Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

HAZLETON – Mayor Jeffrey Cusat’s announcement Thursday of his intent to lay off about 20 city employees on May 8 underscores the deepening rift between his office and the city council.

In a press release, Cusat attributed the layoffs to “the untenable budget passed by city council which mandates the administration to make deep personnel cuts in specified departments.”

Cusat urged residents affected by the layoffs to contact the city council, which he said had refused to cooperate with his office in an effort to make the administration “look bad.”

Cusat said in a phone interview on Sunday that the council had made cuts to line items specific to several departments in its amendments to his proposed 2017 budget, making the layoffs necessary.

According to the release, the layoff would impact employees from the Streets, Building and Maintenance, and Parking departments, as well as garage mechanics and non-uniform police.

Councilwoman Grace Cuozzo takes issue with Cusat’s contention that the layoffs are the fault of council, saying that if the mayor’s office would implement sound fiscal principles with regard to spending, the city would rebound financially in such a way that the average resident would have continued quality services and opportunities for increased income, without the necessity of increasing property tax.

Further, Cuozzo took issue with Cusat’s statement that budget cuts made by council to specific line items made the layoffs necessary.

“For example, we made no cuts to the streets department,” she said. “And that is where the majority of layoffs are coming from.”

Sale of delinquent taxes

Cusat has said that the soundness of the 2017 budget is compromised by the council’s anticipation of income that did not become reality, namely about $400,000 from the sale of the city’s delinquent taxes to the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority and about $200,000 from the sale of real estate owned by the Hazleton City Authority.

City resident Mark Rabo, who previously sat on that Redevelopment Authority, said monies from the sale of delinquent taxes were not available to the city simply because the mayor did not move forward with the process of selling them.

“Sure, in the long term, we would collect more money (by not selling them to the county redevelopment authority),” he said. “But, we need the money now and, as I see it, it was the decision of council.”

Cuozzo pointed to an email Jim Geronimo, of Municipal Revenue Service, sent to the mayor indicating that the mayor had publically overestimated the cost of selling the delinquent taxes to the redevelopment authority. The email was forwarded to members of council in November 2016.

“To refresh your recollection, the City sells their account receivable to the Redevelopment Authority, the Authority takes out a loan to pay for the asset being purchased,” the email read. “The Redevelopment Authority pays the interest on the loan as well as our fees for structuring and managing the transaction.”

Political posturing?

Both Cuozzo and council President Jack Mundie said they believe Cusat has a duty to comply with the terms of the budget regarding the sale of delinquent taxes and its other provisions.

They believe the layoffs were an attempt to force council to approve borrowing up to $1 million — a request that Cusat has brought to council at least twice.

Mundie, who is up for reelection, questioned both the mayor’s reluctance to respect decisions of council and his timing in the announcement of the layoffs.

“From where I see it, this is purely political, with the layoffs happening just before the primary,” Mundie said. “After the primaries, those laid off will have their jobs back.”

Councilman David Sosar, also up for re-election, said Cusat was “holding the city hostage” by refusing to comply with the budget passed by council.

“For example, we did approve a budget that included a reduction in the salary of City Administrator Tom Pribula, and instead, the mayor raised his salary,” he said. “At this point, we don’t know what members of the administration are being paid.”

Sosar also questioned the timing of the layoffs right before the primary, saying “layoffs are usually something that occur later in the year when a shortfall becomes apparent.”

Other alternatives

Cuozzo pointed out that other sources of revenue could be used to pay city employees included in Cusat’s proposed layoff.

“For example, there is $35,000 remaining in the Department of Community Development and (a Local Share Account) grant for $200,000 available for a street light project that could be used to pay the streets department electrician and his assistant,” she said.

Cuozzo said she believes that additional funds will be available through the DCD for street reconstruction by July, monies that can also be directed to pay street department salaries.

“There’s no reason to bid the project out,” she said. “You want to keep the street department working, the city can do it.”

Michael Vislocky, president of the local Service Employees International Union, who would be among those laid off from the streets department, said his “heart goes out to city residents and those who will be laid off. Residents will be impacted by diminished services; those laid off and their families will be impacted financially.”

Vislocky said he hoped that the mayor and the council could somehow work together.

“They should remain in a room together until they work something out,” he said. “That is their job.”

Hurting homeowners

Nicarol Soto, Democratic candidate for council running with Mundie and Sosar, said she has proposed the drafting of a formal “comprehensive plan,” which would make it possible for the city to draw federal grant money.

The only Hispanic candidate for council, Soto said the current economic crisis and potential for an increase in property taxes in next year’s budget has the potential to negatively impact the Hispanic community.

“People come here because they can afford to be homeowners,” she said. “But with an average per capita income of about $20,000, people can’t afford to pay higher taxes.”

​Soto also expressed concern over the Hazleton Airport’s drain on city finances.

“If elected, I would propose an airport authority so they can contain their own expenses,” she said.

Cuozzo supports the creation of an airport authority, as well as parking and transit authorities as a way for the city to focus on the integrity of its own budget.

Many of those in attendance at a recent “meet the candidates” night echoed Vislocky belief that the mayor and city council needed to work together successfully if the city is to return to financial stability. ​

Cusat
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Cusat_Jeff_toned-cmyk-1.jpg.optimal.jpgCusat

Cuozzo
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Cuozzo_Grace-cmyk-1.jpg.optimal.jpgCuozzo

Rabo
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_rabo_at_mic-cmyk-1.jpg.optimal.jpgRabo

Mundie
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Mundie_Jack-cmyk-1.jpg.optimal.jpgMundie

Sosar
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Sosar_David-cmyk-1.jpg.optimal.jpgSosar

Hazleton City Hall
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_Hazleton_City_Hall-1.jpg.optimal.jpgHazleton City Hall

By Geri Gibbons

For Times Leader

Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.