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Contested Zoning Hearing Board retention and solicitor billing prompt debate at Lehigh Township meeting
Summary
Supervisors clashed with Zoning Hearing Board members over executive sessions, legal bills and board procedures; a motion to remove longtime member Katherine Mack failed and the township raised the Zoning Hearing Board solicitor rate to $130 per hour.
Lehigh Township supervisors and Zoning Hearing Board members debated governance practices and legal billing at the Board’s Jan. 6 organizational meeting, centering on whether a longtime board member should be retained.
Supervisor Cindy Miller moved to not retain Zoning Hearing Board member Katherine Mack, saying "the interactions of higher legal fees are unnecessary, the meetings that are occurring that are unnecessary, and the accusations that have gone on that are unnecessary have to stop." The motion received no second and sparked extended discussion among supervisors, Zoning Hearing Board members and the township solicitor.
Katherine Mack defended her record and the board’s procedures, and other Zoning Hearing Board members said they follow established practice. Attorney David Backenstoe, who serves as township counsel, explained his billing practice, saying that he "does bill on occasion. If someone calls him up and it is a two minute quick conversation, he doesn’t bill for that. If he has to do some research, he may bill."
After debate, the Board voted to retain Mack; meeting minutes record that Supervisors David Hess, Janet Sheats and Jerry Pritchard voted aye and Cindy Miller opposed. The record does not show recorded votes for every member on that motion.
The dispute also prompted supervisors to scrutinize solicitor billing more broadly. Supervisors voted to increase the Zoning Hearing Board solicitor’s hourly rate to $130, a motion that carried with all members voting aye. During the discussion, officials noted that higher legal bills had been a concern and that solicitor role and compensation policies need clearer oversight.
Why this matters: conflicts between elected supervisors and quasi‑judicial boards affect how zoning hearings are run, how legal costs are allocated and public confidence in local land‑use decisions.
The Board did not remove the member and approved the solicitor rate increase; supervisors asked for improved communication between boards to avoid duplicative bills and unnecessary hearings.
