What has changed?

On Feb. 6, 2011, I posted this thread, Conflict of Interest???  At the February 8 meeting, Joe DeIuliis voted in favor of all requests made concerning the high school project.  The Solicitor as well as Joe explained how there was no conflict of interest even though Joe was the business development manager, Pittsburgh region for dck worldwide.  dck worldwide bid on the high school renovation.

Fast forward to the 11/14/11 meeting.  Joe DeIuliis would not introduce or vote on item 12 of the 11/14/11 Commission meeting agenda.  His employer, dck worldwide, was bidding on the project.  Would someone please explain to me why it is a conflict of interest now, but it wasn't a conflict of interest when dck worldwide bid on the high school project?

Private Joint Steering meetings need to stop

The following email exchange was sent to me for posting on Lebo Citizens by David Huston.

From: David Huston
To: bvankirk@mtlebanon.org
CC: dbrumfield@mtlebanon.org; commission@mtlebanon.org; schoolboard@mtlsd.net
Subject: RE: Your quotes in the trib
Date: Mon, 5 Sep 2011 13:07:07 +0000

Bonnie,
  Thanks for getting back to me and asking a key follow-up question. Mt. Lebanon has a long history of private Joint Steering meetings. Private Joint Steering meetings may have been allowed before the Sunshine Act was enacted, but they are not permitted now. I will attempt to shed some light on the history with newspaper reports, blog posts and school board minutes. I have included the commission and school board on this for full disclosure. Members of the public are welcome to review this message and comment.

From http://www.post-gazette.com/neigh_south/20030507s19bigbucks0507p2.asp P-G 07-MAY-2003:

"Leaders of the two boards meet quarterly in a private session called a Joint Steering meeting
at which finances are always a topic, school board President Skip Kasky said."

Don't you see something fundamentally wrong with the quote? If taxpayer money
is a topic of discussion, the public must be allowed to comment and attend the meeting.

From http://www.postgazette.com/pg/06292/731034-55.stm P-G 19-OCT-2006:

This quote highlights the way the school board does business.

"In March, the commission decided not to pursue any more such appeals and not to fight any
appeals filed by residents or Mr. Onorato's office seeking to lower those assessments.

Even though the commissioners' decision was reported in the Post-Gazette in March, school

directors said they were not aware of it until a Joint Steering committee of the school directors

and commissioners was held in late August. Shortly afterward, the school board decided to hire

the firm Diversified Municipal Services to represent the school board at appeal hearings."

The school board used taxpayer money to fund a legal attack against the taxpayers for
higher assessments to collect more tax money. Theoretically, this approach could be used in an iterative technique to challenge assessments indefinitely even if the assessments are ratcheted up beyond what is reasonable. Clearly, the school board attempted to use the private joint steering committee to strong-arm the commission into approving the use of municipal funds to help finance the services of Diversified Municipal Services. When the municipality announced their decision not to appeal taxpayer assessments, the school board ignored it, then moved to appeal taxpayer assessments on its own after meeting privately with the commission.
This maneuver enabled the school board to fabricate a story that the commission would
not cooperate with funding the appeals but the same municipality would benefit from
the windfall generated. The school board could say it came to the table in good faith,
but the commission stepped away from the talks, and the public would be none the wiser.
I am worried this scenario could happen again with the 2012 assessments, aren't you?

From http://www.mtlsd.org/district/stuff/october%2020,%202008%20board%20meeting%20summary.pdf SBM 20-OCT-2008:

You may be aware that the high school small-bore rifle range is not suitable for police use.
If the joint steering committee meeting was public, the commission could have been advised
by members of the public the rifle range could not be used by the police.
The range has been in place for decades, yet Mr. Silhol presented his offer for sharing the range
at the joint steering committee meeting not open to the public. Mr. Silhol should have known better because he graduated from Mt. Lebanon high school some years ago, and was familiar with the high school facility. Currently, the rifle range for just small-bore rifle use is a delete alternate with the high school
renovation and may not be included in the final design at all. It is a good thing the municipality didn't promise to fund the range because the school district would have diverted that money to something like off-budget kitchen equipment instead. I would have liked to see the commission's presentation for the sports fields. More details regarding the McNeilly property discussions would be helpful at this time.

