Monessen’s mayor, acting mayor trade barbs over funding issues
Monessen Councilman Anthony Orzechowski, the city's acting mayor, is pictured in this January file photo.
Monessen Mayor Matt Shorraw claimed council missed an opportunity to fix Sixth Street Park by turning down grant money, but Councilman Anthony Orzechowski, the city's acting mayor, said Shorraw never told council he applied for the funds.
Shorraw
Monessen Mayor Matt Shorraw has accused city council member of “turning down money,” triggering an angry rebuke from the city’s acting mayor.
“It’s all just white noise,” said Councilman Anthony Orzechowski, appointed acting mayor of the city earlier this year after Shorraw missed two dozen consecutive meetings. “He doesn’t have any facts to back up his accusations.”
Shorraw, in a letter in the editor, claimed council lost out on a $25,000 grant through the Mon River Town Coalition to cleanup Sixth Street Park, rebuild retaining walls between Sixth and McKee streets and have a public art piece created by students at Douglas Education Center. Shorraw said the Westmoreland Community Foundation awarded the grant but the money had to be returned because city council didn’t give its approval to move forward with the project.
Shorraw also contended council refused to accept grant funding for phase two of the Early Intervention Program (EIP) — an initiative that provides matching grant funds to assist municipalities experiencing fiscal difficulties to develop comprehensive multi-year financial plans and establish short- and long-term financial objectives. Monessen entered the program in an effort to keep the city out of bankruptcy.
Orzechowski said that none of Shorraw’s allegations are true.
“The council had no knowledge of the $25,000 grant,” said Orzechowski. “How could we act on this if the mayor never approached us and told us about it? We welcome anything that will benefit the City of Monessen and we aren’t going to turn away any money we can get. But we have to know about this first.”
Orzechowski also disputed Shorraw’s statement that the city wouldn’t have to pick up any costs for the grant.
“What the mayor didn’t say is that there is a $12,500 match for this $25,000 grant,” said Orzechowski. “It’s not true that this would cost Monessen zero dollars. As I’ve said before, the city is strapped beyond belief and we must be fiscally responsible. We want to look at other alternatives before using our tight funds for the match. Maybe someone could step in and help us. We just want to explore all our options. But the bottom line is that we aren’t going to lose this grant. It’s still available.”
Shorraw was also critical of the city’s spending to prepare a new comprehensive plan instead of taking advantage of the state’s EIP. However, said Orzechowski, it was a recommendation through the EIP that the city prepare the new plan to outline goals for the next 10 to 20 years.
While Shorraw said the plan will cost $100,000, Orzechowski said the city will have to pay a $10,000 matching grant, with the state picking up the remaining $90,000 tab.
“If the mayor showed up for any meetings, he’d get his facts straight,” Orzechowski said.
The acting mayor said the current council reviewed a DCED report last August, which included recommendations from a previous council about how state grant money should be spent. Orzechowski said the current council doesn’t believe those priorities align with the needs of the struggling city.
Orzechowski said that plan called for things like planting trees or using a technology grant, in part, to buy laptops for council members.
“Our streets are falling apart so badly that you practically need to drive a tank to get through the city. I’m not going to waste the taxpayer’s money for something like (planting trees),” Orzechowski said. “I want to be fiscally responsible and use that money to fix our streets and sewers.”
He said the plan also including upgrading software in the city offices and purchasing laptops for council members through a technology grant – moves Orzechowski called “ridiculous.”
“You are going to give laptops to two councilmen that don’t even show up? I’d rather rewrite the grant so we could buy Toughbook laptops and mobile computers to help our police do background checks on the road. Again, we have to set our priorities straight,” he said.
Shorraw’s letter contended some council members have mentioned not wanting involvement with the EIP because they don’t want to the state dictating what they do.
“Why would you turn away knowledge and financial help, for a city we all know needs all the help it can get?” Shorraw wrote. “I know the state is puzzled, and so am I.”
Orzechowski said he believes Shorraw’s confusion would clear up if he came back to the city’s monthly meetings.
He and Council members David Feehan and Lois Thomas recently voted to enact an ordinance that would fine absentee council members $25 for each unexcused meeting they miss. Councilman Gil Coles has attended only one meeting since February 2018 and left after voting to extend the city’s liability insurance. While Shorraw continues to post on social media about city business, Coles has remained mum.
Until they return to the table, Orzechowski said he and his fellow council members intend to disregard Shorraw’s opinions about city business.
“He will go to Facebook to make comments about how we’re handling the police pension board, but he never showed up when we were having meetings to get this done. David Feehan, Lois Thomas and I have a responsibility to everyone in this city and we are working hard to move Monessen forward. When the mayor makes comments like this, we are just going to ignore him. We have more important things to do,” Orzechowski said.