Monroeville Council appointments: Conflict of interest or symptom of widespread lack of civic duty?

Three Monroeville Council members now have spouses serving in paid and unpaid positions on boards, and though it might appear as a potential conflict, many say it simply isn’t and instead point to a larger issue of a waning sense of civic duty.

Michael Gaydos – councilwoman Linda Gaydos’ husband – was appointed to Monroeville’s Zoning Hearing Board and the Parks and Recreation Board.

He will receive $150 a month for his three-year position on the Zoning Hearing Board. The three-year seat on the Parks and Recreation Board is unpaid. He was one of five candidates who expressed interest. He and two others were nominated for the position in December.

Of the appointments, Michael Gaydos and Nancy Harvey, whose husband Ron Harvey is a councilman, were the most controversial – causing Councilman Tom Wilson to speak out in strong language against the vote.

“These are paid positions, public,” Wilson said. “This is wrong. These are all paid positions. This is a conflict of interest, period.”

Wilson and Councilman Bob Williams dissented on the appointment for Michael Gaydos and Nancy Harvey, resulting in a 4-2 vote. Council spouses Ron Harvey and Linda Gaydos abstained.

Williams read from the municipality’s Home Rule Charter that states council members must abstain from voting on matters that directly or indirectly involve council members. Those actions must receive five affirmative votes, the charter states.

“I don’t think we have enough votes,” Williams said.

Municipal Solicitor Bob Wratcher said his opinion is that the rule outlined in the charter would not apply to this situation. He did not comment further.

Nancy Harvey was appointed to the Monroeville Municipal Authority Board for a five-year term. She will receive $200 a month.

Councilman Eric Poach’s wife, Tracey, will serve a three-year term on the municipality’s Parks and Recreation Board. It is an unpaid position.

Each council person abstained from voting on their spouse’s appointments.

Eric Poach said the appointments are not unprecedented for Monroeville and that they don’t go against any of the municipality’s rules, despite two other council members’ comments against them.

Poach said there were up to three people who applied for the same seat on the authority but that he nominated Nancy Harvey because of her exposure to a regulatory environment in the medical field.

“It’s good to have professionals with experience in those areas. Individuals have to understand regulations and be able to ask the right questions,” he said.

Nancy Harvey, he said, has worked throughout an accomplished career at Forbes Hospital for around 40 years, making her “very qualified.”

His wife, Tracey, has experience in recreation programs. So when she saw the vacancy on the Recreation and Parks Advisory board, she thought she could be useful, he said.

Poach said he does not see the appointments of spouse members as a conflict of interest – though he abstained from voting for his wife’s appointment “out of courtesy,” pointing out he was not obligated to abstain because the vote did not involve monetary value.

“I wanted to allow other members to voice their opinion – it’s just as I don’t vote on any issue related to UPMC,” said Poach, who is employed by the company.

Rob Caruso, executive director of the State Ethics Commission, said the appointments do not violate the ethics act, which essentially states public officials cannot take action on an item that will lead to financial gain for the individual or their relatives.

Terry Madonna, a political scientist with Franklin & Marshall College, agrees.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong or immoral or unethical with that,” he said. “But I do think that will lead to an appearance of impropriety.”

The more pressing, he said, is an apparent lack of prioritization by Monroeville officials to foster a sense of civic duty in its residents.

Madonna pointed to Monroeville’s 22 vacancies on boards, commissions and authorities – one of which dates to January 2019 – as being a problem.

“That’s a fairly large number of vacancies, and it’s something the community has to focus on,” he said.

But the plan to get these important positions filled can’t be drawn up in a vacuum. Madonna said “a meeting of the minds” needs to occur between local government officials, residents and community organizations.

Municipal Manager Tim Little agrees 22 vacancies is a large number, and one that seems to be growing as years progress.

He said the municipality works to get those vacancies filled by placing advertisements in a newspaper and posting them on Monroeville’s website. He said the municipality also utilizes social media.

The vacancies are listed here.

“But usually these are filled by word of mouth,” he said.

Little speculates the issue of waning volunteerism in Monroeville is not just specific to Monroeville.

“It’s everywhere,” Little said. “And there are different reasons for that.”

Poach said the pandemic has made peoples’ lives hectic and extraordinarily busy, which doesn’t help increase volunteerism in local government.

“I wish we had more people involved – I really do. But I don’t blame a single person for not doing something extra in the community. I mean, God bless them for getting home right now,” he said.

Madonna hopes Monroeville – and other communities around the country – can do better to get more involvement.

“There’s a sense of civic duty and responsibility that has to be built in to the culture. And there’s a whole variety of ways to inculcate participation in local government. It’s not just one entity’s responsibility,” he said.