LAWRENCE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Board sees no reason to create new post in treasurer's office

Work is piling up in the treasurer's office.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Members of the Lawrence County Salary Board said Thursday they could not justify creating a new position in the county treasurer's office.
And, they agreed, they did not feel compelled to introduce a motion on the request -- especially in the absence of the man who had asked for it.
Last week, at a commissioners' work session, county Treasurer Gary Felasco asked for the creation of a temporary, part-time clerk's position in his office so that he could hire someone to fill in while one of his staff is on sick leave.
On Thursday, at a special salary board meeting scheduled specifically to review the request, the issue died when none of the board members made a motion to introduce it for a formal vote.
Felasco was not at the meeting.
The county commissioners, along with the county controller, serve on the salary board. Felasco, as the officer making the request, would also have had a vote.
"Personally, I don't know how the treasurer expects us to act on this when he's not even present at a meeting he asked us to have," said county Commissioner Ed Fosnaught. "He should be here pleading his case."
Work isn't getting done
Meanwhile, board members said they are concerned about work that is being neglected in the treasurer's office because of Felasco's absence. Further, they said, he has not been available to direct his staff properly.
They said there are boxes full of tax payment checks from county residents that have not been recorded or deposited into the county's checking account.
"I think those payments should be acknowledged," Fosnaught said. "I think residents should receive verification that their payments have been received. I know the treasurer ultimately is responsible and that we have no control over him or his office. But there needs to be a plan of action put into place to get this work done."
The salary board agreed to call a meeting with the county solicitor to discuss possible moves that could be made to rectify problems in the treasurer's office.
Commissioners removed Felasco from the tax claim director's post, an appointed position, last year after it was discovered he had not paid his own county taxes in the four years he was tax claim director.
But by law, commissioners cannot remove an elected official from public office, meaning they cannot oust Felasco from the treasurer's position. That move could only be made by the court system, for example, when an elected official is convicted of a crime.
Ongoing investigations
Felasco has not been charged with any crimes, but he is being investigated by the state police and the state attorney general's office. Commissioners said the state has not kept them informed of the status of those investigations.
According to results of two separate final audits, nearly $50,000 in county tax payments made in 2003 remains unaccounted for, having never been deposited into the county's general checking account.
Additionally, stays put on Felasco's properties and properties of others were reported as improper.
Meanwhile, county residents have continued asking commissioners to remove Felasco from office. They have also requested that Felasco, whose presence at the treasurer's office has been sporadic, be ordered back to work.
Commissioners have acknowledged Felasco, who has two years remaining in his term, is seldom in his office, but they cannot force him to go to work. They said they have repeatedly asked him to resign.