SHAMOKIN - City councilmen and the mayor were confronted Monday night by Northumberland County Commissioner Vinny Clausi who continues to seek answers to questions about the cost of health benefits for Shamokin's elected officials and city clerk.
He addressed city council during the public comment portion of Monday night's meeting at City Hall. He asked Mayor George Rozinskie about the cost of benefits he may have received between 2006 and 2010. He asked City Clerk Steve Bartos whether or not he pays a copay. He asked for anyone on council to explain how much they may pay toward their health insurance premiums, if they are enrolled in the plan.
In a nutshell, everyone had the same reply: no comment.
"I don't think we should talk about this for the simple fact that it is in court," Rozinskie told Clausi.
"You're not in court with me," the commissioner replied. Later, addressing Bartos, he said, "You're not part of the lawsuit. You're an employee."
"I could be deposed," Bartos said on his reasoning not to comment.
City solicitor H. Robert Mattis said if councilmen and the mayor were to make statements on the "public record," it could "complicate
matters" in court.
The city filed an appeal at the Northumberland County Courthouse asking a judge to overturn a ruling by an appeals officer of the state Office of Open Records who found that financial information on the cost of health benefits for city employees and elected officials should be in the public domain.
Clausi has sought the cost by individual or by family to provide health insurance to elected city officials. He also asked to be told which elected officials are enrolled and which are not, as well as being provided any eligibility policies related to elected officials who also qualify to receive Medicare.
Right to Know requests for such information filed four times by Clausi were denied by Bartos. His appeal to the state agency failed on a paperwork snafu.
Fellow Commissioner Stephen Bridy later made the same request to the city for the same detailed information. He, too, was denied. His appeal was upheld by the state agency.
A similar request from The News-Item last November, around the same time as Clausi's initial request, though unrelated, also was denied. An appeal was not filed.
Both men say they're seeking the information on behalf of a trio of city residents who fear retribution if they were to do so on their own. On Monday, Clausi wouldn't identify the citizens, nor would he say if they were city employees. Asked to share the names off the record for verification purposes only, he declined.
He did tell The News-Item that he was concerned with health benefits costs in other municipalities, adding he would be a watchdog for citizens when he retires from his county position. Asked if he made requests for cost information to other county municipalities, he said he did.
Which ones?
"At the other end of the county," he said.
Asked for more specifics, he declined.
During Monday's meeting, Clausi accused the mayor of infringing on his constitutional right of free speech by limiting his time for public comment to three minutes.
The time limit has been announced by the mayor in the past at city council meetings and is nothing new; however, it often isn't enforced.
When Rozinskie told Clausi his time was up, there was disagreement on how long he had been speaking. Bartos was timing the comment and said it was over three minutes. Clausi was, too, and said he'd only been speaking 1 minute, 20 seconds.
"Our clocks don't agree," Bartos said.
Clausi referenced a court case that would aid his request. Mattis said he could turn over such information to the city.
"I'm not giving you nothing. You shut me down," he said.
When Garth Hall, a former city councilman, spent more time at the podium on an unrelated matter, Clausi was upset.
"You allowed him 7 minutes," he said.
"Mr. Clausi, you're out of order. I'm not gonna put up with it," Rozinskie said with a bang of his gavel.
Clausi's requests stirred Councilman William Strausser to make a motion of his own. On a 3-1 vote, council voted in favor of having Mattis file a request with the county for the as-yet-undisclosed details about the settlement between Northumberland County and former chief clerk and assistant solicitor Kymberley Best.
Best sued Clausi and former commissioner Merle Phillips following her March 2011 firing. A settlement was reached in April but on request of all parties involved, details were sealed by a federal judge.
Councilman William Milbrand voted against Strausser's motion. Strausser, Rozinskie and Councilman Michael Snyder voted in favor.