POLAND TRUSTEES Incumbent defends township's spending

Spending and recreation are the issues named by the candidates.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Trustee Annette DiVito is seeking a second term, but township resident Albert Sciulli is challenging that bid with questions about the financial responsibility of township trustees.
Sciulli says that one of his main objectives, if elected, would be to curb any wasteful spending in the township.
DiVito says she and her fellow trustees put time into making sure the township has a balanced budget. What is spent, she said, is spent carefully and wisely.
The township has an operating budget of about $4 million dollars, with about $560,000 set aside for emergencies, said clerk Joseph Granitto.
According to Sciulli, the township needs to scale back spending on "needless equipment and services" in preparation for the time when funds such as those generated from the BFI Landfill no longer exist. The landfill generates more than $270,000 annually for the township. The company has also donated large sums of money toward projects in the township.
Suggestion
Sciulli suggests eliminating the part-time township administrator position and have his duties done by trustees. The township, he said, would save on the administrator's pay and fringe benefits.
DiVito disagrees. Comparing administrator James Scharville to a funnel, DiVito said Scharville puts all incoming information, such a mail and upcoming meetings, together and passes the information along to trustees.
She said he also coordinates information among all three trustees.
Scharville was hired in May of 2000 at a rate of $21 per hour. He is paid $21.80 per hour on an average of about 20 hours per week. He also receives full health coverage.
DiVito said one of her biggest concerns if re-elected would be to continue an ongoing effort to provide residents with safe walking paths throughout the township. She said she is hoping to be instrumental in creating a park where residents can go and relax instead of going to other communities to find such recreation.