From the Ethics Commission website

I still have not received the final order from the PA Ethics Commission, but here is a link to the April 10, 2018 final adjudication posted on the PA Ethics Commission website which is saved in Google Docs. Actual link is here.

Mary Birks spoke at the May 14, 2018 school board meeting and referred to 41 pages of findings. This document has 24 pages. I skimmed over the pages and found that on page 8, Mary attended an Outreach Board of Directors meeting on May 6, 2010, where concerns of conflict of interest were raised by several Outreach board members.

Outreach Board member David Hartman verbalized Birks' need to recuse herself as a Member of the District Board if /when the District Board voted on any matters involving Outreach.

Outreach can't be too happy with how this all went down.

I also find it interesting that the Ethics Commission noted that Mary had left a block blank on her 2016 Statement of Financial Interests filed in 2017 and was deemed deficient. (Page 16) Upon notification of the above referenced deficiency, Birks amended the SFI with the District. I guess the Ethics Commission did not see the boo boo that Timmy made this year. It is ironic how Mary Birks defended Larry Lebowitz. See below.

I can't help but think how the PA Ethics Commission would have a field day over the municipality's SFIs. Statements of Financial Interests are a big thing with the PA Ethics Commission, but Keith McGill, Susan Morgans, Ian McMeans, Dave Brumfield, Bonnie Cross, and a host of others don't or didn't seem to take it seriously. Nick Meduho was on top of this too.

See We don't pay her enough; she's homeless!
We've been lied to repeatedly
T-R-A-N-S-P-A-R-E-N-C-Y
Mt. Lebanon is on a roll

This is like a locker search at Mt. Lebanon High School, announcing what is ahead: I will be filing a Right To Know for all the SFIs for the municipality, Keith. Just a heads up.

Tim, it's 2018...

From a Right To Know, here are the School District's Statements of Financial Interests.

2018 Statements of Financial Interests for 2017 part 1

2018 Statements of Financial Interests for 2017 part 2

Unfortunately, our superintendent is not aware that it is 2018.

A Right To Know has not been filed with the municipality yet. When Nick Meduho filed for them, Bonnie Cross, the Open Records Officer, redacted everything and then charged him 25 cents a copy which is outrageous. It is all public information.

Good turnout for RTK Session

Last night's Right To Know Session at Mt. Lebanon Library had a good turnout. I saw lots of familiar faces, including Mt. Lebanon Manager Keith McGill. He was the only one representing an agency. There was no representation from the MTL School District or from any other local government.

The evening began with State Representative Dan Miller introducing the Executive Director of the PA Office of Open records Erik Arneson. Erik began with a PowerPoint presentation, followed by an update from Dan on proposed current legislation, including Senate Bill 411.

Dan and Erik took questions from the audience up until the very last minute the library was open. One of the questions that sticks out in my mind was the question about attachments in a Right To Know. Here is the background. ORO Bonnie Cross would not include the attachments in a RTK which Nick M. requested. She felt that Nick needed to specifically request attachments. Seriously. I'm not joking. I don't know where she gets this stuff. Erik said that the attachments must be included with the requested public records. I hear that she is going to attend an Open Records event next week. I did hear that the assistant manager, Ian McMeans is the back up ORO. I hope he attends too.

I want to thank Dan Miller's office for sending the presentation, as well as thank both Dan Miller and Erik Arneson for a very informative session.

Very sloppy work

Getting a Right To Know request granted in the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon is becoming a joke, at the requestor's expense. A RTK was filed for all 2016 block party applications received from June 11, 2016 through July 20, 2016.

The 30 day extension was applied so that personal information could be redacted. Typical.

The requestor was charged 25¢ per copy and had to be paid up front, even though it would have been $5.00. Not so typical. Most agencies waive the fee if it is under $25.00.  To pay less than $5.00 upfront is ludicrous. Only Mt. Lebanon does that.

