SOUTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The newly elected South Strabane Township Tax Collector says Thursday was the first day she was able to unlock her office on her own since taking office in January.
Susan Koehler invited us inside the township building, where her office is located around the back.
“I was told by the administrator that the supervisors did not want me to have a key to my office or the building to eliminate ‘foot traffic,” Koehler said.
Koehler says the issue escalated during this week’s supervisors meeting, which drew a standing-room-only crowd amid ongoing budget controversy.
During that meeting, she says her position and office access were discussed, without prior notice to her.
“They brought up a motion that wasn’t on the agenda that directly affected my office, basically setting my hours that I could come into the building and telling me I wouldn’t be provided keys to anything,” Koehler said. “Fortunately, that did not go through.”
A few hours after agreeing to speak with Channel 11 about the situation, Koehler says she was given keys to her office.
She says the timing is critical.
“Our tax duplicates are three weeks late getting to me,” Koehler said. “It’s imperative I’m able to come to this office after hours. I have two weeks to send out tax bills. It’s my first year. I need to change 1,500 addresses for mortgage escrows before those taxes go out. I’m going to be spending a lot of time here.”
Koehler says that while she now has keys, restrictions remain. She says she does not have access to the rest of the building, including copy machines in the front office, and was told she must use her personal phone instead of the township office line, which rang multiple times with taxpayers calling while we were there.
She also says supervisors suggested she lease the office space, though she says her contract states the office should be provided at no cost.
“It’s made me feel not welcome, to say the least,” Koehler said. “I just want to be able to do the job I was elected to do. Taxpayers put their faith in me to do this job. I think that’s a privilege.”
We reached out to the township for clarification. Supervisor Jeff Bull provided the following statement:
“We are trying to limit access to the building and assumed she would work from her home and use a P.O. Box. Most township tax collectors work out of their house. We need the space for storage for our township office.”
The Pennsylvania State Tax Collectors’ Association President told Channel 11’s Cara Sapida they don’t track where tax collectors work, but said there is a good mix who work at home, at their municipal building, or at a separate office space.
Officials with the PA Department of Revenue said they also do not track where tax collectors work.
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