From http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_717864.html T-R 13-JAN-2011:

"Joint Steering – Mr. Silhol reported that he and the superintendent attended the Mt. Lebanon

Commissioner’s meeting in October where they spoke in support of an office for a police officer

in the high school, and shared use of the rifle range with the Mt. Lebanon Police. A presentation

was made by the commission of various alternatives for baseball and soccer fields."

Clearly the public was kept in the dark about this matter that should have been
subject to sunshine review. Tax dollars are used to maintain both municipal and school
district properties, so the taxpayers should have been able to comment and attend.This quote by Ms. Posti indicates the private meetings were not effective in hashing
out all the details, and she would have preferred additional private discussions.
Ms. Posti also discounted the public comment made at the commission meeting
as interfering with government actions. She neglected to mention that she could
have commented at the same municipal meeting, representing the school board as president.
Allowing the public to comment at the Joint Steering committee
meeting would have permitted the district to respond to public comments.

From http://www.yoursouthhills.com/newslinks/mt-lebanon-officials-wont-agree-closed-meetings SHR 17-FEB-2011:Why did Mr. Brumfield, against the solicitor's advice and commission vote, go ahead and participate in the Joint Steering committee meeting? The article states Joint Steering committee meetings are executive sessions. When did the commission announce Brumfield had the executive session, as required by the Sunshine Act?
Even the school board failed to announce the Joint Steering committee was held in
executive session and provide the exceptions as required by the Sunshine Act.

From http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_723014.html T-R 17-FEB-2011, http://bloglebo.blogspot.com/2011/02/trib-mt-lebanon-officials-wont-agree-to.html 27-FEB-2011:

"Because the meetings would often involve legal agreements between the two bodies, [Ms. Posti]

said they'd be closed to the public until their recommendations are brought to

the respective boards for public discussion and approval."

"Though both sides worked together behind the scenes on the agreement,
some questions raised by the commissioners came just before they voted
on it, leaving no time for the district to respond"

"Commissioners Joe DeIuliis and Dave Brumfield initially agreed to serve on the "joint steering committee" with school board President Josephine Posti and Vice President Dale Ostergaard, who would meet in closed-door executive sessions to facilitate more freewheeling conversation and protect discussions of legal matters, Posti said. But commission President Dan Miller said last week the commissioners wouldn't join the meetings unless they were open."

How can Mr. Peterson justify saying members of a committee composed entirely of elected officials "lack any power to make ... recommendations?"
Clearly elected officials make recommendations all the time. It is their job. Does Mr. Peterson think he has more power than the school directors, so as long as he is present, the "Cones of Silence" are OK?What is worse, he overstepped his bounds and offered legal advice to the municipality. What other legal advice does Mr. Peterson give the municipality during closed-door meetings?
Is he saying current administrations are allowed to do something prohibited now, just because it was permitted in the past? 

"School district Solicitor Thomas Peterson said Sunshine laws did not apply

because the joint steering committee didn't represent a quorum for either the

municipality or the school district, and it lacked any actual power to make

legislation or recommendations. Since past administrations did not have to

make the committee meetings public, they didn't, he said."

"No meetings have been scheduled while the two sides work out the issue."

Mr. Santoni reported no meetings have been scheduled, even
though the meetings have occurred since he published his article.

From http://danmillerward5.com/joint-steering-meetings-with-school-board DMB 05-MAR-2011, http://bloglebo.blogspot.com/2011/03/will-school-board-choose-secrecy-or.html B-L 06-MAR-2011:
Why is Ms. Posti, who represents the school board as president,
conducting private Joint Steering committee meetings with
Mr. Brumfield after the commission voted not to participate in them?

