Gray areas of Sunshine Act apparent in West Lebanon Twp. executive sessions

Editor’s note: This article was updated on July 21 with additional comment from West Lebanon Township vice president Phylis Dryden. Please see her comment below.

In October 2025, LebTown received a tip that West Lebanon Township commissioners may have met outside the limits of the Sunshine Act.

LebTown learned that video recordings of the meeting existed and obtained a copy of the recording via a Right-to-Know Law request. The footage showed commissioners Justin Snyder, Phylis Dryden, Jeffrey Clarke, Michelle Testerman, and Joseph Templin meeting from approximately 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 13.

The nature of the discussion wasn’t clear as the recording did not include audio.

The Sunshine Act says any meetings where officials discuss “agency business” or take “official action” must be either held publicly or held privately as publicly disclosed executive sessions.

LebTown informed West Lebanon commissioners through solicitor Paul Bametzreider at the time that it wasn’t clear whether Sunshine had been broken but requested that the commissioners be reminded of Sunshine requirements.

In June 2026, LebTown received another tip about West Lebanon Township commissioners meeting outside of Sunshine Act requirements. LebTown again filed a Right-to-Know Law request and, although initially was told that no recording existed, the township’s solicitor later followed up to say he had been informed there is a video recording without audio.

The recording shows commissioners Jeffrey Clarke, Phylis Dryden, Justin Snyder, Michelle Testerman, and Joseph Templin meeting from approximately 7 to 7:50 p.m. on June 8.

LebTown sent the following questions to the West Lebanon Township commissioners:

• What was discussed at the Oct. 13, 2025, meeting?
• What was discussed at the June 8, 2026, meeting?
• Did these meetings satisfy Sunshine Act requirements and, if so, how?

The meeting in June was an executive session to discuss a personnel matter, the replacement of former township manager Antoinette Issis, commissioners said through Bametzreider.

The October meeting, Bametzreider said, was also an executive session to discuss the wages of township employees.

Bametzreider said no official action was taken at either session, which were both announced at the township’s July 6 meeting.

Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act does not require executive sessions to be advertised in advance, but the session and its topic must be announced either before or directly after.

The act limits the reasons an agency may hold an executive session, such as discussing personnel matters, negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, consulting with an attorney on legal matters, and handling real estate transactions.

The act defines personnel matters as “related to the employment, appointment, termination of employment, evaluation of performance, promotion or disciplining of a specific prospective, current or former public officer or employe employed by the agency.” The act does not seem to include discussion of job descriptions.

Regarding the Oct. 13 meeting, Dryden said on July 6, “There was an extra discussion about a fire tax, however, that was not on the agenda. It was something that I just brought up. … And we talked about it and it was just a discussion.”

A discussion of a fire tax would not fit neatly into any of the common reasons for holding an executive session.

As for the June 8 meeting, the township had already accepted the resignation of the previous manager by that date and the meeting was characterized by commissioners on July 6 as being about “what we were hiring and where do we need to go next” – possibly broader in scope, along the lines of discussing the job description, than dealing with matters related to a specific prospective, current, or former employee.

Generally, these might be called gray areas. Following LebTown’s enquiry, commissioners brushed up at the July 6 meeting on Sunshine Act requirements.

Through Bametzreider, LebTown sent a request for comment to board president Clarke and board vice president Dryden and had not received a response as of publication.

Update Tuesday, July 21 – West Lebanon Township vice president Phylis Dryden sent the following to LebTown.

What follows is my personal response to the article and represents no opinions but my own.

Phylis Dryden

The recent LebTown article about so-called ‘gray’ areas in West Lebanon’s adherence to the Sunshine Law brings up a very important issue: how can township commissioners follow the guidelines of the Sunshine law, yet also protect themselves and their employees’ rights at the same time?

In the wider world, details about employees’ job performance or possible disciplinary actions must be kept confidential. Should such things be disclosed just because the employees work for the public? What protection is there for commissioners who share information about public employees that would otherwise be kept confidential? What keeps them from being accused of ‘invasion of privacy’? Employers in the private sector would be in deep trouble if they revealed anything negative about a past or present employee.

The article seems to imply that West Lebanon Township commissioners either willfully or unintentionally violated the Sunshine law. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Budget preparation in West Lebanon Township has always followed a particular routine. The budget was prepared in advance by the Township Treasurer, who met with the commissioners in ‘workshops’ where they went over the items line by line and expressed their opinions about them. The public did not attend those workshops. When it was time to discuss salaries, township employees, who included the late John Brenner, invariably left the workshop session without returning. Employees never took part in discussions of their own salaries.

The 2026 township budget was put together by Julie Clouse, the Township Treasurer, and Antoinette Issis, the Township Manager, the latter of whom informed the commissioners of her recommendations for employee salaries, including her own. Following a single workshop meeting, all that remained was another workshop to discuss salaries.

A group chat sent by Vice President Commissioner Phylis Dryden shows clearly the plans to discuss salaries only: ‘We are having a budget meeting next Monday at 1 pm, right? Is this just to finalize the salaries? Anything else, Julie & Antoinette would have to be made aware, since they are putting together the budget, which we must present at the November meeting.’

The commissioners chose the date of Monday, October 13, for their workshop meeting for two reasons. Both Commissioner Justin Snyder and Phylis Dryden have Mondays off. Also, since it was a Federal holiday, they would be able to meet at the township office without disrupting the usual flow of work there and without any employees being present to overhear the discussion. The only item to discuss was salaries, which would have been confidential, not only by past practice, but since a salary decision might possibly be based on performance issues.

As for the ‘fire tax’ discussion in October, it happened spontaneously and was never part of the planned agenda. Commissioner Dryden asked a question about fire taxes. A discussion about fire taxes ensued, with a wide range of opinions presented. To summarize, what happened was a change of the subject, followed by a free-ranging sharing of information and ideas. None of this culminated in a recommendation for the 2026 budget. Also, the very next day, the following was immediately posted on the township website as part of the agenda for the November township meeting: ‘Discussion of Addition of 1-mill fire tax.’ That November meeting presented many opportunities for the public to discuss the topic. There had never been any intention of adding a fire tax to the 2026 budget.

As for the June ‘meeting,’ it was a meeting of the Personnel Committee to discuss the position of Township Manager. The other two commissioners were invited to sit in. By that time, the Township Manager had resigned but was still working part-time. She also held the position of Secretary, from which she had not resigned. Some personnel matters of a confidential nature were discussed, but no decisions were made.

At the July township meeting, President Commissioner Jeff Clarke gave an explanation for the October and June meetings. Dryden then added a comment, saying, ‘As I understand it, two Personnel items are confidential in nature: Job Performance and Disciplinary Actions.’

When the Personnel Committee met with the other two commissioners, they met to discuss what should be included in the job description of ‘township manager.’ They also discussed ongoing employee problems, which were confidential and therefore would have never been specifically disclosed as the subject of an Executive Session.

If there is any ‘gray’ area, it is this: ‘How can commissioners handle the Sunshine Law appropriately, yet still protect their employees’ right to privacy regarding job performance and disciplinary actions?’