A letter obtained by Lower Bucks Source penned by the recently resigned Morrisville Borough manager highlights a number of the challenges she faced in her role as lead administrator for the borough.
Judith Danko rendered her resignation sometime around June 11 and her decision was made public at the Morrisville Borough Council meeting on June 18. However, before her departure she penned a letter to council and the mayor, dated June 11.
The letter was provided to this publication by former Councilman Justin Bowers who choose not to run for reelection approximately three years ago. Bowers ,in the past and presently, is rather circumspect about speaking to any media organizations, on and off the record saying in the past a myriad of times, ” I don’t trust the media.”
Bowers declined to comment on his motivation for providing a copy of this letter, which he obtained through an open records request he submitted to Morrisville Borough sometime after the letter was sent to Council and the mayor.
Bowers did answer one question about providing a copy of the Danko authored letter to Lower Bucks Source, saying it wouldn’t be difficult for someone on council to figure where a copy of the letter came from. In his tenure as a councilman and during public meetings, he often called for public transparency from Morrisville officials.
Judith Darko
Credit: Kutztown Borough
On Tuesday morning, Lower Bucks Source sent out e-mails to every council member and Mayor Gary Wallace inviting comments about the letter, which was addressed to each member of the governing body, with a 12 P.M. deadline set for response(s). Council and the mayor choose not to respond by deadline time.
This publication also tried to contact Danko on Tuesday through a network of sources but was unsuccessful as of publication time. One source, on the condition of anonymity, did say the former borough manager has already secured a new job.
Before her Morrisville hiring, Danko served in various Lehigh County municipalities as a manager. Her hiring came on the heels of the sudden and unexpected passing of Scott Mitchell. Mitchell made himself available to media outlets despite numerous “threats” by council to fire him for his on the record carefree comments.
For Danko, much of the same kind or similar treatment came her way. About a week after she was hired, according to a number of sources, she was told and directed to which media outlets she could respond and provide comment.
Her full letter to council and the mayor is below.
Editor’s Note: This story will be updated overnight with additional pertinent information.
