IRS Will Determine Twp. Attorney's Employment Status

Washington Township officials have been waiting for the Internal Revenue Service to rule whether Kenneth Poller, the township attorney, counts as a municipal employee or a contractor since last summer.

It looks like a decision won't come anytime soon.

Township Administrator Catherine Navarro-Steinel said Monday that the IRS informed her they would need as much as 248 more days to complete their review of documents from the town and submit a written decision.

Poller, who decided to have the closed session agenda item discussed in public at Monday's council meeting, said that medical benefits were part of the agreement when he was originally hired and had been for the previous township attorney, too.

"I always felt it was unfair to be taken away," Poller said. "That was part of the package."

Earlier this year, the council hired another attorney to make a report on the issue because the IRS was taking "a very long time," Council President Steve Cascio said.

Cascio said they would wait for the formal ruling from the IRS.

While the IRS has not submitted a written decision, it appears that they may rule Poller counts as an employee. Gary Vinci, the township's auditor, previously said that an IRS agent had told him that Poller likely would count as a full-time employee. Poller and Navarro-Steinel both said they had spoken with the same agent, a regional manager who specializes in government issues, and received similar responses.

"His opinion is, for all intents and purposes, Mr. Poller is an employee," Navarro-Steinel said.

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