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.

The letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law

The Deer Feeding Ban Ordinance was introduced by Kristen Linfante, the commissioner who was obsessed with killing deer in Mt. Lebanon. The intent was by instituting a deer feeding ban, it would help to reduce the amount of deer-vehicle collisions. Allegedly.

Background:

To: commission Cc: kmcgill ; alauth ; rsukal
From: egillen476
Subject: Re: Feeding deer SECOND REQUEST
Date: Wed, Aug 2, 2017 12:24 pm

Commissioners,

I sent this email to eight people and the only response I got was the out of office memo from Aaron Lauth. I wasn't sure who to address this issue so I sent it to all of you. I sent it to the commissioners because it involves a resolution that you folks passed - the Feeding Ban. I sent it to Steve Silverman because it is in your back yard. I sent it to Dave Brumfield because he is the president. I sent it to Steve McLean because he is my commissioner. I sent it to Kelly Fraasch because she has been an anti kill advocate. I sent it to John Bendel because he is concerned about the deer/car collisions - as are the rest of you. Allegedly. I sent it to Keith McGill because he is the manager. I sent it to Rudy Sukal because neighboring Public Works has been used to kill deer. I sent it to Aaron Lauth because this is a safety issue and he is our chief of police. Aaron has an excuse for not replying. What about the rest of you?

As of yesterday, I saw the deer teetering off the curb in front of the apple tree. Cars on Gilkeson Road were slamming on their brakes. Are you not responding so that you can get those deer/car collision figures up to push your personal agendas or is this just a way to cull deer without paying DeNicola?

Elaine Gillen

-----Original Message-----From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>To: commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>Cc: kmcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>; alauth <alauth@mtlebanon.org>; rsukal <rsukal@mtlebanon.org>Sent: Sun, Jul 30, 2017 1:37 pmSubject: Feeding deer

Commissioners,

My heart breaks every time I drive past the apple trees on Gilkeson Road near Cedar Blvd. The ground and street are covered with apples luring deer to come and feed. They don't know that they will be killed just a few feet away in September.

Please enforce the feeding ban. Then the deer won't be crossing that busy highway for apples.

How about cracking down?

Elaine Gillen

Fast forward to today. 

I sent yet another email to Keith McGill about the trees next to my house that are in the park. Yes, I am still dealing with that after how many years? I also mentioned that I had sent an email to him (and seven other people) about the apple trees along Gilkeson Road and NONE of them had the decency to reply.

I finally heard back from Keith McGill. Here is part of the reply from him:

As to your email regarding the apple trees, your request was for that the ordinance prohibiting the feeding of deer be enforced. The prohibition does not include live vegetation. I have attached a copy of the ordinance for your reference.
Keith

The crew just left and finally, after all these years, the tree situation has been resolved. I am thrilled! But the apple tree on Gilkeson Road is just an accident waiting to happen. 12:06 AM, who has so much hate in her heart, wanted to kill all the deer here. I have identified a dangerous condition only to be told that the ordinance does not include live vegetation. Classic.

Bottom line: Drive with caution on Gilkeson Road near Cedar Blvd. Mt. Lebanon is going to leave it up to Tony DeNicola to handle it.

Keith says to spread the word

In this week's administrative report, Manager Keith McGill is asking the commissioners to forward Seven Ten, the newsletter that has "breaking news" every two weeks.

This isn't the first time I have written about the new bi-weekly magazine. See Get "breaking" news every other week! I signed up the day it came out. I want to make sure I am getting breaking news. We get up to the minute information with LeboALERTS and of course through Facebook. mtl--Mt. Lebanon Magazine They now include footage from drones!  (Isn't that kind of creepy?) AND, you don't want to miss reading about Lebolife bloggers who live in San Diego. It doesn't get any better than that. Anyway, spread the word!

Mt. Lebanon continues to be defiant

Every year, our public officials and public employees are required to file a Statement of Financial Interests with the Municipality or School District, as well as with the PA Ethics Commission. Here are the Municipal Statements of Financial Interests May 2017.

