After announcing that a Bucks County lawyer recently appointed to serve as township solicitor submitted his letter of resignation on Jan. 18, Lower Saucon Township Council voted 3-2 to appoint Steven N. Goudsouzian of Goudsouzian & Associates interim general/civil solicitor for the year 2024 during a special council meeting held Wednesday.
A Lower Saucon resident whose practice is based in Palmer Township, Goudsouzian will be paid a rate of $180 per hour for his service to the township, per the resolution passed by council.
Council also passed a resolution appointing him as interim township planning commission and environmental advisory council solicitor for 2024 at the same rate.
Voting in favor of the appointment were council vice president Priscilla deLeon, vice president Laura Ray and councilwoman Victoria Opthof-Cordaro.
DeLeon said she contacted Goudsouzian about the township solicitor appointment and Goudsouzian said he talked to her at a recent swearing in ceremony for the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Brian Panella, who previously worked for him.
Councilmen Jason Banonis and Tom Carocci–who are both attorneys–voted against Goudsouzian’s appointment after questioning the previous solicitor’s brief tenure, questioning Goudsouzian’s experience serving townships similar to Lower Saucon and asking whether he has ever represented clients such as Chrin Industries and St. Luke’s University Health Network.
Goudsouzian said his firm has done work for Chrin–which operates a landfill in Williams Township–and has not represented St. Luke’s. He added that he could not recall ever representing a St. Luke’s employee. He and/or his firm currently represent a number of local municipalities, including the borough of Northampton, Bethlehem Township and Moore Township, he also told council.
“Years ago…I was also counsel for Forks Township,” Goudsouzian told council. “I was their alternate solicitor. I represented the township–which is a second class township, much like Lower Saucon–I represented them in various meetings, represented them in litigation, represented them in litigation where developers went and attempted to go ahead and develop certain areas that went up to the Commonwealth Court and so on.”
Prior to Goudsouzian’s appointment, Banonis and Carocci advocated for reappointing former council solicitor Linc Treadwell to fill the position. However, a motion to do so failed by a 3-2 vote.
Wednesday’s meeting lasted approximately two-and-a-half hours and included public comment on various issues, although discussion about the solicitor’s appointment took up most of that time.
A recording of the meeting may be viewed on YouTube.
The next Lower Saucon Township Council meeting is scheduled to be held Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in-person at Lower Saucon Town Hall and online. The agenda will be available on the township’s website prior to the meeting.
Above, attorney Steve Goudsouzian answers questions from Lower Saucon Township councilman Tom Carocci during a special meeting Wednesday. (Credit: YouTube)
