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Ambrose Meletsky called taxpayers’ ally, politicians’ ‘headache.’

Meletsky

Ambrose Meletsky would stand tall, lock eyes with the politicians before him and demand to know “what the hell” they were doing with his tax dollars.
The Wilkes-Barre man was booted from his share of city meetings back in the day, when he and other taxpayers refused to be silenced by the gavel. Fellow taxpayer advocates often tapped his extensive institutional knowledge of local government.
Those are some of the qualities remembered by local folks mourning the recent passing of the 90-year-old, who was past president of the Wilkes-Barre Taxpayers Association.
His presence at meetings over the years kept city officials on their toes and probably made them think twice about some of their decisions, said taxpayer advocate Mary Kamp.
“I believe he had an effect,” Kamp said. “I admired him greatly.”
Tax breaks like the Keystone Opportunity Zone program were among Meletsky’s pet peeves. He called it the “cozy zone,” Kamp said.
Meletsky was among those who successfully convinced voters to reduce city council from seven to five seats, said Audrey Biscontini, another watchdog.
Though he was an avid sportsman and had plenty of hobbies, Meletsky made time to stay on top of local government, she said. When politicians gave him a piece of their minds, he dished it back at them, she said. He found it amusing when he was shown the door, she said.
During a particularly heated back-and-forth with former Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom McGroarty in 1999, Meletsky wagged his finger in McGroarty’s face.
“I’m sure he gave quite a few politicians a headache,” Biscontini said. “He was always there fighting for taxpayers and the people.”
Republican minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban said Meletsky also kept an eye on county commissioners.
“He believed in good government. I’m going to miss him,” Urban said.
Former Wilkes-Barre Mayor Lee Namey said he and his administration had their share of feisty debates with Meletsky and the late Joe Noterman, another self-proclaimed gadfly.
“There were times when our relationship was strained at best because we saw it one way and they saw it another,” Namey said.
While some considered them a “pain in the neck,” Namey said he respected that they took an interest in government and thinks he had a decent relationship with them for the most part.
“They believed in participating in government, and they ought to get credit for that,” he said.
They didn’t blindly shoot from the hip, either, he said.
“They were usually knowledgeable about what was going on. They’d do their research.”
Kamp and Biscontini say the lack of local public involvement in government makes them worry that taxpayer watchdogs like Meletsky are a dying breed.