According to the Guide to the PA Public Official and Employee Ethics Act,  The State defines public officials as :

Any person elected by the public or elected or appointed by a governmental body or an appointed official in the executive, legislative or judicial branch of this Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, provided that it shall not include members of advisory boards that have no authority to expend public funds other than reimbursement for personal expense or to otherwise exercise the power of the State or any political subdivision thereof.

Former manager Steve Feller was a stickler when it came to filing SFI's. Our new manager Keith McGill, not so much. We already know that Andrew McCreery and Susan Morgans made critical errors on their SFI's. At one time, members of these boards submitted SFI's. http://mtlebanon.org/63/Agendas-Minutes What I am noticing now is the number of SFI's which are no longer filed. Missing in action include:

Mark Quealy, Mt. Lebanon Parking Enforcement Supervisor

Blaise Larotonda

Members of the Historic Preservation Board who have spent $25,000 on Virginia Manor remodeling guides, and brick road recommendations.

Sports Advisory Board, the most powerful board in the Municipality, now are MIA. Their meetings are constantly being canceled. The latest posted minutes are from January 5, 2017.

Mt. Lebanon continues to become more and more defiant. Just ask the Allegheny County Health Department concerning baiting and toxic dust emissions, Scott Township about killing in Twin Hills, PA Office of Open Records, and now the PA Ethics Commission.

Manager's numbers are out of whack!

Keith McGill sent this table to the commission, the assistant manager, and the person who requested this information at the last commission meeting. I don't know where Keith got some of these numbers, but his records are not accurate.

Good afternoon,

At the meeting on Monday night there was a request to identify the number of deer removed since we put a deer management program in place and the associated cost. Here is what my records indicate:

Year	Deer Removed	Cost of Removal
2007	79	$19,900  (USDA)
2008	146	$50,837 (USDA)
2015	6	$3,000  (Wildlife Specialists)
2016	101	$15,460 (White Buffalo -Archery)
2016	114	$74,375 (White Buffalo –Sharpshooting)
2017	36	$9,000 (White Buffalo- Archery)
2017	55	$44,868 (White Buffalo -Sharpshooting)
Total	537	$217,440

Keith


There were 69 deer killed in 2007. The permit was for up to 75. http://mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/8876

In 2008, USDA killed 146 deer, but only knew about 145 deer. The 146th was found dead, in a pool of blood, in someone's front yard on Lindendale. The permit was for up to 150 deer.

The 2016 Archers killed 104 deer. http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/View/13897 Goal was 100.

The 2016 "Sharpshooting" program killed 115 deer. We were told that the limit would be 150 deer.

The 2017 "Sharpshooting" contract was limited to 100 deer. 55 deer were killed.

The only time hunters reached their goal was in 2016. The goal was 100 deer. All the other years, hunters came in short of their goals. I have no idea where Keith is getting his numbers, but these are the numbers I found on the municipal website.

To take this a step further, the cost of killing per deer per year breaks down to:

2007 $288.41 per deer
2008 $348.20 per deer
2015 $500 per deer
2016 (archery) $147.24 per deer
2016 ("sharpshooting") $652.41 per deer
2017 (archery) $250 per deer
2017 ("sharpshooting") $815.78 per deer

Both Steve Silverman and Craig Grella want to continue doing business with that scoundrel, and will vote along with John Bendel and Steve McLean to keep Tony DeNicola. Killing deer causes collisions to increase, but they will continue to bring in lethal weapons because deer are scary.

"...fees may be modified or added by the manager at any time." UPDATED

I saw an ad on mtl Magazine's Facebook feed the other day. Sending a copy of the ad and what I thought was a simple question turned out to be too difficult for our manager to answer. My question was, "How much is Lanz Associates paying for this advertising?"

After the usual multiple emails exchange with our manager, Keith McGill wrote:

"As such I cannot provide you with a specific cost for this ad."

That is very disturbing news to me. On one hand, I'm told that fees may be modified or added by the manager at any time, but on the other hand, Keith has no idea what the cost was for the ad. Very disturbing.

Here is the email exchange.

