DUBOIS – Solicitor Toni Cherry avoided being fired by DuBois City Council on Monday night.
Council did, however, relieve Cherry of her responsibilities as the city’s Right-to-Know (RTK) officer.
Cherry was not present at the city’s request, according to Interim City Manager Chris Nasuti.
During the meeting, Council Member Shannon Gabriel made a motion to immediately terminate Cherry’s contract.
However, this motion died for lack of second.
Gabriel then made a motion to name Nasuti the city’s Right-to-Know (RTK) officer, which did go to vote. It passed unanimously.
RTK requests were an issue on Monday night as well as during the May 4 work session meeting.
At the work session, Bev Kurts of DuBois approached council for an update on her unanswered Right-to-Know request.
Per Pennsylvania Office of Open Records, law allows five business days for a response to be provided to a requestor.
Those five business days expired on May 1, the preceding Monday, said Kurts. Gabriel and Mayor Ed Walsh apologized.
Both Gabriel and Council Member Jim Aughenbaugh indicated council was aware of the issue, and it will be addressed.
Kurts asked if the work was just too much for one person, and suggested Nasuti handle the responsibilities.
Also, on Monday, Kevin Salandra spoke of his own complaint with his past Right-to-Know requests as a city landlord.
Salandra noted he was a previous auditor of DuBois City.
Salandra said he’d filed a Right-to-Know request around three years ago regarding John “Herm” Suplizio’s expense reports.
He detailed correspondence he received from Cherry, who stated Suplizio didn’t submit any expense reports in 2019.
To avoid future requests, he said Cherry indicated she’d reviewed an additional 15 years of records with no record of reimbursements.
Salandra said Cherry went on to praise Suplizio for his generosity as he never sought any reimbursement from the city.
Salandra, however, said he’s read numerous media articles that indicate Suplizio was reimbursed per his contract.
“So, that’s conflicting information,” said Salandra.
Salandra said he’d filed a Right-to-Know request for Suplizio’s financial disclosure forms, and did receive four years’ worth.
There wasn’t any reporting of income like dividends and similar sources as required, he said.
Though possible, Salandra said it was unlikely that Suplizio didn’t surpass the $1,300 threshold.
Salandra acknowledged that council probably couldn’t answer all his questions on the spot.
Nasuti then asked Salandra to detail his questions in writing so they could be handled properly.
Gabriel blamed bad procedures, saying automatic reimbursements were part of Suplizio’s contract without any filing of paperwork.
Salandra said his Right-to-Know request got no results with reimbursements being treated as contract payments.
“I don’t feel my Right-to-Know request was handled properly,” said Salandra, and Gabriel agreed.
Beyond Right-to-Know (RTK) requests, questions were also raised about Cherry’s connection with the United Way.
At previous council meetings, Cherry indicated that the United Way determined there wasn’t any missing money.
On Monday night, it was announced that Cherry recently showed up at the city building with a check.
Reportedly, it was written by the United Way totaling $100,000 that was city money.
According to Thursday’s meeting minutes, Jennifer Jackson questioned why Cherry had spoken on behalf of the United Way.
Jackson on Monday night sought clarification on why city money was at the United Way and why Cherry brought it back.
“You just had a chance to vote to remove Toni Cherry,” said Jackson.
Nasuti indicated the money was returned one week ago, and deposited into a brand-new bank account.
He noted the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (OAG) was aware of this matter.
Nasuti also detailed changes and updates to how the city handles its financials.
He said the city has bonded insurance for covering crimes of city employees.
There’s a general bond for all employees but the following list of employees are specifically bonded:
- Finance Officer DeLean Shepard
- Treasurer Lisa LaBrasca Becker
- Deputy Treasurer Tom Nowak
- Treasury Clerk Becky Hoover
- Assistant Public Works Superintendent Joe Mitchell
Recently, these bonds were due for a policy renewal that was almost revoked.
Nasuti said the city was able to retain coverage once it agreed that no claim would be filed over the Suplizio charges.
The deductible still increased from $500 to $2,500.
Salandra had asked why the city wouldn’t file a claim given its circumstances.
Gabriel explained that it was either file a claim and lose insurance, or take a loss and keep insurance in the event future crime occurs.
All city bank accounts are now properly in control of DuBois City, including the Community Fund, said Nasuti.
All incoming money will go through the financial office overseen by Shepard. Any outgoing checks will now require two signatures.
The first signature must be either from Becker or Nowak. The second signature must be City Controller David Volpe.
Signature cards on all accounts at all banks have also been updated, according to Nasuti.
“Just to make sure everyone knows, we’re still in a good financial situation here,” he said.
“I know circumstances might say otherwise, but relatively speaking, we’re still in good shape.”
Across all funds, he said the city still has a net operating fund of $1,204,769 as of May 1.
There are still capital fund accounts for fuel maintenance, equipment and so forth.
Nasuti said the city will work on its revised 2023 budget due to unexpected costs it’s incurred, which will be complete by the end of May.
