Supervisor-elect criticizes contract vote

The police chief will receive a 5.5 percent pay raise the first year.
BY MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A newly elected Union Township supervisor says he will pursue legal action against two current supervisors who voted at an 8 a.m. special meeting Monday to grant a six-year contract extension to police department members.
Clair Damon, who defeated Steve Galizia for re-election Nov. 8, criticized the contract approval by Galizia and Pat Angiolelli. Supervisor Kenneth Guinaugh, who voted against the contract, said at Tuesday's meeting that it "ties the hands" of the supervisors who will have to pay for it.
Damon said the contract was extended through his entire six-year term. He said his attorney, whom he did not identify, informed him that two 2000 cases, one concerning "last minute contracts" and one on whether public officials can enter certain long-term contracts that are binding on their successors, provide precedents that such action is illegal.
Damon also reminded Galizia that one of Galizia's criticisms of the previous board of supervisors was that they held meetings at times inconvenient for the general public. He asked why such important business was conducted at 8 a.m.
Galizia replied, "We said all general meetings would be held at 7 p.m., and we fulfilled our obligation."
No explanation
But neither Galizia nor Angiolelli could explain why the police contract, which included raises, had to be approved Monday morning and could not have waited for Tuesday's monthly meeting; monthly meetings are generally well-attended.
Galizia outlined events leading to the approval, saying the police association informed him Oct. 14 that they wanted to negotiate a contract extension. Galizia said he received an e-mailed proposal Monday morning for the extension and immediately presented it to the other two supervisors at the previously scheduled special meeting.
Galizia and Angiolelli said the extension is a good thing because wages are now "locked in" and police cannot ask for more. They also said the township must be competitive with neighboring townships to retain police officers.
However, Damon said, "Five or six years from now, if the township doesn't have the funds, we are locked in."
Here are provisions of the six-year contract extension:
UPolice Chief Joe Lombardo gets a $2,000 raise each year. His current annual salary is $36,000; his first-year pay raise is 5.5 percent.
UThe part-time lieutenant gets hourly increases of 80, 90, 50, 50, 75 cents and $1 respectively added to a current hourly rate of $15.30. The first-year raise would be 5.2 percent.
UPatrol officers receive 45, 95, 50, 50 cents, $1, and 75 cents an hour respectively. Their current hourly rate is $14.10. The patrolmen would receive a 3.1 percent raise the first year and a 6.5 percent raise the second.
ULombardo also gets an extra two holidays and an extra week of vacation at 10 years, which means he will have five weeks' vacation at 10 years instead of four weeks.
In other business, Sam Marino was removed from the Union Township Sewer and Disposal Authority by a unanimous vote of supervisors. They said because of work commitments, Marino has missed three consecutive meetings. Brian Whiting was chosen to replace Marino for the unexpired term. Marino's father-in-law, Leo "Dutch" Carlin, said other members of the board have missed three consecutive meetings and have not been removed.