February 23, 2017 email exchange with Keith McGill re mtl FB advertising

It is frustrating to constantly hear, "I don't know" or "I do not have that information" from the person who SHOULD know or have that information. If it is not available, how about taking that extra step to find the answer?

Update February 25, 2017 1:46 PM I heard back again from Keith McGill. Here is his reply:

From:	Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>
To:	egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Cc:	Commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>
Subject:	Re: Free advertising?
Date:	Sat, Feb 25, 2017 10:01 am

---

Good morning Elaine,

As I indicated in my previous response, sponsored content is a new product being offered to advertisers. As such, we are still trying to determine appropriate pricing.

It is possible that the pricing may need to be adjusted for online and sponsored content based on advertiser interest and response. This will take some time to determine.  I anticipate that we will be able to include the prices in our media kit next year.

I think the important thing is that the magazine has identified another revenue opportunity that will potentially allow us to continue to deliver important information on municipal programs and services to our residents in a cost effective manner, with the added benefit of promoting what a truly exceptional community we live in.

Keith 

On Fri, Feb 24, 2017 at 6:10 PM, egillen476@aol.com <egillen476@aol.com> wrote:

Hi Keith,

Will you please find out what the specific cost is for this type of advertising next week? It is disturbing how often we hear, "I don't know" or "I don't have that information" when we ask questions these days.

Commissioners, would you please follow up with Keith?

Thanks and have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Elaine

How to say "No," without saying "No" UPDATED 2X

From:	egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To:	kmcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>
Cc:	commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>; alauth <alauth@mtlebanon.org>
Subject:	Re: NextDoor, MTL home page THIRD REQUEST
Date:	Tue, Jan 31, 2017 6:08 pm

---

THIRD REQUEST

Will the MLPD be notifying NextDoor readers?

Elaine Gillen

-----Original Message-----

From: Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>

To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>

Cc: Commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>; Aaron Lauth <alauth@mtlebanon.org>

Sent: Tue, Jan 31, 2017 5:58 pm

Subject: Re: NextDoor, MTL home page SECOND REQUEST

Good evening Ms. Gillen,

While you are correct that the permit issued by the Game Commission allows deer removal to begin as early as tomorrow, an actual start date has not yet been determined. The program will be following the same protocols and procedures that were utilized as part of last years program.

Keith

On Tue, Jan 31, 2017 at 5:48 PM, egillen476@aol.com <egillen476@aol.com> wrote:

"Sharpshooting" begins tomorrow, Commissioners. Will the MLPD be notifying NextDoor readers? 

Elaine Gillen

-----Original Message-----
From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To: commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>
Cc: kmcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>; alauth <alauth@mtlebanon.org>
Sent: Mon, Jan 30, 2017 7:58 am
Subject: NextDoor, MTL home page

Commissioners,

In case you missed it, I posted Keith's letter to the district concerning your "sharpshooting" program in my post, https://lebocitizens.blogspot.com/2017/01/bullets-never-cross-sidewalks.html Your announcements to this lethal program is always buried on the municipal website. 

I wonder if MLPD will be issuing the same suggestion in Keith's letter on NextDoor. Also, will his suggestion be posted on Facebook and other MTL social media?

Elaine Gillen

"Parents and teachers may want to tell children to avoid the designated parks after dark and suggest they use sidewalks/established safe walking routes instead of shortcuts through private properties."

Update February 1, 2017 10:12 AM Gee, how difficult was this? 

Update Feb. 1, 2017 4:42 PM 

From:	Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>
To:	egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Subject:	Re: NextDoor, MTL home page THIRD REQUEST
Date:	Wed, Feb 1, 2017 4:38 pm

---

Good afternoon Ms. Gillen,

Thank you for your input.

Keith

On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:31 PM, egillen476@aol.com <egillen476@aol.com> wrote:

I have attached a partial email exchange that is from NextDoor. Unfortunately, I am unable to make a pdf of an entire page of comments. As I have indicated, I had also copied the Mt. Lebanon Police Department. 

As I suspected, the prokill folks are attacking my announcement, while there are others who have thanked me either publicly or privately since they were unaware of this program. I don't think you are being "transparent enough."

