Council charges for agenda preview
CONNELLSVILLE – If city residents are curious about what action their elected officials will be taking on their behalf in advance of regular council meetings, they are going to be charged 50 cents for each agenda page produced. However, if they wait until the meeting, the document will be free of charge.
Resident Yvonne Rush broached the issue at the recent council meeting after she was required to pay for a copy of the document two days prior to the scheduled meeting.
“Are they trying to prevent the public from knowing what actions they are going to take?” she said.
Rush, who has been critical of the administration in the past for not providing an advanced agenda, said that she made her monthly stop at city hall to get a copy of the document.
After receiving it from the city bookkeeper, Rush said that she accompanied her children to the water fountain in city hall and then proceeded to exit the building.
In the interim, Mayor Judy Reed arrived and before she was able to leave, Rush said that the bookkeeper stopped her and said she would have to pay for the copies.
“I walked out of the (administrative) office with the agenda in my hand and then I was told to turn around and come back into the office,” said Rush. “The agenda was taken out of my hand; I had to go and get money.”
Rush said that as a taxpayer, she should be afforded a copy of the agenda free of charge.
“Why am I given such a hard time? I want to be involved in the city,” she said. “I am entitled to get a copy of the agenda without a hassle.”
Reed said that it is city policy for a charge of 50-cents per page to be levied for all copies produced by the administrative office.
“It’s to cover the cost of the paper, ink and the employee’s time,” said Reed. “If you haven’t been charged in the past, you should have.”
Rush said that she has obtained copies of the agenda in the past from various administrative office workers, but was never charged for the document.
Pointing to the four-page agenda that was distributed without charge Thursday, Rush recommended that it be reduced by utilizing both the front and back of the paper or by offering to email the document to those requesting the information as a way for the city to reduce printing costs.
In financial matters, Councilman Terry Bodes was questioned by city Controller Jean Wrote as to how the city would repay a $450,000 tax anticipation note it had secured in January.
Bodes, who serves as director of accounts and finance, had placed a resolution on the recent agenda to pay the amount, but had not indicated when the check would be issued by the city.
“Where are you going to get the money?” said Wrote, noting that more than $10,000 in interest had accrued since January and that an additional $47.50 amount would be added each day until it was paid.
The loan expires Dec. 31.
Bodes responded that the resolution did not include a payment date, rather it was to allow the city to repay the loan when the money became available.
When questioned further by Wrote as to what account the repayment would be withdrawn from, Bodes responded that he had yet to review her monthly report or to determine what specific account would accommodate the payment, noting it would be from an interest-bearing account.
“I’ll be interested to know when you do (determine the account),” said Wrote.
According to the city controller financial report, as of July 31, the general fund balance was $516,350 in an interest-bearing Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust (PLGIT) account and the general fund checking account balance was $80,707.
The city has several interest-bearing and non-interest bearing financial accounts, said Wrote, but many are restricted as to their use.
The recreation, liquid fuels, invest, storm sewer and capital improvement accounts, along with funding earmarked for the library can not be accessed for general fund spending, said Wrote.
While the city does have $145,760 in a parking lot revitalization account, Wrote said that if the city were to utilize the money it would be required to repay the account, as it is not tax revenue.
Her questioning of Bodes about the repayment of the loan, she said, was prompted as she reviewed last year’s salary expenditures that will total upwards of $55,000 for the last two weeks of August; $110,000 for the months of September, October and December and approximately $145,000 for November.
As bound by contracts, the city buys back unused sick days from its police and fire department employees and distributes its annual payment for uniforms to the workers in the last November pay period.
“I believe that the city residents should be aware of the existing financial situation,” said Wrote of raising the matter with Bodes. “I do not have a crystal ball; the city may collect unpaid taxes that will allow for the repayment of the tax anticipation loan, the salaries and all of the city’s financial obligations.
“I hope that is what happens.
“However, as the city controller I have an obligation to bring these matters to the attention of city council and the director of accounts and finance.”
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