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Hatboro Mayor Norm Hawkes drives an old police vehicle for business purposes on the borough’s dime, but due to lack of records, nobody knows when it was authorized, or the exact cost to Hatboro, Hatboro Council President Marianne Reymer said Monday.
Council discussed the issue at its committee meeting after it was raised twice during public comment periods in March. It was also expressed during campaign season in November, Reymer said.
Hawkes drives the 1999 Ford model for borough purposes only, primarily for performing weddings, a duty not required of him as mayor, and less frequently to respond to emergencies within the borough, such as using the car as an extra police vehicle to help block off roads, Hawkes told council.
The car has clocked more than 96,000 miles and its insurance coverage costs the borough approximately $300 per year, Reymer said. He uses a gas card tied to the public works account, she added.
Council will vote to make it official whether or not the mayor should have a borough car at the April 26 meeting, Reymer said.
Hawkes makes between $4,000 and $5,000 each year performing wedding ceremonies, money he contributes entirely to an account the borough donates to Hatboro organizations that request funding.
He brings in an average donation of $100 per wedding, which have required him to travel to Philadelphia, Towamencin, Doylestown and Bensalem, Hawkes said.
If Hawkes were to use his own car for these ceremonies, the borough would not have to reimburse him because it is not borough business to perform weddings, council’s Solicitor Christen Pionzio said.
According to state law and the borough code, a mayor cannot pocket both his salary, in Hawkes’ case $2,500, and the money made from marriages.
If he chose to forego his salary and keep the proceeds from weddings, he would walk away with more money, he said after the meeting.
Previous Hatboro Mayor Joe Celano kept the money he made from marriages and his salary, said resident Sandy Zygmont, who served on council from 2002 to 2005.
She asked Reymer why the mayor’s car was an issue now because it never seemed to be a problem before.
“He is the only one out of all of you bringing in taxpayer money,” she said.
Reymer said the fact it was not brought up in past public meetings does not mean it was not discussed.
According to Councilwoman Aleta Ostrander, one of Hawkes’ neighbors did not realize or question that the mayor had a car until it was parked in the street in the snow making it difficult for cars to pass.
Hawkes said no residents have approached him with concerns about the car.
This is his third borough car in four years. The floorboards rotted in the first one, and the second caught electrical fire, he said.
He would not keep the car if he did not perform weddings, he added.
The project fund Hawkes contributes to with his marriage fees had about $9,800 as of April 9, Reymer said.
At its meeting, council began to consider how to dole out this cash among proposals from six local organizations, such as the Boy Scouts and YMCA, as the borough had been doing in the past, but the decision was put on hold to further evaluate whether each proposal is compliant with the powers outlined in borough code.
In other business, a lease agreement for the new district court facility in Hatboro was secured with the county and council plans to vote April 26 to authorize the bid process for the construction. The court is moving from the second floor of borough hall to a larger facility in the existing end unit of the shopping center next door.
The borough could be looking at a six- to eight-month construction time frame, three to four if the contractor works quickly, Lance Kraemer, the architect for the project, told council.