Fee was paid, but the RTK was not available after the thirty days. Not typical, in fact, illegal. It was MIA. A letter had to be sent to the manager, commissioners, and Open Records Officer (ORO) questioning the process. Not the first time this had to be done.

The information was emailed, even though it was requested in hard copy. Again, not typical. Commissioner Brumfield objects to scanned copies, when it suits him.

Finally, the information was released and available here.

Reviewing the RTK, I was happy to see that Rudy caught the one scheduled for Halloween and rejected it. Not typical. Last year, there was one in Mission Hills. Our former police chief had advised that all Halloween block parties not be permitted for safety concerns.

I do see that one application was reviewed and accepted for a collector street. They even requested a barricade for a Castle Shannon street. Sadly, this too, is typical. A Sleepy Hollow resident appeared at my door last year and told me to mind my own business regarding their two block parties.

State Representative Dan Miller's Right To Know event on September 15, 2016 can't come soon enough. I just hope that representatives from  the Municipality of Mt. Lebanon attend Dan's event.

Mt. Lebanon is on a roll UPDATED 2X

Now that Mt. Lebanon has learned to appeal the PA Office of Open Records' final determinations, they are on to ignoring the PA State Ethics Commission requirements.

Besides not permitting residents to copy Statements of Financial Interests, besides ignoring the five day requirement to respond to Right To Know requests, besides accepting deficient statements of financial interests, and collecting those statements after the mandatory deadline of May 1, we now see how some are permitted to skip submitting those statements entirely. Included are some from those on the Hospital Board, the Pension Board, the Planning Board, the Library Board, the Zoning Board, Board of Appeals, Mt. Lebanon Civil Service Board, and the Economic Development Council. Not all members submitted their SFI, as required. Then there is the Sports Advisory Board, including Mr. and Mrs. Franklin [encouraged the commissioners to take me to court over the archery RTK] and Chip "He Who Shall Not Be Named" Dalesandro [see Bullied again], who arranged for $250,000 in donations and got the commission to spend over $750,000 for artificial turf, as well as the Historic Preservation Board, who spent $25,000 on a Virginia Manor remodeling guide. A member of the Historic Preservation Board frequently writes for mtl Magazine and gets compensated $25 per article as a "volunteer" blogger. She submitted this and will receive a $25 check for writing it.

mtl -- Mt. Lebanon Magazine

Yesterday at 7:38am · 

The Top 10 things you learn as a volunteer in Mt. Lebanon. Oh....number five!!!!

so moved | lebomag.com

7 If you believe your cause is the most important thing on the board agenda or in the municipal budget, you haven’t read the agenda or the budget

LEBOMAG.COM

Why nothing from the SAB or the Historic Preservation Board? It is who you know around here.

I never did hear from Bonnie Cross. I was able to get copies from another citizen. Here they are.

MTL 2016 Statements of Financial Interests for the year 2015

Dale Cowher is deficient plus submitted his SFI on May 12, 2016.
Michele Galati's SFI is deficient.
Andrew Kicinski submitted his SFI on May 4, 2016.
Christopher McMahon's SFI is deficient.
Mark Mistretetta submitted his deficient SFI on May 4, 2016.
Susan Morgans gets a 0% rate on her credit card. Isn't she special?
Christopher Musuneggi submitted a deficient SFI.
Samuel Ray submitted a deficient SFI.

And on to our commissioners.

• Dave Brumfield never signed or dated his SFI.
• Coleen Vuono shows no real estate interests and left her sources of income blank. When I was trying to verify her address when she was moving from her Ward 3 home on Woodland, and wouldn't disclose her new address, I came across an old address for 53 Academy Avenue. The Allegheny County website indicates the owner name is VUONO FAMILY 2008 IRREVOCABLE PENNSYLVANIA REAL ESTATE TRUST. Coleen also stages homes for real estate agents with Howard Hanna. See this post. Caught in a lie again.
• Kelly Fraasch resides at 53 Academy Avenue. She works for Howard Hanna. See Coleen Vuono.  Oops, Coleen!

