DUBOIS – A rift between the City of DuBois and its Treasurer Lisa LeBrasca-Becker has prompted the relocation of her office.
During Monday’s council meeting, City Solicitor Tom Breth said LeBrasca-Becker recently disseminated copies of a letter to local media in which she addressed City/Township Manager Shawn Abraugh over complaints against city leadership and its overall direction.
In a prepared statement, Breth referred to the treasurer’s actions as a “trend” she uses in her attempts to “mislead and distract” City of DuBois residents.
He declined to repeat any of the complaints made in her letter, and instead praised the efforts of council members to redirect the city onto the proper path to a better future.
He noted that while most city employees are proactively helping to restore order, there are still others attempting to undermine the city, which Breth claims does include the elected treasurer, LeBRasca-Becker.
Breth said the treasurer’s recent actions have prompted the city to take measures to safeguard its work while LeBrasca-Becker continues in her position.
Specifically he said council relocated her desk outside of the city’s municipal office area to the municipal meeting room. A secure and confidential area will be provided, if needed.
Breth also indicated that the city will not address LeBrasca-Becker’s outlined complaints publicly as that’s part of its commitment to moving forward.
The city will monitor this matter closely, Breth said, and if issues continue following the November election, then it will be addressed further and potentially in the public forum.
Resident Debbie Mechling sought answers as to why LeBrasca-Becker had allegedly spent 45 minutes speaking with former City Solicitor Toni Cherry in a restricted and confidential area within the city municipal building on March 20, 2024.
Mechling indicated she had filed a Right to Know request in May; however, Arbaugh had rejected it on grounds that Mechling did not seek any specific documents in her request.
Mechling wasn’t provided an answer.
Also, on Monday, council hired Keystone CORE Services to conduct a city property survey that utilizes a scoring system to determine and rank a property’s blight and noncompliance with city ordinances.
Because the survey will be done by a third-party, Arbaugh hopes the city can avoid any claims of favoritism. KCS will offer property owners suggestions on needed improvements and ways to fund them.
Per the KCS inspection form, which was provided to local media, the survey will consider property issues such as: visible rubbish, excessive weeds, structural and sidewalk conditions, inoperable vehicles and evidence of rodents.
It was also noted that Downtown DuBois Inc. currently has $29,000 remaining for its façade grant program. Businesses are encouraged to contact the organization for more information, with any questions and or to receive an application.
Senior District Manager Ed Yahner and Municipal Manager Ralph Zoerner with Waste Management also approached council Monday, proposing a rate increase for commercial services within the city.
Per their letter, the increase would amount to “… 7 percent per commercial customer per month, effective Sept. 1, 2024 …,” which would help cover the increased costs of operations since the last rate increase in 2020.
Yahner indicated that their fuel costs have gone up 322 percent since 2020 and recycling costs have also gone up by 300 percent.
“Anyone in the trucking business will tell you: expenses are crazy.” Not to mention, there’s other business-related expenses like labor and maintenance.
Yahner admitted that Waste Management would never be the cheapest option, but that it does benefit the community with its efforts to hire and retain local, high-quality employees.
He said there has been complaints over contamination and overage fees.
City Mayor Pat Reasinger said overage fees were not in the city’s contract and Yahner agreed, noting the contract does state though that Waste Management isn’t required to pick up excess garbage beyond a property’s service amount and that it can always be left behind.
Yahner said they’ve let overages go in the past, but with new smart truck equipment, photographs are taken at every spot, and so Waste Management can verify overages.
Reasinger commented that prices have already increased significantly over the years.
For example, in 2018, he said prices were $130.94 for a “four-yard dumpster” until that jumped to $170 in 2022, adding that he personally utilizes different service providers that are less costly.
Yahner said they only increased the price by 8.5 percent, or to $142.07, for the City of DuBois but couldn’t say how much more the city was charging customers.
Reasinger requested to review Waste Management’s financial statements from at least 2018 to present-day to confirm the increased costs they claimed are occurring and therefore making the proposed rate increase necessary.