SUNBURY - Northumberland County Commissioner Richard Shoch reported Friday that the county must pay back at least $200,000 of a $365,000 state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) grant intended for low-income families that reportedly was distributed by county Adult Social Services and the planning department to unqualified individuals.
In addition to claiming fellow Commissioner Vinny Clausi ignored the problem after reportedly being made aware of it in January and receiving numerous e-mails from Shoch about last month's deadline to pay back the money, the minority commissioner also said Clausi governs in a "secretive, belligerent, self-absorbing style," costing the county excessive and unnecessary costs.
Shoch said he was notified during a meeting with DCED and county officials in Harrisburg Wednesday that the county will be responsible to pay back between $200,000 and $250,000 for the significant mistake made in its distribution.
The commissioner said DCED plans to extend last month's deadline and will soon notify the county informing them of what potential penalties the county faces if the money is not refunded.
Shoch previously reported the county must pay back a minimum of $18,000 to DCED, and noted the deadline to pay back the money was the middle of November.
Fixable, avoidable
Shoch accused Clausi of trying to keep the issue a secret and minimizing the amount the county owed.
In an e-mail sent to The News-Item Friday night, Shoch said in June, he raised concern in a public meeting over the county's possible payback to DCED of funds it administered as part of a HUD-funded grant program.
Shoch said, "Mr. Clausi denied that there was any issue, and so I mentioned that Mr. Clausi had apparently left a message earlier in the year with DCED regarding this issue that was so belligerent, he was no longer allowed to contact that employee directly. Mr. Clausi responded by screaming that I was a joke, and was quoted in the newspaper as saying that I needed a psychiatrist.
"I had to make a records request directly to DCED in order to verify the extent of the problem with the grant," Shoch wrote. "As a result of that records request, I obtained a copy of Mr. Clausi's belligerent voicemail left on the phone of a DCED employee in January of this year.
"In the voicemail, Mr. Clausi acknowledges his understanding that DCED is demanding repayment of funds. Inexplicably, he proceeded to hide this information from me, and likely the other commissioner (Stephen Bridy), rather than make us aware of it so it could be rectified.
"The failure rate on the files in connection with the grant exceeded 70 percent, and the county has been advised that, with no appreciable time left to fix the problem, it will have to repay between $200,000 and $250,000," Shoch wrote.
Shoch said all but approximately $18,000 of the amount had been fixable and avoidable, and blamed Clausi for only allowing the commissioners 2 1/2 months to fix the problem when they could have had more than 10 months.
'Self-serving negligence'
Shoch said most of the employees associated with the matter downplayed the issue. The commissioner said he was informed in April by county officials that DCED recommended the county stop administering funds through the program because of the complexity of the program.
"I am demanding that Mr. Clausi place $200,000 in escrow with the county to cover its losses," he said.
Shoch provided The News-Item a digital file of the alleged voicemail left by Clausi to the DCED employee and various e-mails allegedly supporting his claim that Clausi ignored the DCED grant issue.
He added, "While I recognize that the increase in county costs in many areas, coupled with the county's existing debt burden, necessitates an increase in taxes, I cannot in good conscience vote for any budget that results in an increase in both our taxes and our debt burden until Commissioner Clausi reimburses the county's taxpayers for the excessive and unnecessary costs associated with the secretive, belligerent and self-absorbed style of governance that he has subjected this county to for the last five years. We cannot continue to have taxpayers foot the bill for Mr. Clausi's self-serving negligence in the conduct of his office."
Legal fees
Shoch also claims Clausi is responsible for costs associated with defamation lawsuits filed by fired deputy sheriffs Michael Boris and Joseph Jones and their former attorney, Gregory Stuck.
He said, "These defamation lawsuits resulted from Mr. Clausi's statements made at a public meeting that served no purpose other than to allow Mr. Clausi to see his name and picture in the newspaper. In Mr. Clausi's sworn deposition testimony from April 7, 2011, he admitted that then-Commissioner Frank Sawicki warned him ahead of time not to discuss the issue in the public meeting as it would subject the county to a lawsuit. In order to feed his own ego and need for attention, Mr. Clausi ignored this advice."
To date, Shoch said the county has paid at least $57,390 for legal representation in the lawsuits. He said additional legal fees will be incurred by taxpayers in the future. He said Stuck has demanded $500,000 in damages, while Jones and Boris are seeking unspecified amounts.
"I am demanding that Mr. Clausi immediately repay the county for the $57,390 in legal fees, and place $1.5 million in escrow with the county to cover potential payouts to the claimants," Shoch said.
911 system
He also chastised Clausi for failing to take action to meet a federal mandate that requires the county to make expensive upgrades to its 911 communications system.
"Back in September 2010, then-Commissioner Frank Sawicki raised a motion at a public meeting to begin the process of obtaining RFPs (requests for proposals) from consultants to implement the federally-mandated, narrow-banding upgrade to the county's 911 communications system," he said. "In response, Mr. Clausi threw one of his increasingly common tantrums, yelling objections and throwing his pen and pad in a rage. Sawicki correctly predicted that, if the county did not move forward with the process, the system would cost the county significantly more in the future."
Shoch said the county's current consultant has advised the commissioners that at this late date, cheaper analog frequencies are likely not available anymore.
He said, "Other municipalities whose commissioners don't throw such tantrums have already bought them up in order to ensure that they will not have to overly burden their taxpayers with an expensive digital system. The additional cost to taxpayers will be approximately $5 million. In addition, the local municipal police departments and volunteer fire departments will likely have to pay more for digital equipment that is compatible with a digital system."
He added, "I demand that Mr. Clausi place $5 million in escrow with the county in order to cover these likely additional costs."
In closing, the commissioner said, "It is my opinion that the taxpayers of this county should not have to bear the burden for Mr. Clausi's indiscretions. It is time for him to put his money where his mouth is and, when you have a lot of mouth, that takes a lot of money."
Clausi responds
When contacted Friday night at his Coal Township home, where he is recuperating from recent surgery, Clausi called Shoch's claims "stupid" and accused his fellow commissioner of attacking him while he is ill.
Clausi, who denied receiving e-mails or other correspondence from Shoch pertaining to the issues, said, "He knows I'm sick and recuperating from surgery. Every time I'm not around, he comes out with another allegation about me. I'm not going to sneak around like him. I plan to hold a news conference in the next couple weeks after I recuperate and answer all his allegations."
He added, "Every one knows he's a troublemaker. I think there's something wrong with Mr. Shcoh. I never expected this from an attorney. He is so unprofessional making these allegations. This is non-sense.
I promise the taxpayers of Northumberland County that I never stole a dollar. I helped trim the county budget from $93 million in 2008 to $73 million in 2013. That's $20 million in five years and I'm proud of my record. Mr. Shoch has no record to stand on."