Allegheny Township officials disagree on need for public information officer
Allegheny Township’s supervisors meeting Monday evening was routine, until it wasn’t.
More than 20 residents showed up, and many of them spoke publicly against a proposal to appoint Township Manager Gregory Primm as public information officer.
The resolution passed 2-1 Monday, with Supervisors Michael Korns and Ren Steele voting in favor and Jamie Morabito voting against.
“I voted no, and I was never consulted on the content of the resolution prior to it being written,” Morabito said. “As a supervisor, I don’t know how a resolution can be drafted without consulting all supervisors.”
A public information officer is the point of contact for the public and the media.
Primm has been an employee of the township for more than 30 years.
Korns spearheaded the public information officer issue and held discussions with Primm about how information should be released.
Korns noted four news reports that, he said, contained wrong information that was given to the media that later had to be corrected.
“We need correct information,” he said.
Morabito asked the board if the resolution was going to be read to the residents before it was voted on, but that request was not granted.
A copy of the resolution was not provided to the public at the meeting, but Korns did ask solicitor Bernard Matthews to explain some of the details.
“The purpose of this resolution is to centralize the communications to make sure that accurate information regarding any official action taken by the board at a public meeting is communicated to the public,” Matthews said. “The resolution does not preclude any individual supervisor or employee from discussing or commenting on any township business or any official action.”
Allegheny Township resident Charles Schachte was among about six residents who addressed the board. He expressed concerns over the board initially allowing some in attendance the opportunity to comment before the vote.
“At least we’re getting information,” Schachte said of the 16 news articles written this year about the township. “Since January, we’ve had more information in the paper than we did prior to January.”
Steele disagreed.
“In your opinion. I don’t agree with you,” Steele told Schachte. “You have a small mistake over here that’s very minor, and you try and make it the biggest mistake, like the Hoover Dam. It’s crap.”
The mistake referenced what appeared to be confusion over the proper protocol for submitting a request to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Some attendees failed to turn in their paper requests to the front of the room and instead were holding them at their seats.
Matthews advised the board to allow everyone the opportunity to speak on the issue.
Allegheny Township resident Robert Goldstrom questioned the board on why a recent Trib article involving a man who suffered a fall in the township didn’t publish for almost a week after the incident because, he said, township officials would not respond to a request for comment in a timely fashion.
“To wait four or five days to give it, and to run it from somebody else to somebody else to get it, is not doing what we voted for you all to be there for,” Goldstrom said. “We ask you to be there to give us information at the time needed. Not a week later, not six days later. When a newspaper comes up and asks you a question, are you going to say, ‘No comment?’ ”
Matthews told the audience there would be no suppression of information. He said any township supervisor, as an elected official, could speak to the press.
Resident Jeff Pollick spoke briefly against the resolution.
“We are more informed now than we ever have been,” said Pollick as the audience broke into applause.
Morabito said conduct by some officials during the meeting was unbecoming of an elected official. He said the entire public information officer issue was “totally unjust and a waste of taxpayer money.”
“I voted against this tonight because I feel very strongly that any one of the supervisors should be able to speak about what’s going on in our township,” Morabito said. “We’re elected officials. The manager is an employee.”
Korns stressed the new resolution would not infringe on anyone’s First Amendment rights.
“We suppress no one’s right to free speech,” he said.
Primm said his new role as PIO for the township is similar to his public information officer position for the township’s Emergency Management Plan approved five years ago.
“I’ve been a manager for 34 years. This is the first time we’ve had to designate that I’m the contact for the township,” Primm said. “You heard the debate tonight. I didn’t ask for this. This is what my board wants. I’m going to do what my board wants.”
Primm will not receive an increase in pay as public information officer. He declined to comment on why Korns lobbied for the resolution.
“I’m not giving you my personal opinion. I work for these people (supervisors) — all three of them,” Primm said.
When asked what the media can expect from Primm as public information officer, he insisted he would be attentive to media requests.
“I will be responsive,” Primm said.
Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said it’s not required by law for any government agency to have a public information officer.
“It’s a position that takes up public resources,” she said. “What could happen is that this position could result in administrative barriers between people seeking information and government officials who have it.”
Melewsky noted a public information officer is not required to respond to media requests for comment, unless a Right-to-Know Law request is filed.
“There’s no law that governs what a PIO does. If they don’t want to call you back, they don’t have to,” she said. “Sometimes it’s an attempt to control the narrative. The appointment of a PIO should not result in less information.”
Regardless, Melewsky said, if a municipality has a PIO, elected officials are permitted to speak with anyone.
“Just because there’s a PIO in place, the elected official that’s happy to talk to you is still happy to talk to you,” she said. “That can and should continue.”
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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