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Authorities Under Veil of Suspicion
Posted
1-31-2000
Earlier this month, I wrote about the actions of the Westmoreland County
Housing Authority and their appointment of my former colleague Terry Marolt
to a $70,000 per year position. That action created a storm of criticism
that I don't think I've seen since I've been in county government. I
received e-mails, letters, and telephone calls from many upset citizens.
People are particularly frustrated that the County Commissioners cannot
change the situation.
The reason we have little
direct control is that in Pennsylvania, authorities have a great amount of
autonomy from the governmental bodies that create them. Unless the
Commonwealth steps up and changes the Authorities Act to make them more
accountable, there will be more actions like the appointment of Terry
Marolt. The other recent action that is in some ways related to this action
was the awarding of a fourteen year contract to Resource Development
Management (RDM) by the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC).
One tie is both groups involve Leonard "Skeets" Paletta since he's the
Executive Director of the Housing Authority and a board member at the
Municipal Authority.
Also, excluding the one
individual appointed to the Municipal Authority this year, all the Board
members of each authority were appointed by Dick Vidmer and Terry Marolt.
I've been trying to tell people for years that my two former colleagues
didn't make a move unless it was approved by Skeets. Neither did the two
authorities act without his approval. The action awarding the long-term
contract to RDM was taken because there was a great concern by that group
that the commissioners' election wouldn't turn out the way they wanted. It
didn't go their way when Scott Conner won. But they weren't taking any
chances and went ahead with a contract that certainly is brazen and attempts
to circumvent the ability of any future MAWC Boards to make change.
The public wonders why this
stuff goes on. It is because the media only superficially covers the
Authorities, the public's attention span is short, and people like Skeets
Paletta do not care what anyone thinks of them. They also possess a sense of
entitlement to do what they want. How else can the appointment of Marolt be
explained. Even if they wanted to do it and it had merit, the timing, one
week after Terry left office, showed a complete lack of concern about
appearances.
I've always looked at
changing the authorities as a long process. The process will take years and
requires a commitment from the Commissioners to appoint people with a goal
of restoring public trust and building accountability. The Municipal
Authority may provide great water, and the Housing Authority may provide
good public housing, but as long as they take actions like those previously
described, they will always operate under a veil of suspicion. In time, I'm
confident positive change will take place but it will take a strong effort
by the Commissioners and continued attention from the public. |
