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Keystone Municipal Services will perform the task of interim city administrator.
NANTICOKE – By appointing Keystone Municipal Services of Harrisburg as the interim city administrator, city council hopes that when it does finally appoint a permanent manager the learning curve will be substantially flattened.
At the same time, the move was supported by the coordinator for the Act 47 Recovery Plan as a way of getting the city in compliance with the state’s requirement to have the position filled.
Gerald Cross, of the Pennsylvania Economy League, the plan coordinator, noted that Keystone had been involved in the city’s early-intervention program in 2005 and has a familiarity with the city’s operations and the constraints upon it.
“It’s a definite advantage to the city,” he said after the meeting.
The costs will be met out of the current city budget, said Councilman William O’Malley. It’s expected the company will operate an average two or three days a week at the beginning of the no more than one-year period of the contract, with a cost of $80 an hour and no more than $100 a day.
The advantage to the city will be that when the permanent position is filled the Harrisburg firm will be able to bring the administrator up to speed quickly on the city’s workings, O’Malley said.
The amount of work involved was more than mayor or council could manage without assistance, he said after the meeting, especially as none was able to take on the task full time.
Cross explained to council the needs PEL had now that the plan had been formally accepted by the city and the state, with the first task being the introduction of the earned income tax increase. That requires court approval.
PEL would also need a public, twice-monthly meeting with council to discuss everything that might impact the city’s finances. Cross suggested meetings be held every second Wednesday at 6 p.m., which is an hour before the scheduled monthly meetings and monthly work sessions.
In order for the recovery plan to work, PEL needs to be “kept in the flow of paper,” Cross said.