Historically, Steve Feller would make pdfs and email statements of financial interests at no charge in a timely fashion, no questions asked. Vice President of the Commission Dave Brumfield is the one who has a problem with that. See his emails in the Lebo Citizens blog posts, After doing the math and Mt. Lebanon aims for transparency

I am slowly updating my blog to include past published posts. Mt. Lebanon will do as they want, when they want. The rules never apply to them. Now you know why Bonnie Cross stalled when asked for SFI. They were still coming in as late as May 12, 2016. But Mt. Lebanon is not held accountable. There is a new sheriff in town and our commissioners are asleep at the switch.

Update May 27, 2016 3:58 PM Additional email exchanges with Manager McGill:

From: Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Fri, May 27, 2016 11:10 am
Subject: Re: Statements of financial interests

Thank you Elaine. You as well.

Keith

On Fri, May 27, 2016 at 11:06 AM, egillen476@aol.com <egillen476@aol.com> wrote:

Thanks, Keith. Have a good holiday weekend!

-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Sent: Fri, May 27, 2016 10:42 am
Subject: Re: Statements of financial interests

Good morning Elaine,

The Municipality is the location where the State required Statements are filed.  To help facilitate filing, we will typically send the required form to the relevant personnel.  We also have sent reminders on occasion.  We generally do not verify the accuracy of the forms, as we do not believe we are required to do so under State law.

As far as who needs to file, that is set forth in the Ethics Act.  I will add that the one area where questions seem to arise is with our various boards.  The Ethics Act exempts members of advisory boards that have no authority to expend public funds and who cannot exercise the power of the Municipality.  This exemption encompasses many of our boards, as they do function in an advisory capacity only, and cannot expend Municipal funds.

Keith

On Thu, May 26, 2016 at 12:47 PM, egillen476@aol.comwrote:

Hi Keith,

What methodology is used when collecting SFIs from staff, boards, and authorities? Who is subject to submitting SFIs? 

Who verifies their accuracy or deficiencies?

I never did hear back from Bonnie as to when my RTK was ready for pick up. Fortunately, David Huston went up for me and waited twenty minutes while Bonnie printed them.

Elaine Gillen

From: Keith Mcgill [mailto:kmcgill@mtlebanon.org]
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2016 10:46 AM
To: Nicholas Meduho,
Subject: Re: sfi forms

Good morning Mr. Meduho,

Mr. Brumfield will be submitting an amended form. As to other forms the Municipality is the location where the State required Statements are filed.  To help facilitate filing, we will typically send the required form to the relevant personnel.  We also have sent reminders on occasion.  We generally do not verify the accuracy of the forms, as we do not believe we are required to do so under State law.

Keith

On Fri, May 27, 2016 at 9:11 AM, Nicholas Meduho wrote:

Mr. McGill,

In reviewing the SFI forms that were recently submitted, many of them were filled out improperly but Dave Brumfield’s form stands out the most with no signature and no date.

Will he be asked to submit a new form or amend his current form? What about the other folks, especially the ones who claim no income from Mt. Lebanon in 2015.

As the manager, will you please take the lead on this and get this fixed.

Thank you,

Nicholas Meduho

Mt. Lebanon, PA

Update June 7, 2016 11:30 PM The following people didn’t report their income from Mt. Lebanon in 2015.

Susan Morgans $108,259
Aaron Lauth $118,166
Bonnie Cross $93,129
Nicholas Schalles $98,613
Steve Feller $159,574
Kelly Fraasch $3600
Tom Kelley $41,417
Steve Silverman $3600
Joseph Senko $9000
Nicholas Sohyda $118,932
Coleen Vuono $2400

After doing the math...

Remember this post, Mt. Lebanon aims for financial transparency ? Trying to get the Statements of Financial Interests from the Municipality has been quite an ordeal. A long and tedious email exchange with Bonnie Cross, Dave Brumfield, and Keith McGill followed. Click the link to read the email exchange - reading the BS from Dave Brumfield indicates that he doesn't read emails. I listed why the volume of RTKs have increased.