From http://lebocitizens.blogspot.com/2011/03/update-on-joint-steering-committee.html LCB 09-MAR-2011:

"Upon hearing the Solicitor’s opinion in executive session, the

Commission decided unanimously to rescind our offer to participate

in private joint steering meetings and instead extended an offer for

public meetings to begin asap. Four Commissioners were present

at that time of this unanimous decision." - quote from Dan Miller's blog

Why did the Commission approve the Joint Steering committee meetings after the same Commission voted not to participate?

David Huston
 

"Commissioners DeIuliis and Brumfield are on board to represent the Commission once the School Board agrees to public Joint Steering Committee meetings."

> From: bvankirk@mtlebanon.org
> To: David Huston
> CC: dbrumfield@mtlebanon.org; Commission@mtlebanon.org
> Date: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:02:23 -0400
> Subject: Re: Your quotes in the trib
>
> David
> As I told you at the mtg last nite I didn't receive your original email.
> Thank you for your comments. They are always appreciated.
> Please clarify what you mean in your last sentence about the "private
> joint steering committee meetings". Don't know what you mean.
> Bonnie
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Aug 22, 2011, at 11:46 PM, "David Huston" wrote:
>
> > This is the email that did not get a response from anyone.
> >
> > From: David Huston
> > To: dbrumfield@mtlebanon.org
> > CC: commission@mtlebanon.org
> > Subject: Your quotes in the trib
> > Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:33:49 +0000
> >
> > Mr. Brumfield,
> > Regarding McNeilly park, your quote "The time was eight years ago"
> > does not factor in the previous Commission's vote against a bond to
> > improve the McNeilly park grading. You were not on the commission
> > then, yet you have the audacity to second-guess their decision now.
> >
> > Your other quote "The people who are the most hurt by a tax increase
> > are the same ones who would benefit most from increasing the values
> > of their homes."
> > is an insult to your constituents.
> > Are you guaranteeing my property value will increase after you decide
> > to increase my taxes and squander public money leveling a
> > public property with hilly terrain and a pool of standing water?
> >
> > In reality, the people who are most hurt by a tax increase are the
> > same ones who moved into Mt. Lebanon years ago, thinking they could afford the cost
> > of living based on the taxes at the time. Please explain why you think
> > we should pay tax increases that will exceed the rate of inflation.
> >
> > Please demonstrate, showing the arithmetic, that no money currently
> > used to fund storm sewer maintenance will be used for other purposes
> > after the rain tax is implemented.
> > I want to see the numbers.
> >
> > Please stop conducting private Joint Steering meetings against the Commission's wishes.
> >
> > David Huston

This struck me as very funny

In today's Trib, Violations of Sunshine Act to cost more:

Elected officials will face stiffer penalties beginning in August if they're found to have violated the state's Sunshine Act.
Gov. Tom Corbett on Thursday signed an amendment that will increase the maximum penalty to $1,000 from $100 for officials who hold violate the law, which broadly requires government officials to hold meetings in public.

Mt. Lebanon Commissioner Joe DeIuliis was quoted as saying:

Mt. Lebanon Commissioner Joe Deluliis said the measure's strength could also be its weakness.
A $1,000 fine for a first offense, even if it's unintentional, is "pretty big," Deluliis said.
"I know the governor's intentions are positive, and I know the intent is for greater transparency, but when you start increasing the penalties, it may have an adverse effect on people's willingness to get involved in government," he said.

Why I find this funny is that Joe DeIuliis was the only commissioner against televising the commission meetings, as well as the discussion sessions. Of all the people to ask about this new amendment.

 

Read more: Violations of Sunshine Act to cost more - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

I wasn't going to say anything.

At Tuesday evening's Commission meeting, I was the first citizen to comment. I asked when my commissioner, Joe DeIuliis, was going to pay his 2010 taxes. He claimed to have paid his taxes and then went on to say that I was disingenuous and that is why I lost the election. 06 14 11 Commission citizen comment Another resident got up to speak about his taxes and also complained that a sitting commissioner had been delinquent on his taxes. At that point, Joe DeIuliis threatened him with a [civil] lawsuit. Comment and threat Again, Joe DeIuliis went after me.
The next morning, I went to the tax office and received two copies of this 2010 and 2011 tax inquiry.  I hand delivered one to Steve Feller and the other was scanned and emailed to Joe and all of the commissioners as documentation to back up what I had said the previous evening.  I have heard nothing.  I wasn't going to say anything, but since the meeting is being broadcast, my reputation is being tarnished, and I am being ignored, I thought I would provide the documentation here.  I have asked for a public apology.

