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WILKES-BARRE — Out of concern they were being abused and harassed, Mayor Tony George reversed his position on department heads’ attendance at city council meetings.
They don’t have to show up, the mayor said in response to a recent request from Beth Gilbert, chairwoman of city council, that they attend in order to respond to questions from the public.
“The Mayor is concerned with routinely subjecting department heads to verbal abuse and harassment from the public during the public input session of these meetings,” city Administrator Ted Wampole said Wednesday in a memo to council. “Any questions that arise during these meetings will either be answered by the Administrator/Deputy Administrator, or will be answered once we have discussed with the appropriate department heads.”
The explanation failed to satisfy Gilbert, who noted he mayor doesn’t attend the meetings and with department heads doing the same, they can’t engage in a face-to-face dialogue with the people they serve.
“The mayor must remember that department heads work for and serve the public. It is a disservice to residents they cannot have their questions or concerns addressed in an efficient manner,” Gilbert said in an email Thursday.
“In addition, residents have a right to ask department heads questions related to agenda items. It is the duty of the department heads to serve the residents of the city and allowing the public to ask them questions is perfectly reasonable,” Gilbert said.
The mayor sounded a similar tone in a press release issued Jan. 25, 2016, shortly after he took office. He said he would not attend council meetings unless there was a matter needing his attention, and in his place the department heads would go to the work sessions and meetings. “They will give firsthand knowledge as well as solutions to residents’ problems. Department heads will provide accountability for the services that their department provides to residents,” the mayor said in the release.
The city charter does not require the non-elected department heads to attend the meetings, but the mayor is directing them to go to council’s work sessions if there is an item on the agenda pertaining to their department. The work sessions held the Tuesday before council’s Thursday meetings do not have a scheduled public discussion period and few residents attend.
The turnout for public meetings varies and often is determined by the agenda. However, non-agenda items can also draw a crowd. At the start of the last few meetings city clerk Jim Ryan has read rules of conduct that set the ground rules for the public in how they address council, for how long and from where they can speak. A police officer is assigned to the meeting as well.
At the Feb. 23 meeting Gilbert ordered the officer on duty to remove Bob Kadluboski from council chambers for shouting from the audience in violation of the rules of conduct. It wasn’t the first time that Kadluboski, a vocal critic of the George administration, was escorted out by an officer.
“There goes the transparency from the new administration which has turned into nothing more than a political sewer of patronage jobs in my opinion. It’s amazing how things have suddenly changed, and I want to know who’s abusing these department heads,” Kadluboski said.
“If you call me asking the head of the Health Department who suddenly comes out of retirement to come back to his old job and asking him if he is spending time at his private business on Penn Avenue, if that’s abusing someone I don’t see how,” Kadluboski said.
He’s questioned other appointments and the mayor’s salary and benefits.