After doing the math,

I heard back from Manager McGill:

From: Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Cc: Bonnie Cross <bcross@mtlebanon.org>
Sent: Sat, May 21, 2016 11:42 am
Subject: Re: RTK spam

Elaine,

There are 82 pages total minus 5 pages that you have received electronically for a total of 77 pages. The cost would be $19.25.

Keith

On Sat, May 21, 2016 at 4:02 AM, egillen476@aol.com <egillen476@aol.com> wrote:

Keith,

You may remember the spam and duplications that I was charged 25¢ a copy in a RTK from January 2016.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9r_1biKte_bWmlYYzVSUG03ejA/view?usp=sharing

That resulted in Andrew McCreery issuing me a refund check - I'm guessing it was around $5.00. 

All that added work could have been avoided had Bonnie checked the copies, rather than relying on the copier to count the copies. 

Even the seventeen pages that are sitting in front of Judge O'Brien contained a blank page. He remarked about that at the judicial review. That blank page breaks down to costing me $235.29 in legal fees. How much is that blank page costing the municipality? 

Please end Bonnie's foolishness. Please give me an exact count of pages so that I know how much those public statements of financial interests will cost me in the end. Had these documents been scanned from the start, as they should have been, or you permitting me to copy them using my equipment as the OOR and Ethics Commission state on their websites, we would have been done with this matter by now. 

Elaine

-- 

Keith McGill, AICP
Municipal Manager
412-343-3684
kmcgill@mtlebanon.org 

To which I replied:

From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To: kmcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>
Cc: bcross <bcross@mtlebanon.org>; repmiller <repmiller@pahouse.net>; commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>; nick; david
Sent: Sat, May 21, 2016 12:33 pm
Subject: Re: RTK spam

Boy, that was easy. Thank you, Keith. 

I will bite the bullet and PAY for those public statements of financial interests, which technically should be available for us to copy for free. I will scan them and put them on my blog, so that David, Nick and any others don't have to be charged for the same information. What a racket you guys have going.

I will be bringing this up to the executive director of the Office of Open Records at Rep. Miller's Right To Know Information Session scheduled for September. I hope you all are planning to attend. You need it the most.

This is criminal.

Elaine Gillen

As of May 25, 2016 at 7:07 AM, I have not heard back from Bonnie Cross as to when my copies will be ready. Still more to follow.

Introducing Andrew McCreery and Bonnie Cross

To: All Employees 

 I am very pleased to announce two key additions to the management team of the municipality. Both a new Director of Finance and a new Assistant to the Manager for Human Resources will begin work on Monday, September 9th. 

 Andrew McCreery will be the new Director of Finance. Andrew is a Mt. Lebanon resident. He is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently working as the Finance Officer and Acting Borough Manager for the Borough of Jefferson Hills. He previously worked for six years as Accounting Manager for the Township of Upper St. Clair. Andrew brings a great public accounting background to the position. As Chief Financial Officer, Andrew will be responsible for all fiscal activities including accounting, budgeting, cash management, expenditure control, and financial administration and analysis. 

 Bonnie Cross will become the new Assistant to the Manager and personnel officer. For the past ten years, Bonnie was a Benefit Manager for the State of Ohio, responsible for overseeing the State’s workers compensation and flexible spending programs. Prior to her State job, Bonnie worked for the City of Upper Arlington Ohio, a first ring suburb of Columbus, where she served as Assistant City Manager. In that capacity she participated in the collective bargaining process and administered the human resources function for the organization. Bonnie received a Masters of Public Administration from Kent State University and a B.A. from Seton Hill College. She holds a SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) designation. In Mt. Lebanon, she will be responsible for all human resources programs and activities. 

 Please join me in welcoming both Andrew and Bonnie to our organization. 

 Steve Feller