DANVILLE — State officials seem to have lots of money to make their offices more comfortable, but claim there isn’t enough to meet their legal obligations to counties, the Montour County commissioners say.
The commissioners are trying to force state lawmakers to pay 65 percent of District Attorney Robert Buehner’s salary as required by the state law that made the prosecutor’s position full-time. Montour County is already owed about $200,000, they say. Officials of other counties have voiced similar complaints.
During a recent trip to Harrisburg to notify state officials that Montour County is suing them for their share of Buehner’s salary, the commissioners said they were astounded by what they saw.
Commissioner Jack Gerst said everyone had Segways — personal transportation devices that can cost about $5,000 each— in their offices to travel the hallways.
Huge mahogany desks filled each room, and landscaping employees just leaned on their shovels and talked, he said.
The state Justice Center had a large marble floor, with a marble state seal embedded, in a room no one uses, Commissioner Trevor Finn said.
Everything was brand-new, he added.
“We’re right in the middle of no budget,” Gerst said. “We can’t fund kids. We can’t fund elderly. We can’t fund meals on wheels, but we have a granite and marble kingdom.”
These frills, Commissioner Jerry Ward said, do not make lawmakers do a better job.
On Thursday, the commissioners filed a lawsuit against Attorney General Tom Corbett, Treasurer Rob McCord, Gov. Ed Rendell, the House of Representatives, the Senate and the commonwealth for 65 percent of the district attorney’s salary.
So far, the county is owed $101,737 in 2008 and $104,585 for the 2009 salary, they say.
“This board has worked diligently to lessen the tax load in everything we do,” Finn said. “... We looked into every way we knew we could to save money, and in turn, we get hit with this.”
Attorney Rebecca Warren, of Danville, is representing the county for free.
“I’m a taxpayer, I feel the county is being wronged,” she said. “I felt someone needed to step up to the plate in order to address it.”
Attorneys usually charge around $125 to $150 an hour in the area, she said. She has already put in more than 30 hours of work and expects much more work.
“I think the law is extremely clear on the subject, that the commonwealth is required by law to reimburse the counties 65 percent of the salary each year,” Warren said. “Obviously they are not doing it.”
Ward said the commissioners have talked to local lawmakers who told them they’re working on the problem.
Gerst spoke to state Rep. Merle Phillips, R-108 of RR2 Sunbury, after the trip Thursday.
“He said he would back us up as much as he can,” Gerst said. “He said, ‘Go get ‘em boys. It’s about time.’ We appreciate him for that.”
Officials from other counties have also shown their support.
Richard W. Bickhart, a Snyder County commissioner, said on Saturday his board hasn’t talked about what Montour County is doing, but he supports the commissioners’ actions.
“I commend them for doing it,” Bickhart said.
Montour County might stop following state mandates, if state officials don’t follow the law on the district attorney’s salary, the commissioners said.
“They make the law and break the law,” Gerst said. “The government is ignoring the people and ignoring the laws they set up, but expect everyone else to abide by their laws. We’re done being small.”
The commissioners are afraid the county may lose grant money and other state funding if they upset the wrong people, but said this needs to be done.
“The point is, we’re sick of delaying the due process,” Ward said. “We’re the caretakers of Montour County, and we want to protect the county.”
News
Montour board sues state over prosecutor’s pay
- News
-
-
Jerry Sandusky argues for local jurors, suggests delay
HARRISBURG — Jerry Sandusky wants jurors in his child sex-abuse trial to be chosen from the community where he lives and is suggesting a trial delay may be the best way to address the intense publicity generated by the case.
-
State House enters second day of debate on gas drilling bill
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania's House of Representatives is beginning its second day of debate on a bill to impose a fee on natural-gas drilling in Pennsylvania and toughen regulations over the booming industry.
-
Cases involving gas station drug sales advance to Montour County Court
DANVILLE – Three people charged with selling heroin and Oxycotin tablets during two separate transactions at a convenience store lot Jan. 2 will face court action.
-
Danville school options aired with borough council
DANVILLE — After borough officials pledged to work with school officials toward a decision on the flood-damaged middle school, council members voted not to give or sell any farmland it owns. The purpose of the unanimous action by the council Tuesday night was so the district knows that rumored option to move the school won’t happen. The borough owns a farm across from the Danville Primary School.
-
Five watershed projects receive $873,000 in state funding
NORTHUMBERLAND -- Five Valley watershed projects will get nearly $873,000 from the state Department of Environmental Protection, which announced funding for 73 projects to improve watersheds, stormwater runoff, acid mine drainage and educational programs, among other environmental efforts.
-
Dispute turns into gun threat, troopers say
After an argument in which his wife threatened divorce, William Warren Woolsey, 36, grabbed a .22-caliber rifle and told her to meet him in the bedroom, saying he would kill himself, state police at Milton said.
-
Mom allegedly beat toddlers with brush
MIFFLINBURG -- A 22-year-old Mifflinburg mother has been charged with beating her two toddlers with a hairbrush until they bled from abrasions all over their faces and bodies, state police at Milton said. The abuse came to light when Brittany Morgan Sullivan's parents came home and found the wounds on their grandchildren, according to police.
-
Commissioners give disabled Sunburian a chance
SUNBURY -- A 22-year-old disabled man asked the Northumberland County commissioners a life-changing question last week. "Can I have a job?" Giuseppe Bua, of Sunbury, was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a genetic disorder in which bones break easily. Sometimes the bones break for no known reason. The disorder also can cause weak muscles, brittle teeth, a curved spine and hearing loss.
-
Trucking firm to add 25 drivers
MILTON -- The president of Watsontown Trucking Co. said Tuesday that his firm will be hiring 25 truck drivers in addition to several diesel technician and management positions, all due to expansion. President Steve Patton said the company, which has been in the Milton Industrial Park since 2004, bought 14 additional acres in the park, adding 10,000 square feet of office space and maintenance facilities. Construction on the new space, he said, will begin shortly and is targeted to be completed by June.
-
Mayor wants trucks to help fund roads
SUNBURY -- Mayor David Persing is frustrated with truck traffic entering the former Celotex site on North Front Street, and he wants to do something about it. Charge an impact fee. Gas companies have paid millions to repair roads damaged by trucks in the Marcellus shale region, and Persing wants to levy a fee to compensate the city for damage to roads caused by trucks hauling drilling waste through the city. About $25 per truck per visit, he said.
-
18-year-old dies in truck crash on Routes 11-15
LIVERPOOL -- An 18-year old Selinsgrove man was killed when his pickup truck collided with a tractor-trailer on Routes 11-15 in Perry County.
-
Reactions to budget plan mixed
SUNBURY -- Reaction to Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 2012-2013 budget came from all directions Tuesday.
- More News Headlines
-
Jerry Sandusky argues for local jurors, suggests delay
