LAWRENCE COUNTY Ruling dismisses election-pay suit

Thomas Fee is considering refiling his lawsuit against the county salary board, his attorney said.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A lawsuit filed by a former county Lawrence County commissioner against the current commissioners has been dismissed.
Thomas Fee was seeking close to $1,000 from the commissioners for work he did on the county election board last year.
Fee, along with Luann Parkonen and Philip Boudewyns, was appointed to serve on the board when the county commissioners were excluded because of a county government study referendum.
Fee contends that he was told by President Judge Ralph Pratt of county common pleas court that he would be paid $15 per hour for his work, and mileage, but when Fee turned in his work and mileage report, he was not paid. Parkonen and Boudewyns have not asked to be paid.
What the law says
State law states that anyone other than an elected official serving on the election board shall be paid, but county commissioners said no one ever asked for payment before and no salary was set.
The county salary board later set a rate of $5.15 per hour for anyone who seeks payment.
But Fee contends that he was told he would receive $15 per hour before the salary board voted. He filed a civil lawsuit in District Justice Melissa Amodie's court to get his money. Fee said he worked 61 hours and made four-mile trips from his home to the courthouse for that time.
County Solicitor John Hodge said Amodie dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, which means Fee can refile.
Arguments
Hodge argued at a hearing on Wednesday that Fee had sued the wrong entity in suing the board of commissioners. He should have sued the county salary board -- consisting of the county commissioners, controller and department head affected -- because it and not the county commissioners sets salaries.
Fee's attorney, his daughter Kathleen Fee-Baird, argued that her father sued the county commissioners because they hold the majority of seats on the salary board.
Fee-Baird said this morning that she had not seen Amodie's written ruling but received word of it late Thursday. Amodie's office is closed today for Flag Day and she could not be reached to comment.
She noted that Amodie's ruling allows her father to refile the lawsuit.
"She did us a favor. We can fix the defect by suing the salary board," she said.
Fee-Baird said her father should decide in the next few day if he wants to sue the county salary board.
Hodge said it's unclear if Fee will be paid $5.15 per hour for his work on the election board or if the county salary board will wait on that matter.