I wish you would be more transparent with your deer killing program. It just may save a life. A start may be to include announcements on Facebook, Twitter, LeboALERTS, and even NextDoor. 

Elaine Gillen

Shooting starts Feb. 1, 2017 - March 31, 2017

Look for more of these signs going up. On public property only. Private properties will remain private.

But only at the PUBLIC areas, not private property. The commissioners believe that it is none of our business to know where the bullets will be flying on private properties in Mt. Lebanon. Dave Brumfield was quoted in The Almanac:

“What is at issue is a number of residents that have volunteered their property for the program. In doing so, they did not expect to open themselves up to public ridicule or harassment from someone who might disagree with their beliefs on the issue of the deer cull.”

Killing on private property will occur seven days a week, starting at 4 PM, while killing on public areas will be restricted to five days a week. For Heaven's sake, do not go sled riding at the golf course on a Friday night. Your children may be exposed to a "teaching moment."

I sent the following email to the commissioners, manager, and police chief. I have not heard back from any of those seven people.

Commissioners,

In case you missed it, I posted Keith's letter to the district concerning your "sharpshooting" program in my post, https://lebocitizens.blogspot.com/2017/01/bullets-never-cross-sidewalks.html Your announcements to this lethal program are always buried on the municipal website.

I wonder if MLPD will be issuing the same suggestion in Keith's letter on NextDoor. Also, will his suggestion be posted on Facebook and other MTL social media?

Elaine Gillen

"Parents and teachers may want to tell children to avoid the designated parks after dark and suggest they use sidewalks/established safe walking routes instead of shortcuts through private properties."

Remember to keep your kids and pets on sidewalks. Mt. Lebanon has installed bullet proof glass next to all sidewalks in Mt. Lebanon. That must be true if our manager suggests that we use sidewalks. He also wants us to tell children to avoid the designated parks after dark. The only problem with that statement is that shooting will begin at 6:00 PM, not after dark as he states.

Bullets never cross sidewalks. UPDATED

Pearls of wisdom from Keith.

Parents and teachers may want to tell children to avoid the designated parks after dark and suggest they use sidewalks/established safe walking routes instead of shortcuts through private properties.

Since no accidents occurred last year, the message is that they will continue until one does occur. Talk about dodging a bullet.

Parents received their annual C.Y.A. from Timmy and Keith this morning.  

From: Dr. Timothy Steinhauer <noreply@mtlsd.net>
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2017 10:01 AM
To: Mt. Lebanon Parent
Subject: Updated Deer Management Information

Dear Mt. Lebanon School District Families,

In our ongoing effort to keep you apprised of local issues, I am sending you information that I received from the Mt. Lebanon Municipality concerning the upcoming cull beginning on February 1 through March 31 of 2017.  I have attached a letter from Municipal Manger Keith McGill with details about the program and a link to more extensive information on the Municipal website at http://www.mtlebanon.org/2114/Deer-Management-Information. This same information is also being shared with all of our principals, teachers, and support staff. Please do not hesitate to contact the Mt. Lebanon Municipality or Mt. Lebanon Police Department should you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Timothy J. Steinhauer, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

Municipal Deer Management Letter 012317.pdf

The January 23, 2017 Municipal Deer Management Letter may be viewed HERE without downloading it.

Don't you just love what Keith says in his last paragraph?

Thank you for your help in promoting public safety. More information is available at www.mtlebanon.org by following the link on the homepage under Trending Now: Deer Management Information.

Just don't ask where those areas are. It costs thousands of dollars to try to find out. "Help in promoting public safety" translates to "It is none of your business where the killing is taking place."

Also, we'll find out how many deer were killed in the last archery program - 25% into the "sharpshooting" program - at the February 14, 2017 commission meeting, Valentines Day.

Update January 28, 2017 3:36 AM Last year's C.Y.A. letter was posted here on Lebo Citizens. Less details this year. No hours listed, no correct or incorrect FAQ attached, and the turnaround time to notify parents was four days.

