Penn Hills Council still at odds over police chief
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Penn Hills Council did not vote on police Chief Howard Burton’s separation agreement, nor did it vote on whether or not Lt. Robert Myers would become his replacement at the Nov. 15 council meeting.
The inaction comes after an injunction – filed by Councilwoman-elect JoAnne Fascio, Councilman Frank Pecora and Penn Hills Democratic Committee Chairman Jerry Chiappinelli – postponed the originally scheduled voting Oct. 18.
The Oct. 18 meeting wasn’t able to be held after Deputy Mayor Catherine Sapp, Councilman Jim Getsy and outgoing Councilman John Petrucci did not attend. They all claimed to be sick. All three are in favor of the separation agreement with Burton, as well as hiring Myers as his replacement.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Arnold Klein’s ruling in the injunction was that the Penn Hills Council could vote on the issue at the Nov. 15 meeting. However, it was not on the agenda.
Petrucci said via email that the December council meeting also is not likely to include the issue on the agenda, as it likely would result in another injunction.
“The vote to select Lt. Myers is not on Nov. 15 agenda, and therefore the injunction is moot,” he wrote in an email and on his Facebook page. “But all agreed that should it be put there or placed on the December agenda, it would be subject to another injunction.”
The current council is now outgoing, with Petrucci having lost reelection to challenger JoAnne Fascio. An outgoing council cannot bind an incoming council with appointments. This precedent was set in 2004 by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania in Pitcairn v. Westwood III, when the outgoing council of Pitcairn attempted to appoint Ben Westwood III as its new police chief.
The original voting, in that case, happened after the 2004 election. Four Pitcairn Council members weren’t reelected, whereas the voting on Burton’s replacement originally was supposed to happen a few weeks before the 2021 election.
Burton’s contract is up at the end of the year. If the council doesn’t vote on a replacement at the December meeting, then his replacement couldn’t be voted on until January, after he will have left his position. Mayor Pauline Calabrese insisted Penn Hills would not operate without a police chief.
“We’re going to have a new council coming in. I am very excited about that,” Calabrese said. “We have interviews scheduled to be conducted. Penn Hills will not go without a chief, I assure you. Even if it’s an acting chief, we will have a chief; we will have one timely.”
At the Nov. 15 meeting, the mayor made sure to mention she had no issue with Burton, however, she opposed the contract. She and Pecora voted against the renewal of his contract in July 2019, while Sapp, Getsy and Petrucci all voted for the renewal.
“My no vote was – I said then and I’ll say it now – was not an indictment on Chief Burton,” Calabrese said. “My no vote was about that particular contract and the terms of the contract. Make no mistake about it, Penn Hills is in no position to give what I am calling, and this isn’t a term that I’ve made up, these parachutes, the golden parachute or … the sweetheart deal. We’re in no position to do that any longer; we just can’t do it.”
Burton’s replacement is only one of the staffing issues that currently face the Penn Hills Police Department. Also at the Nov. 15 meeting, council voted against appointing Albert Reese to the Penn Hills Personnel Committee, the municipality’s version of a Civil Service Commission.
The position needs to be filled for the police department to finish hiring new officers. According to Burton, the department has 49 of 53 officer spots filled. In addition, two officers currently aren’t working, and the department will expand to 57 officers in 2022. The department is down four officers right now and might be down as many as eight officers in 2022. The shifts are being manned by officers working overtime.
Reese was appointed to the position by Calabrese, but the appointment needs to be approved by council. Sapp, Getsy and Petrucci voted against the appointment, with all three saying they haven’t received a resume or had a chance to meet Reese.
Reese was scheduled to be at the Nov. 15 meeting but did not attend. The three-member majority said they’d like more time to get to know Reese before voting on his appointment, while Calabrese said that typically mayors have no problem getting appointments approved and there’s an urgency to appoint Reese since the police department needs more officers.
“Chief Burton stated on Monday that we are down in our number of officers, and we are ready to approve the hiring of at least four new ones. The situation is critical,” said Calabrese via email. “I appointed a man who is an upstanding Penn Hills resident, an attorney, a homeowner and a business owner. However, with total disregard for the protection of our residents and the safety of our officers, Petrucci, Sapp and Getsy voted against approving the appointment, which will delay the hiring of the officers.
“The reason given: They ‘need to see his resume and need to interview him.’ The refusal to confirm this critical appointment is clear evidence of self-interest, arrogance and retaliation for a lost election.”
Burton said there are several candidates who can fill the four positions, but that it would take a few weeks for the background checks to clear before they can hire someone. The next council meeting isn’t until Dec. 20, at that time they can vote to approve Reese.
Sapp, Petrucci and Getsy all questioned whether or not they needed to approve Reese right now with the officers still needing background checks before any can be hired. Petrucci said this isn’t a major setback for Reese or filling the opening at the Penn Hills personnel committee.
“The mayor circumvented the procedure of how it is to be done,” Petrucci said. “Also, the candidate is always at the meeting before or during the vote to answer questions. This is why we did not vote for this candidate last night. Once all of the council receives the resume from the candidate and talks to the candidate, a phone vote can be done to appoint him. It’s no major setback; it could be done by the end of the week. If the candidate really wants the position, he can get the resume to us.”
The next voting meeting will be Dec. 20, but there will be a budget meeting Nov. 22 that is open to the public. The new council will take office in 2022 with Fascio replacing Petrucci.