×

Council votes down water authority reappointment

City Council voted against a city resident being reappointed to the Williamsport Municipal Water and Sanitary Authority Thursday.

Cindi Perry was rejected in a 5-0 vote.

“She’s staying on if she wants to for the remainder of the year,” Mayor Gabriel J. Campana said.

Campana described the council vote as “discriminatory” as Perry was the first woman to serve on the authority for a long time, he said.

Campana said he won’t bring Steven W. Cappelli, current water authority chairman, nor members Gregory Zeitler or William Ertel, whose terms are up, for reappointment to avoid them being “publicly humiliated,” he said.

Kent Trachte, president of Lycoming College, was approved as an appointment to a five-year water and sanitary authority term.

The vote against Perry was not entirely surprising as her interview with council’s ad-hoc committee featured a testy back-and-forth between her and the committee.

Perry’s interview lasted more than one hour, while Trachte was in the room for 45 minutes, according to statements at the council meeting. Councilman Randall J. Allison said he felt the authority needed a new direction other than what had occurred while Perry was in the seat.

Allison’s rationale included a review of how the previous executive director and upper-level staff, including the engineer, had helped to create a formula for beginning to pay for the stormwater management system.

It would have been a fee on stormwater assessed per household and would have included commercial and not-for-profits.

The fee, Allison suggested, would have paid for sudden emergencies such as the recent collapse of the bricklaid combined sanitary-water line at Campbell and West Third streets. It is estimated by Michael Miller, authority executive director, to be in excess of $550,000 to repair and was money not included in the budget.

Perry noted in her interview that it would probably impact ratepayers on the sanitary side.

Jonathan Williamson, council president, said he observed a lack of transparency and accountability while Perry was on the authority, pointing to the turnover of authority staff leadership and frontline staff.

Councilman Don Noviello said he noticed the internal struggles of the authority, the turnover of staff, and said he felt it better if the city looked at a new direction with new mindsets.

Those not supporting Perry’s reappointment included councilmen Derek Slaughter, Allison, Williamson and Noviello. Councilwoman Bonnie Katz also cast a no vote. Councilman Joel Henderson and Councilwoman Liz Miele were absent.

Afterward, Campana, upset by the rejection of who he thought was a valuable asset on the authority, criticized council further.

“Their behavior is a disgrace to citizens. It is mean-spirited and personal in nature,” he said, adding, “This is why it is difficult to get volunteers to be on public authorities and boards.”

During the interview process Campana described the creation of the ad-hoc committee as “unprecedented.”

However, Councilwoman Liz Miele leapt at the notion, countering the mayor by saying it was he who made council take “unprecedented” steps by purposefully allowing expired terms to languish and not put new names up for vacancies and individuals up for appointment or reappointment.

That led to the council taking steps to go to Lycoming County Court to get a writ of mandamus from a judge to force the mayor’s hand, Miele said.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today