Politics

The Montgomery County Supervisors have amended their employment agreement with Township Manager, Larry Gregan. The change brings it into compliance with a state law that requires agreements of this type to run no longer than an election cycle. The idea is to not saddle future supervisors with a manager that lacks their confidence. Supervisor Chairman, Joe Walsh says the amended employment agreement does not increase the salary of the township manager but it does include a provision that might help him sleep better.

“The reality is Mr. Gregan is an employee of will. He can be terminated with or without cause at the board’s discretion, but there is a provision in there about a severance package in the event he is terminated.”

Gregan has been Township Manager for about two-and-a-half years and earns 130-thousand dollars.  

Local Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick would support a Re-evaluation of the Patriot Act. The 8th District Congressman Republican says, the National Security Agency has overstepped its use of surveillance.

“I was not in Congressman when the Patriot Act was passed. I was there for its 1st reauthorization, four years later. I expressed some fairly significant concerns that I had. I wanted to make sure that they were not gathering mage-data information on average American citizens where there was no suspicion, but it was being used as a law enforcement tool.”

Fitzpatrick voted against reauthorization of the Patriot Act several years after it’s original passage in the wake of 9-11.

State lawmakers are fine tuning the definition of child abuse. Montgomery county State Senator Bob Mensch says, as soon as the senate addresses changes to what is considered to be child abuse, it can concentrate on other proposals from a panel that studied Pennsylvania’s child protection laws.

“I think the next issue is mandatory reporting and understand that and who has to be a mandatory reporter. How do we get the training. What are the definitions, again the definitions are so critical.”

A House plan is scheduled for committee action this week. The senate is expected to take up the issue in the fall. Last year,a special task force was created to address the question of what is the definition of child abuse.

A former network television news attorney says the Obama Administration is worse than the Nixon Whitehouse when it comes to freedom of the press. Cory Dunham wrote the book “Government Control of The News” last year, prior to the headlines involving the Justice Department’s investigating the A.P. news sources.

“Years ago something like this is happening today, you would have found the head of C.B.S and A.B.C and N.B.C out there making speeches and coming to the defense of the press. Today, not one word. Not one of those executives in the industry has said a thing.”

Dunham was Chief Legal Council for N.B.C. for 25 years and a guest on Monday’s Edition of the WNPV program Comment Please By Univest