Just putting it out there.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_735394.html

Remember the School District Policy Committee meeting conflict?

While I was making a pdf (why isn't the School District doing that?) of the May 3 Policy Committee meeting agenda for lebocitizens.com, I noticed this:


Policy Committee meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month at 4:30 p.m. in Conference Room B, Mt. Lebanon High School, unless otherwise noted.


Remember how I have been asking for volunteers to record the 4:30 meeting since it conflicts with residents' work schedules?  The Policy Committee meetings have been officially changed to 4:30 p.m.  Great.  These meetings are very important.  They represent the reason for the School Board's existence. 
One of the School Board Operating Principles is to 


Establish the parameters under which the district operates by creating policy consistent with law, community expectations and educational excellence to achieve goals represented by the strategic plan.


How can the School Board create policies consistent of community expectations, when the community can't take time off from work to comment?
They advocate transparency and encourage citizen participation, but schedule the most important committee meetings during standard work hours. The Commission just started to broadcast the Discussion sessions (Commissioner DeIuliis was the only commissioner to vote against this) and now, the School District has the Policy meetings scheduled for 4:30 every month.  How about moving them to the High School Library, Folks?  Broadcast those meetings for the community.  You did away with the Audit and Finance Committee meetings, and now you are making it virtually impossible to attend Policy Committee meetings.

Update 3:49 p.m.: PSBA Board Standards & Code

Live and learn

Just got back from going before Judge James.  I want to set the record straight.  I challenged one signor on Kristen Linfante's nomination petition (Democratic candidate for Ward 3 Commissioner) who lived in Castle Shannon.  Ms. Linfante doesn't know where the Mt. Lebanon/Castle Shannon border is.  Scary when someone who is running for Commissioner isn't clear where the municipality ends.  I challenged Kristen Linfante's nomination petition because I had serious doubt that each line was filled in by the signor.  The rules are as such:  "Each person who signs a nomination petition must insert the following information about him or herself:

1. Signature;
2. Printed name;
3. Address of residence, including street and number, if any;
4. Their municipality; and
5. The date on which he or she signed the nomination petition."

I questioned, not the signatures as Rob Gardner and Kristen Linfante announced on other blogs, but the rest of the information that was inserted on most lines.  Here is the link to the docket.  Case ID GD 11 004872 Decide for yourself.  We will never know because I "did not have standing."  That means that since I am a Republican, I cannot challenge a Democrat.  Who knew?  I did learn something that is definitely worth the $78 I spent to file the objection.  Joe DeIuliis, Republican Commissioner of Ward 3, who was just endorsed by the Republican Committee for the May Primary, has a For Sale sign in his front yard, his family has been quoted in the media that they want to move far away, was also at this hearing and was smiling when I found out that the judge had to deny the challenge.  Pretty interesting, huh?

Conflict of Interest???

In today's Post Gazette, there was a brief with the Ward 3 Commissioner's picture.  Apparently he has a new job.  Here is the link. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11037/1123343-318.stm#ixzz1DBrXSPdl

Chuck Chrissis was hired by dck worldwide as vice president of business development; Joe DeIuliis was hired as business development manager, Pittsburgh region.

Dck Worldwide LLC, the former Dick Corp., the Pittsburgh region's largest construction company, has sold its construction management unit to Hill International Inc., for an undisclosed price.

Read more: Dck Worldwide sells management unit to top firm - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com:8007/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_689376.html#ixzz1DCmh5YVn

"Dck has served as construction manager of some of the best known and largest construction projects in the region, including the new Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, PNC Firstside Center, Pittsburgh International Airport, and the Homestead Grays Bridge."