Jason Fitzgerald, president of Penn Strategies Inc., said Wednesday that Mayor Gabriel J. Campana asked him not to speak any further with the Sun-Gazette.

Fitzgerald said the “gag order” followed Fitzgerald’s comments in a Sun-Gazette story regarding the firm’s compensation versus that of Delta Development Group, which works on behalf of River Valley Transit.

“I was told by the mayor not to speak to the Sun-Gazette,” Fitzgerald said.

His firm is working under a two-year contract and is compensated $100,000 annually.

The mayor denied any such conversation between himself and Fitzgerald.

“I never told him he could not speak with the Sun-Gazette,” Campana said. “I told him he could not speak to the press before he came to me … you have nothing, no story.”

Another city employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said Campana has asked him to not speak to the Sun-Gazette when the stories may not reflect positively on the administration.

“This is not the first time the mayor put a gag order on people he thinks he controls when he is unhappy with what appears in the news,” said Jonathan Williamson, council president.

Williamson recalled past incidents that were reported by the Sun-Gazette when the mayor attempted to muffle employees from telling reporters what’s happening at City Hall.

“A well-informed public requires the press to be able to do its job effectively,” Williamson said, “which means talking to its public servant, including the staff of the city and those doing work on behalf of the city.”

Fitzgerald said the mayor’s spin about his conversation isn’t correct.

“No, I always go first to the mayor and the city finance director with any major news about funding or project revenue,” Fitzgerald said. “It is my First Amendment right of free speech, and a responsibility to speak to the newspaper. I have never had an elected official ever, or anywhere, ask me to not speak to the press. I am going to continue to talk to the Sun-Gazette because I believe that an important part of what we do is involving the public in the projects that we work on.”

Penn Strategies’ contract is approved by council and has been extended since 2011 when the company first began to provide economic consultant services.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Fitzgerald said that Campana had rescinded the gag order.