax because it violated the township\u2019s home rule charter during the ordinance process.<\/p>\n

The judge ruled that the vote on the tax was made at the first of two September meetings, which the court said is intended to be a workshop format meeting where final action is discouraged and reserved for emergency circumstances only. Angelos did not see it as an emergency.<\/p>\n

Another issue was the withholding of\u00a0$800,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds<\/a> for the Upper Darby Arts and Education Foundation. After voting to award the money, the administration never acted on it and then decided to pull that money back for other priorities.<\/p>\n

Now retired-Common Pleas Judge Barry Dozer found that the township must give the foundation that money as it had committed to do.<\/p>\n

Kilkenny oversaw the legality of those decisions.<\/p>\n

At the Dec 18 public meeting<\/a>, as council scrambled to approve a budget which was complicated by the EIT ruling, one resident complained Kilkenny has given bad advice and she urged council members not to approve additional money for legal services.<\/p>\n

Council members Laura Wentz agreed and saying that the \u201cbad advice, keeps adding up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council member Meaghan Wagner agreed.<\/p>\n

\"UpperMeaghan Wagner (COURTESY PHOTO)<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring Sean Kilkenny\u2019s tenure as solicitor, we have seen Upper Darby Township legal fees skyrocket, a significant portion of which stemmed from litigation following the solicitor\u2019s poor legal advice related to ARPA funding and council\u2019s action on an EIT. At a time when Upper Darby is struggling to fund core municipal services while raising taxes, the excessive legal billing was alarming,\u201d Wagner said in an email Tuesday.\u00a0 \u201cI am pleased that Kilkenny resigned and look forward to working with my colleagues on township council to select a new solicitor that will be more budget conscious while providing fair and accurate legal counsel. Kilkenny\u2019s resignation brings forth a new day for Upper Darby Township and I am happy to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kilkenny responds<\/p>\n

In an interview on Tuesday, Kilkenny disputed those claims and said those recent decisions had not played any impact in his decision to withdraw as solicitor.<\/p>\n

He noted that in a large municipality like Upper Darby, there is often some level legal action occurring and while he didn\u2019t agree with the outcomes, he respects the judges\u2019 decisions.<\/p>\n

He said he the decision to step aside was so that both his firm and Upper Darby can continue to prosper.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a privilege to serve the entire Upper Darby Community and its elected leaders as township solicitor for the past five years,\u201d Kilkenny said. \u201cI am grateful for the opportunity and proud of the many community improvements and accomplishments that we have helped to facilitate.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he wishes the township nothing but success and he assures the community and its leadership that his firm will do everything to ensure an orderly and professional transition.<\/p>\n

Accomplishments<\/p>\n

One accomplishment Kilkenny pointed to was the codification of all the township laws<\/a> into a searchable electronic document.<\/p>\n

Before the Kilkenny firm oversaw the codification, laws were literally kept on books and in antiquated file systems. Century-old outdated laws could still be on the books, he said.<\/p>\n

He said while that may seem mundane to citizens \u201cfrom a legal standpoint it is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kilkenny noted another achievement was that like Upper Darby, many municipalities have home rule charters, which were enacted in the 1970s, but since that time state laws and regulations have changed.<\/p>\n

Those changes are at times at odds with the home rule charter and come into conflict, which require interpretations that can lead to lawsuits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am grateful for the opportunity and proud of the many community improvements and accomplishments that we have helped to facilitate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lots of kudos, and not<\/p>\n

Council President Hafiz Tunis acknowledged the contributions Kilkenny has made as solicitor. He said his focus remains looking toward the future in achieving the goal of making Upper Darby a better place.<\/p>\n

\"UpperUpper Darby Mayor Ed Brown at an event in 2023. (PETE BANNAN-DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

Brown agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe extend our gratitude to Mr. Kilkenny and his firm for their five years of dedicated service to the township,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe appreciate his commitment to ensuring a smooth and professional transition during this process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council member Andrew Hayman who along with every other member of council was asked their views on Kilkenny leaving, praised the solicitor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry that we\u2019re losing him. I think he did a fantastic job. Like any employee, I can\u2019t say there weren\u2019t any errors, but he moved the township forward,\u201d Hayman said.<\/p>\n

Hayman also credited the codification of laws, as well as being an advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana and the responsible contractor ordinance, which requires those wanting to do work for the township to have professional certification and standards.<\/p>\n

Hayman said it is ironic that the codification of laws is one of the reasons critics are able to review the home rule charter so closely.<\/p>\n

Hayman said there were members from the opposing party who have always wanted to fire the solicitor but there was not a consensus on council for that to happen.<\/p>\n

He said much of the criticism stems from the change from Republican leadership to Democrats with the turmoil seen at council meetings an attempt to distract council from functioning properly, with the goal to cause mistakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a fantastic resource for Upper Darby. Any lesser firm would have left a lot sooner,\u201d Hayman said. \u201cLook how we\u2019ve treated our solicitor over the past few years. I wouldn\u2019t want to stay. We have attacked every employee who has walked into that room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Council member Jess Branas said being new to council she didn\u2019t have enough expertise to question Kilkenny\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

She did credit him with helping her navigate the law and government committee and expects the township to find a suitable replacement moving forward.<\/p>\n

Council member Danyelle Blackwell was also supportive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have worked with Solicitor Kilkenny for over 5 years therefore, I wish him and his family the best in his future endeavors,\u201d Blackwell said.<\/p>\n

Council member Brian Andruszko\u00a0 however said Kilkenny firm\u2019s legal services have been far too costly and was critical about recent court rulings over public speaking time and funding for the Upper Darby Arts & Education Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am glad to hear of Kilkenny\u2019s firms\u2019 resignation as it is in the best interest of our community to seek new legal counsel that can offer both more affordable and accurate advice, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and effectively for the benefit of all residents,\u201d Andruszko said.<\/p>\n

Council will not be voting on a new solicitor Wednesday night, however a number of important decisions are on the agenda,<\/a> including a request to introduce the latest attempt at a 1 percent earned income tax and 2025 budget appropriations.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: January 15, 2025 at 6:55 AM EST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Upper Darby\u2019 solicitor, Sean Kilkenny has announced his law firm, Kilkenny Law will step down as the legal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[212,182,139,28,210,147,149,148,150],"class_list":["post-3174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upper-darby","tag-delaware-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-dtd","tag-upper-darby","tag-upper-darby-headlines","tag-upper-darby-news","tag-upper-darby-township"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}