Budget concerns arise in Perry Twp.
PERRY TWP. – With the township’s string of financial woes finally beginning to ease, Supervisor Janet Galla says that after the township auditors approved a raise for one of her colleagues last month, the township may be headed in the wrong direction again. And Supervisor Janet Galla said that although the township could be debt-free this year, the raise could cause the township to remain in debt another year.
“I am not telling these taxpayers that we can afford a raise,” Galla said.
Last month, the township’s auditors approved a 75-cent hourly raise for Supervisor A.J. Boni, raising his rate as roadmaster to $13.25. The auditors also set a 100-hour limit on overtime for the coming year and reduced the number of sick days and holiday days, auditor Mark French said.
According to Galla, the township, which remains under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid taxes, is finally recovering from a $1.3 million debt that accrued in the late 1990s.
An independent audit conducted by Cypher and Cypher public accountants in 2000 found that internal controls had failed, payroll taxes went unpaid and checks were paid out of incorrect funds. The report also found that former Supervisor Richard Uhrin, in his capacity as secretary, was overpaid $359,225, and current Supervisor Adam Muccioli was overpaid $36,126 for his then-position as roadmaster.
Galla added that the township has been able to pare the debt down in several ways. She said the supervisors have kept projects at a minimum, have received a $50,000 bond that the township had for Uhrin in his former position as secretary and worked out a deal with National City Bank that cut a loan debt of $217,000 to $100,000. Galla said it is the agreement with National City that has her concerned.
“To me, it is embarrassing to go to a vendor and ask if they will work with us and then on the other hand we have a group of people saying, ‘Let’s give raises out,'” Galla said. “I don’t want to be out there crying, ‘Poor mouse.'”
She said the township can use the money that would pay for Boni’s raise on much-needed projects that have fallen by the wayside as the supervisors have focused on climbing out of debt.
“If you want to see where that money should go, go travel along Greenfield Road,” she said.
Galla also noted that she and the other supervisors had agreed that Boni’s salary would remain the same for the 2003 year, at an hourly rate of $12.50, an amount that has remained unchanged since 2000.
She alleges that there may have been some previous arrangement between the auditors and Boni to approve the raise. She claims that figures that Boni had shown her to try to justify a raise were the same figures the auditors used during last month’s meeting.
Boni denies any accusations that he influenced the auditors in any way.
“The auditors are in place to look over our finances and see what is there money-wise and to be the watchdog for the township,” he said. “The auditors are in place to regulate the pay. Do I feel that the raise will break the township? No.”
Boni said that the township can handle the raise because of an unexpected surplus from last year’s budget. He said that while the township needs to pay off the debt, the deficit cannot stop the township from moving forward.
“This past year we carried over in excess of $100,000,” Boni said. “We are putting the money where it is supposed to go.”
Boni added that he has not taken a raise since his first year as roadmaster, in 2000.
French said the township can afford the raise because of the surplus and that Boni has been underpaid over the past few years.
“We looked at the budget, and the budget that was put together in December projected a carryover of $73,000, but the actual carryover was $115,000, so there is an extra $42,800 in the budget,” French said.
“There is no question that the money is there, and we as auditors have to do what is fair, and by law we have to set the salary comparable to other salaries in the area.”
French also noted that the auditors cut Boni’s pension fund from $5,000 to $3,500, a move he said essentially pays for the raise. “It is a wash,” he said.
Galla contends that the total carryover from last year is only about $34,000. She also said that the auditors unfairly compared the township’s roadmaster salary to those of South Union and Dunbar townships.
“You are going to tell me that we are comparable to a township with the Uniontown Mall in it,” Galla said.
According to Boni, a report released by the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) found that the average hourly rate for a roadmaster in a township the size of Perry is $15.15, but $13.25 is enough for him.
“Do I feel that $13.25 is overpaid? No. Do I feel that $13.25 is underpaid? No,” he said.
According to Marianne Nailor, director of township services at PSATS, the average hourly rate for a township with a population of 1,000 to 2,500 in 2002 was $12.58; 2,501 to 5,000, $15.15; and 5,001 to 7,500, $17.28.
She also said that the 2002 report found the overall state average to be $13.94.
Muccioli, who has been absent from recent meetings because of health problems, said that he can’t understand how the township can approve a raise for Boni when they cut Muccioli from the position of roadmaster in January 2002 after 17 years of service, as a way to save money.
He said personal problems between the supervisors probably will keep him from seeking re-election.
“I’ve been told by A.J. and Janet that they are not making me roadmaster, and that is the only reason I would run,” he said. “There is no point in it if I can’t work. That was my livelihood.”
Muccioli said that when his roadmaster position was cut, he offered to take a $2 pay cut to help free up funds.
He said that since his position has been eliminated, the township has had to hire two employees in addition to Boni and is spending more than when he was roadmaster.
The supervisors will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the township building.