Monroeville furloughs 12 full-time employees

Monroeville council unanimously ratified a resolution to furlough 12 full-time employees during its meeting Tuesday.

There were 10 library workers and two senior center workers included in the layoffs.

The move represented a change from the April action in which council voted against a motion to furlough 17 full-time employees. The move, said officials, would have saved the municipality approximately $120,000 a month during difficult financial times brought on by the covid-19 pandemic.

Mayor Nick Gresock vocalized his “non-support” to lay off senior center employees at the May 12 meeting. His spouse, Tara Gresock, serves as the senior center’s director. She, along with other departmental heads, have not been furloughed.

Gresock said he supported furloughing 10 library workers because they did so voluntarily, he said. But when it came to the two full-time employees at the senior center, he wished council “would have followed in line with what the county senior centers are doing in providing services to the seniors.”

The Monroeville Senior Citizen Center is not contracted with the Area Agency on Aging through the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, according to Elaine Plunkett, a spokeswoman for the county’s Department of Human Services.

The Seton Senior Center, in Brookline, is one of 21 centers around Allegheny County that is contracted through the AAA. That center has laid off two people, Plunkett said.

“We cannot provide additional details because contracted senior centers are considered independent entities, and we are not involved in any day-to-day operational decisions, including the management of staff at any center,” Plunkett said in an email.

Penn Hills laid off senior center workers in March. The senior center, like the one in Brookline, contracts with the county’s AAA.

“The vote has been taken and it was the manager’s decision. But I just want to stress my non-support of laying off employees,” Gresock said during the meeting.

Gresock did not respond to a request for comment.

Manager Tim Little had announced the latest round of layoffs affecting the senior center and the library earlier in May via an announcement posted to the municipality’s website and social media. The employees will be furloughed until July 6.

Little said the latest layoffs will reflect a savings of up to $43,000 a month.

Other than Gresock’s comments given during his report, after the unanimous vote, council did not discuss the furloughs.

Councilman Ron Harvey, who voted against furloughing full-time employees in April, said he voted in favor on Tuesday because, ultimately, council needs to support the manager’s decision.

“He knows more about running the municipality in those types of fashions than I do,” Harvey said of Little.

Monroeville has already furloughed 23 part-time staffers that will save the municipality around $20,000 a month. The municipality also has canceled purchases for certain capital items and placed a hiring freeze on three employees, a move that is expected to save around $300,000 this year.

Little has said millions in wage and transfer taxes are expected to drop significantly in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Other tax revenues, such as mercantile and business privilege, will inevitably drop, but Little has said the negative effect won’t be felt until 2021.