Oct 23, 2002 By Paul Sunyak 4 min read

By a 2-1 vote the Fayette County commissioners decided Tuesday to move ahead with plans to fill the county fiscal analyst/purchasing agent position that recently opened up with the resignation of Bruce Beard. Commissioners Sean M. Cavanagh and Ronald M. Nehls voted in favor of placing advertising for the position on the agenda for Thursday’s regular meeting. Cavanagh reiterated his belief that the job is far too important to go unfilled.

“I don’t think you should be penny wise and pound foolish,” said Cavanagh, who noted that most other counties in Pennsylvania have such a position. He added that “some sense and reason” should prevail regarding the wisdom of keeping the job on the payroll.

However, Commission Chairman Vincent A. Vicites opposed the move, stressing the need to curb spending in the current county budget. Vicites reiterated his clarion cry of fiscal prudence as tough monetary times loom on the horizon.

“I just want to be cautious … our budget right now if 1.4 percent over,” said Vicites, who also warned of a double-digit increase in health care costs and the need to negotiate a new contract with the county’s largest employee union by the end of the year.

Cavanagh said that the county has other options regarding escalating health care costs, including changing insurance carriers and deciding to self-insure, although he admitted that the latter option carries some risk.

Nehls backed the move to replace Beard after earlier pledging to make a decision after doing more investigation on whether the position was needed. Vicites had advocated having county manager Warren Hughes absorb the duties that Beard had performed.

In another personnel-related matter, the commissioners voted unanimously against a request from chief assessor James A. Hercik, CPE, to fill two data entry clerk positions in his office. Although 14 or 15 people applied for the job, Hercik told the commissioners that he hadn’t interviewed them all.

Hercik said that he’s been busy overseeing the reassessment office as it prepares for and handles the paperwork regarding the 10,100 tax appeals filed this year. He also said that since two of the job applicants had prior experience working for Cole Layer Trumble, the firm that conducted the reassessment, he felt that the field could be narrowed from the start.

“I wasn’t going to interview,” said Hercik. “With the reassessment appeals that are going on, I just didn’t have the time.” He added that the two applicants he had in mind had “paid their due,” so to speak, and that gave them an advantage.

Nehls said that he’d prefer to see the normal process followed, which would be for Hercik to interview all applicants before making a recommendation to the commissioners.

“I think it would be prudent to go through the process,” said Nehls.

Cavanagh and Vicites agreed, with Vicites noting that Hercik still has the option of recommending those two applicants if he still believes them most qualified at the end of the interview process.

In other items brought up at Tuesday’s agenda meeting:

??Hercik informed the commissioners that the county’s five tax assessment appeals boards are down to 1,500 hearings out of 10,100. He said the boards are “booked fairly solid” through Oct. 31, which is the deadline for holding hearings.

Of the cases already scheduled, Hercik said that roughly 43 percent of property owners have gotten a reduction, 1 percent have gotten an increase, 30 percent have gotten no change, 17 percent have abandoned the appeal by not showing up, and 17 percent have either been withdrawn or are awaiting an accuracy field check.

Hercik said that to date, only 28 property owners have appealed a board ruling to the Court of Common Pleas, which any property owner can do within 30 days of receiving his or her official decision letter.

??The commissioners voted unanimously to put on Thursday’s agenda a vote to standardize at three minutes the length of time that someone can speak during public comment. Cavanagh said that the idea was brought to his attention by citizen Ralph Mazza, and that it was unfair to give people who called in before the meeting three minutes to speak while limiting those who didn’t to two minutes.

“I think it is unfair. People shouldn’t be penalized if you don’t call,” said Cavanagh. “If you call ahead, (the way it is now) you’re in the bonus round.”

Vicites seconded the motion, noting that the change to three minutes for everyone will make his job as timekeeper easier. He also agreed with the need to unify the system, which was a carryover from his first term.

“It’s something that we just didn’t change,” said Vicites.