The 2017 executed (or is it execution?) contract for "sharpshooting" has been posted on the municipal site and here on Lebo Citizens. Note: The municipal link is the direct link to the contract. It is hidden by scrolling through "Trending Now, " > Deer Management Information posted on July 20, 2016 > Additional Info.... Mt. Lebanon wouldn't want any of the killing information on the Home page. 

mtl Magazine Cost Reductions!

Baby steps, but moving in the right direction. From the weekly Administrative Report:

Update January 21, 2017 8:58 PM Another suggestion from Lebo Citizens readers!

mtl -- Mt. Lebanon Magazine

January 18 at 10:39am · 

We are looking for Mt. Lebanon high school volunteers to help in the Public Information Office for 1-2 hours a week after school assisting with various mtl Magazine distribution tasks. Please contact Amy Martin for more information at 412-343-3407 or amartin@mtlebanon.org.

Volunteering counts toward community service hours for the National Honor Society.

Students can also sign up in the Student Activities office or contact Mrs. Kolko for more information at jkolko@mtlsd.net or 412-344-2105.

Quite a claim

A photo of two bucks credited to Eleanor Bailey appears in The Almanac this week with the caption, "Deer continue to make their presence known in Mt. Lebanon." I'm concerned that the assumption being given here is that the deer killing would eradicate all deer in Mt. Lebanon. I believe that would be Eleanor Bailey's expectation since she is the photographer that I saw year after year at the Mt. Lebanon Garden Party, the event that takes place the eve of the annual Mt. Lebanon Garden Tour.

The article, Mt. Lebanon commissioners to vote on deer management quotes Manager Keith McGill,

“We know that removing deer from the population can be effective in reducing collisions,” said municipal manager Keith McGill. “It just comes down to what program is the right balance for each community. It is a very emotional and polarizing issue. The commission is focused more on deer vehicular collisions rather than the other impacts they have on the community.”

McGill's quote follows these two paragraphs:

Despite the elimination of deer, vehicular crashes with the animals have risen. In the six months tallied in 2016, with the exception of March, collisions have eclipsed each monthly amount of the past three years, according to the Mt. Lebanon Police Department.
While the goal to cut the 44 accidents that occurred in 2013 by half, the police department has already reported a number that has trumped that total, with 47 deer-related accidents already occurring this year.

Someone please explain how killing 219 deer and spending thousands of taxpayer dollars supports anything that Keith McGill said. It confirms what the anti-kill people have been saying all along. Killing deer results in more accidents because deer tend to bolt into streets and highways because they are frightened and are running for their lives.

Snake oil salesman and patent holder of apples and corn, Tony DeNicola wants another crack at killing deer this year, even though he left earlier than expected in March.

DeNicola said that if the decision is made to continue the controlled hunt – while being able to operate on the Twin Hills Park property, which is the subject of a lawsuit against the hunt filed by Scott Township – that the program will more successful than last year because of the hunters’ familiarity with the area.

Of course, the program will be more successful - for DeNicola. That is 25 acres of deer's natural habitat that was not available last year. Then it becomes a numbers game. More deer killed this time, so more deer need to be killed next time.  I illustrated earlier that killing deer in Twin Hills, located in Scott Township, will have little impact in reducing collisions. See the first paragraph in my post, Where are the car/deer collisions?

Mt. Lebanon uploaded a map today of the deer/car collisions in Mt. Lebanon from May 2011 - June 2016.

Keith McGill is right about something. It is a very emotional and polarizing issue. Nothing is based on facts. It is not about reducing collisions because there is no supporting data. Killing deer in Twin Hills will only pacify the residents in Virginia Manor.  That is what it is all about. And our snake oil salesman will make even more money off of Mt. Lebanon taxpayers. Remember, he was paid for his time and expenses every single time he made an appearance in front of the commission when brought in for advice. The corn and apples patent holder also convinced our commissioners not to believe the 2014 aerial survey which showed 196 deer. Aerial surveys are so accurate, they can even track the number of bucks and does in their reports. DeNicola left town early because he ran out of deer to kill.

There is a sucker born every minute, right Tony?

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.