Hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments to board members of the Stormwater Authority of Chester may have been made illegally during the past eight years, according to the city’s bankruptcy receiver, and they may have to pay the money back. The receiver’s office, which has petitioned U.S. Bankruptcy Court to order the Stormwater Authority of Chester to turn over financial documents, also said the agency may have violated state law by accepting a $40,000 loan from its executive director, Horace Strand, and his church. Strand said the receiver’s demands constitute “a political hit job” aimed at an authority that was formed during the previous mayoral administration and whose stated mission is to manage the discharges of rainwater and melted snow and ice and control flooding. Strand estimates that annual pay for the six board members ranges from $12,000 to $24,000. The receiver’s office said the city solicitor found no evidence that the council ever approved the salaries. Read more in the Inquirer.
Source: Inquirer; 5/28/2024