Dear Editor:
This letter is in response to the recent letter submitted by Diane Bernardo, DuBois City council member.
First posted on April 25, 2023, on gantdaily.com, Ms. Bernardo referenced in this letter that Freedom of Speech is a precious right.
Ms. Bernardo begins her letter with the statement, “Freedom of speech is a precious right that comes with consequences.” I agree with this statement, and it is entirely correct.
Ms. Bernardo’s letter concerns Commissioner Dave Glass and her perceived transgressions against the City of DuBois. The letter alludes to two specific allegations regarding Commissioner Glass:
“He [Commissioner Glass] took away from DuBois $200,000 of grant money for water resource improvement. He [Commissioner Glass] then gave our $200,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds to Sandy Township based upon his misinformation and lack of inquiry into the city’s finances.”
“He [Commissioner Glass] did manage to enrich his family by hiring one family member for a high-wage Clearfield County Government job.”
While Ms. Bernardo is absolutely entitled to her Freedom of Speech, which she referenced in her letter, I also firmly believe in factual information being provided to the public.
I spoke with Ms. Bernardo over the phone regarding the two allegations, but this letter will not reference that conversation beyond stating that a conversation did occur.
With that, I’d like to explore the two allegations regarding Commissioner Glass. The focus of this letter is to ensure that factual information is provided to the public.
The first statement that Commissioner Glass took away from DuBois City $200,000 of grant money- Commissioner Glass is one person and does not have the capacity as a commissioner to act as a lone wolf and give or take away anyone’s funding. All three commissioners made that decision.
The second statement is that Commissioner Glass did manage to enrich his family by hiring one family member for a high-wage Clearfield County Government job.
To fully understand this, let’s dive further into this allegation. Again, Commissioner Glass did not hire his family member.
The position being referenced is a student intern position that pays $11/hour. Having the position posted for months for students to apply, only one person applied, which was Commissioner Glass’ relative.
At this point, Commissioner Glass disclosed the conflict and removed himself from the process. The position is 13 hours a week during the school year, and over summer break (12 weeks) could be between 20-25 hours a week.
Let’s do some basic math assuming the position was an entire 52-week period.
- 13 hours x $11 x 40 (weeks) = $5,720
- 25 hours x $11 x 12 (weeks) = $3,300
- A total for an entire year = $9,020
The Federal Poverty Level for 2023 states that a one-person household that makes less than $14,580 is within poverty.
By Federal definition, this temporary position does not meet the definition of “high-wage.” It is also important to note that the position does not carry benefits or paid time off.
The person in this current position has three years of college education. The only advantage this young person gets is experience working in government, working within an IT department, and understanding that politics is an ugly place.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Be well,
Dr. Mary Tatum
Clearfield County Commissioner